The key to success is not necessarily having all the skills necessary to be a superlative business owner. The key to success in the business world is finding creative ways to exploit strengths and compensate for weaknesses. The truth is, some people succeed through blind luck or incredibly good timing. Some people succeed because they have a unique idea or approach to a problem; they built a better mousetrap. Some people succeed because they are simply, elegantly just a genius. The following qualities are the extrinsic qualities that describe a successful entrepreneur – those qualities that emerge from outside of the individual through experience or education. These are the qualities that are most easily compensated for if you lack the skills.
Try making a list for what you like to do and what you don’t like to do. Generally, people prefer to do activities that they feel a sense of mastery and pleasure from, and people tend to dislike doing activities that don’t give them a sense of mastery and pleasure. This simple approach can be a good way of determining which areas are strengths, which are weaknesses, and which areas you can focus on.
Extrinsic Qualities
1.Business experience is invaluable to the small business owner. Although some people can get stuck in a rut of thinking that they only way to do things is the way they were trained at previous positions, solid business experience paired with an open mind can be key in small business ownership. It’s easier to borrow money; lenders usually want to know about an entrepreneur’s previous experience in the field in which they plan on opening their business. If you lack experience you can compensate by either partnering with someone with extensive experience, or perhaps going out and getting that experience through volunteer work, internships, or even an extra job in that field. There are a number of ways to gain experience in a field; don’t be hesitant to approach this issue creatively.
2.Leadership skills are essential for the small business owner. Hopefully, you will one day be managing a fleet of employees. Not only will you manage employees, you will manage your business contacts, vendors, and other operational personnel not directly tied to the business. Others feel comfortable around a strong leader. They look to the small business owner to be the “answer man.” If you’re not ready for that type of responsibility you might consider hiring an office manager that has strong leadership skills, or perhaps you can partner with someone who has more leadership experience than you do. Small business is about managing relationships with everyone who is remotely involved with the business, and a strong manager will be able to manage and balance their family relationships as well as business relationships.
3.Organizational skills help increase productivity and reduce expenses. They also can help with communication skills; knowing what you need to discuss with employees and when you should discuss issues is very important. Success with small business means learning to keep track of everything. The ability to set priorities and time limits are both great qualities for an entrepreneur. If you lose track of what’s going on, you could sink the whole enterprise. If you lack organizational skills it’s important to find an administrative assistant who can help you and give you backup when you need the help; you may also learn a thing or two about organizational skills from your employee which you can then apply to your own business sense.
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