Let me first make something clear; personality tendencies are not an accurate prediction of who will be successful as a business person. Introverts have built successful businesses, so are extroverts. Aggressive people have been successful, gentle and easy going people have built world class businesses. So, there is no definite temperament or personality make up that determines business success. In any case, all of us are combinations of various temperamental tendencies.
Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert is not the issue, you can build great business; you can become the next business success story!
However, there are traits that set apart the successful business man. These traits can be developed by anyone. In fact, most of us have them, we just need to practice them more and they will become second nature and serve us well on our road to business success.
Now you may read the following list of traits that I called the Basics of Business Success and say: “O.K. I have read and heard these all my life.” But ask yourself if you have sincerely made effort to practice these things.
If you really want to be a success in your business journey, decide right now to start giving priority to develop these characteristics. So, are you ready?
INSPIRED VISION
It is a known fact that every organization is the lengthen shadow of the owner(s). To build a great company, you must have not just a vision but an inspired one.
Vision that inspires you keeps you awake in the night. You are excited; it energizes you, makes you jump right out of the bed in the morning. You see the path clearly, you are positive about your life. These are what inspired vision does to you.
It is so important that you have an inspired vision of what your business can and will achieve, because in the business environment, challenges abound that without a solid vision that you believe and feel strongly about, it will be difficult to see it through.
So what is your vision? Are you inspired enough to see it through? Are you excited about your vision? Have you written it down clearly? What will you give to achieve it? (After all, there is no free meal anywhere, somebody has got to pay). Can you imagine how many your business will affect positively? How wealthy you will become? How popular and important you will be in the society? How valuable and useful you will be to your community, your country or even to the world? Yes anything is possible! The question is; are you inspired by your vision?
COURAGE
Another important trait you must develop is courage. Now courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to take positive action in the face of fear.
Let us face it, it is tough out there. Only the courageous can achieve their goals. You must develop yourself, have ability to stand for what you believe in without wavering, the courage to stand out, to be unique, to be different. Courage to dare, to stick out your neck.
It will happen. I can guarantee you of this, a time will come when you will look at your business and wonder what in the world you were thinking to ever venture out! But do not panic, stay calm your fears are not justified at all, go back to your vision and be inspired again, refocus on the bigger picture, be courageous!
BELIEF
Optimism and belief are very crucial in your business journey. If you do not believe in yourself, how do you expect others to believe you? If you do not believe in your products/ services, do not think that your potential customers will believe in them!
You must have a deep, solid faith in yourself. You must believe strongly in your ability, you must believe in your vision and in your products/services.
Let me emphasize this; the presence of a vision in the mind of an individual is evidence that he/she has the ability and wherewithal to bring it to reality. So, believe in yourself, you are moving toward your goal, you can achieve it no matter the odds against you, never give up on yourself or on your vision.
Every great success has been inundated with great challenges and failures. You are not an exemption, but if you do not give up, you will achieve your goal.
PASSION AND COMMITMENT
To succeed in the business world, you must have passion and be committed 110%! Successful business owners are very passionate about their business; they are committed to making things happen. They are willing to roll up their sleeves and put in long hours of work.
It is very important that you develop passion and unwavering commitment.
Passion and commitment are the offshoot of having an inspired vision and doing what you love. When you have passion, you will be persistent and patient; you will be self-discipline and be willing to pay the price of success in advance.
RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY
Successful entrepreneurs are great risk takers. They weigh their risk against the reward and plunge in. They are not afraid to fail, they regard failure as a learning experience and they move on, there can be no success without risk; in fact that is what makes the journey an exciting one.
Also, you must learn to take responsibility for your actions. When you accept responsibility for your life and your actions, you are taking charge and making things happen.
Whatever you are doing, you must take responsibility for your life, when you do, it gives you self-worth, respect, and a power to determine your own path.
To be successful in your endeavor, you must be a die-hard learner. Never stop learning. Read books, listen to audios and video tapes, attend seminars, and go to symposiums. Whatever you do, invest seriously in educating yourself.
Create time for reading and meditation. Learn no matter what! Find a successful business person and study him/her. If possible, get a mentor, it is a short cut to success, if you can, it will be a great advantage to you.
In this article, we have looked at the traits that make business owners successful, we talked about vision, courage, belief, passion and commitment, risk and responsibility and continuous learning.
Go out there, develop these traits, live life to the fullness, do not take yourself too seriously, be excited and be the next business success story!