"What are the traits successful small business owners have in common? Can you predict the likelihood of success for any new company or venture?
3 Key Takeaways Regarding the Traits Successful Small Business Owners Have in Common:
- Starting any new small business requires more than a sound business idea or strategy. Any profitable company requires several essential character traits in its owner(s) that will help the company to survive challenges and leverage opportunities.
- A successful business requires disciplined mindsets and habits, day in and day out.
- The ability to identify one's own weaknesses and growth opportunities and continue to learn at every step of the journey are two of the core strengths shared by successful business owners here in California and across the nation.
A Strong Vision, Resilience, and Persistence
Three of the most essential traits successful small business owners have in common are a strong vision, resilience, and persistence. Today's business environment is changing faster than at any time in history, and it takes a lot to not only keep up but to stay ahead of the game and win. Successful business owners know why their company exists and where they intend to take it. They understand the market(s) they serve and combine this vision with daily actionable steps. They set specific, measurable goals, revenue targets, product innovations, and customer growth objectives, and track each step in their progress to attaining those goals.
Experienced business leaders know that challenges and setbacks are inevitable; they are a part of the risks of business. If there is no risk, there is no genuine worthwhile reward. The most successful business owners quickly bounce back after any setback and refine their strategies to overcome any obstacle. They also understand this type of resilience and persistence requires a healthy routine, effective time management, and the ability to recognize that within every problem there is not only a solution, but a lesson.
They take consistent action every day to improve and grow their business, rather than getting lost in the delivery of their company's products and services. They welcome challenges and change. For they understand one of the greatest business secrets of all: challenges and change are the most significant source of opportunity and profit, and always will be.
Discipline and a Risk-Taking Mentality
What are some of the additional traits successful small business owners have in common? 'Disciplined adaptability' and a risk-taking mentality are essential elements of a successful business personality. These leaders understand the prudent disciplines of managing cash, investment, operating costs, and profit margins. They have the discipline to comply with the legal, statutory, regulatory, and tax requirements of the business they have chosen. They reinvest profits wisely to leverage growth opportunities and to survive inevitable slower business cycles.
Plan everything. Manage money wisely. Understand the function and cost of every single facet of the development of your products and services. Successful small business owners understand the critical nature of planning. They set aside a large portion of their day/week/month to evaluate their business and plan next steps. They put systems in place to capture the raw data at every point of their business processes. This critical data informs their business decisions.
Business growth requires risk-taking, but successful business owners don't gamble; they strategize, test, implement, monitor the results, and apply what they've learned to improve each day and move the company forward.
Inquisitiveness and Openness
Inquisitiveness and openness are additional traits successful small business owners have in common. Prosperous business owners ask questions. They want to truly understand everything - their customers, their employees, their supply chain, their products and services, their competitors, and most importantly, themselves. They are curious about other successful businesses and the strategies they've deployed.
Effective leaders are open to new ideas and receptive to the realities of their business and the marketplace. They are accessible, making it easy for their customers, employees, and business partners to reach and communicate with them. They recognize that there are numerous ways to address any problem or challenge and welcome the input and creativity of others.
The ability to seek and accept feedback is another of the crucial traits successful small business owners have in common. They carefully analyze all feedback, positive, neutral, or negative. There is a lesson in each. They surround themselves with the right people and delegate the authority and responsibility necessary to expand on their efforts while creating a positive company culture based on trust, a shared vision, and reward for consistent performance.
While every small business owner and entrepreneur’s journey is unique, these traits consistently separate successful business owners from the unfortunate majority of companies that fail within the first 5 years of operations. By strengthening these qualities—vision, resilience, persistence, discipline, a risk-taking mentality, inquisitiveness, openness, and more—you give your business the best chance to grow, adapt, and thrive for years to come.
