Distilling the exact essence of a successful business owner is much easier said than done. If everyone was able to figure out how to make it in business, the field would very quickly become much more competitive. The reality is that the qualities that work for a tech startup don’t always work of a brick-and-mortar clothing store. In a climate in which business success can be a matter of luck and elbow-grease in equal measure, it does take a certain kind of person to break from the pack and endeavor to make their own mark. Although every successful entrepreneur has a few universal qualities of a business owner that are essential in planting one’s flag in the world.
Courage – Sounds like a no-brainer, right? One of the primary distinctions between permanent dreamer and successful business owner is the courage to leave all of it, or at least most of it, out on the field. The Fortune 500 is riddled with companies whose smartest and most effective move was simply to take their shot. This courage is also crucial during leaner times when we’re tempted to cut our losses and close up shop.
Tunnel Vision – When you’re getting your business off the ground, life becomes a matter of making sure you open or launch on time versue focusing on everything else in your life; guess which one wins. Distractions can cripple our ambition and divert us from an endeavor into which we may have already sunk a great deal of our own or someone else’s money, hopes and energy.
Clear Vision – If you don’t know exactly what you want to do; how are investors, employees or customers supposed to guess for you? Your business plan and mission statement should reflect what separates you from competitors and exactly what you want to accomplish with each transaction. Having a clear vision also helps us develop emotional attachment to our ideas so we work that much harder to see them come to fruition. In other words, invest all of yourself in your business.
These are just a few of the crucial traits it takes to establish and maintain a successful company. They lay the groundwork for more refined ideas and force us all to ask ourselves if we have what it takes to make it in business. Do you?
