It’s no secret that few have what it takes to become a successful business owner. What gives successful business owners an edge over the rest is a set of personality traits that helped them succeed in their journey.
Today, we are going to take a look at ways you can improve your personality as a business owner.
The Road to Character
by David brooks
⏱ 15 minutes reading time
🎧 Audio version available
Be Willing To Take Risks
The willingness to take risks is one of the most valuable skills a business owner needs. As a matter of fact, if you’re not willing to take risks, then you might want to reconsider being an entrepreneur. In many cases, it’s safe to say that if it weren’t for the risks that some business owners took along the way, they would never have reached what they currently have.
And, keep in mind, this is not to say that you should take any risk that presents itself. It’s all about careful calculations and the consideration of an underlying motivation before deciding if the risk is worth it.
You might be wondering, why is it so important that you take risks? Isn’t it just safer to avoid risks — especially ones that put everything on the line?
Well, in a nutshell, when you don’t take risks, you’re going to spend your life with the question ‘what if’ lingering at the back of your mind. Those decisions might haunt you, and despite the fact that no one can know ahead of time if taking the risk will pay off, it shouldn’t steer you away from taking them.
Have a Drive to Succeed
Most entrepreneurs and business owners have a drive to succeed. They want to see their business, which they started from practically nothing, become an established business and are willing to do everything within their power to make that happen.
They are always working to improve their skills and are willing to do things that others would consider unreasonable to achieve their goals and succeed.
Be Confident
It’s fair to say that being confident is a trait that everyone should have in life and it’s equally as important when it comes to being a business owner. When you’re confident, it means that you know you’re capable of being a business owner and are confident in your abilities.
To view things from a different perspective; you might be someone who’s innovative, willing to take risks, and have everything it takes to be a successful owner– everything but confidence. So, when you’re bringing something to the table to share with others but lack confidence, people will not fully trust you because if you don’t believe in yourself, why would anyone else?
On the flip side, successful business owners are so confident that they will never let anything stand in their way because they believe in themselves. They are not plagued with fear that they won’t succeed, and others respect them for that. And, being confident is much more than knowing your strengths, it’s also about knowing your weaknesses and limitations, and acknowledging them.
Since we’ve mentioned confidence, let’s not forget that there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance– a fine line that people often mistake. Unlike confident people, arrogant people strongly believe that they have nothing to learn from others and will often act like know-it-alls.
They feel superior to others and won’t stop talking about their achievements, skills, and abilities when most of the time, all that bragging is masking their insecurities.
Be self-motivated
Being self-motivated is easier said than done. It’s easy to start your journey as a business owner with all the motivation in the world. But, this journey is not a walk in the park and there’s no doubt that there will be times where you’re tempted to give up.
If you’re not capable of being your own motivator and maintaining a mindset that will allow you to keep going and work effectively, you won’t be able to attain the goal of a successful business.
No one said that having self-motivation is easy– in fact, it’s the hardest thing you can do. So, the first thing you need to do to find your self-motivation is to find the things that keep you going.
For example, there are people that are motivated by tangible rewards, whether it’s the money or the status that they’re going to achieve when they succeed, and that is exactly what keeps them going. For others, it’s more about internal factors, like the feeling of satisfaction of achieving their goals.
Be Resilient
While we’re on the topic of motivation, the ability to bounce back from setbacks and developing resilience go hand in hand with self-motivation. Business owners will be told ‘no’ countless times through their journey and they will experience setbacks.
However, their resilience in spite of struggling will keep them going. If things don’t go the way they wanted them to, successful business owners will never dwell on those things. They will figure out what went wrong, learn from their mistakes so that they won’t repeat them in the future, and move on.
There isn’t a better person to be inspired by than inventor Thomas Edison. His teachers told the light bulb inventor that he was too stupid to do anything. He was even fired from his first two jobs for being non-productive– and it didn’t end there.
While inventing the light bulb, he made 1000 failed attempts before he finally got it right. And, when he was asked how it felt to fail 1000 times, he replied; “I didn’t fail 1000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps.”
Be Relentlessly Curious
Back in the 14th century, 21-year-old Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta was raised by a family who valued education. However, in Tangier, the city he was born in, there wasn’t a place where he could continue his education.
So, what did he do to overcome this problem? Well, Ibn Battuta decided to go on a journey to find the best teachers and the best libraries on the planet. He travelled for 30 years and 75,000 miles to find them, all for the sake of his interest in learning. Or, in other words, for the sake of his relentless curiosity, he was able to become one of the most remarkable travellers in the history of humanity.
How does this all come to play when it comes to business owners?
Relentlessly curious people are not content with the knowledge and skills they already have. They’re always on the hunt to learn more and understand how things work in order to improve their own abilities. They seek answers from experts; valuable answers that will help them take their business to the next level. They’re driven by this curiosity to find ways to improve and won’t hesitate to ask questions or find out what their competition is up to.
Be a People Person
You might not realize how important being a people person is when it comes to business owners; it’s a valuable trait to have. Even if you are the best business owner out there, if you have a bad attitude, you won’t be able to sell your product, yourself, or your business.
Being approachable and easy-going will go a long way for countless reasons. Not only does it make life much easier for your employees, but it will also help your business grow as a result of building positive relationships with your customers.
Be Goal-Oriented
Motivation and the drive to succeed can only take you so far if you don’t have goals you’re working to achieve. So, being goal-oriented is a valuable trait that will have a massive impact on your business. When you know what you want and have goals, your focus will be on completing tasks that will eventually lead you to that goal. And when we’re talking about goals, we’re talking long-term as well as short-term goals.
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