Harvardgreyarea.org Niche News

pI have been an entrepreneur for over twenty years, and along the way, I have learned a few things about what makes a business successful. Here are some tried and true characteristics and strategies of successful companies. How many of these are you doing? Do you need to reevaluate your Business Plan?/p
pstrongThe Characteristics of Successful Business Owners/strong/p
pThere are certain qualities successful entrepreneurs share in common.nbsp; Some types of people are more suited than others to go into business for themselves, but I am a big believer that one who naturally doesnrsquo;t have the distinguishing entrepreneurial characteristics doesnrsquo;t necessarily mean he or she wonrsquo;t be a success.nbsp; withal, knowing these entrepreneurial commonalities can give you an idea of your propensity to be a successful business owner:/p
p1)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Desire Independence/p
p2)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Strong Sense of Initiative/p
p3)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Motivated to provide for family/p
p4)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Expectation of Quick and Concrete Results/p
p5)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Ready to act and react quickly/p
p6)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Very dedicated to the business/p
p7)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Entered the business as much by chance as design/p
pstrongemTake The Entrepreneur Test/em/strong/p
pBelow are 20 personality traits to gauge your potential as an entrepreneur.nbsp; On a scale of 0 to 7, with 7 the highest, rank each personality trait:/p
ol
liAbility to Communicate/li
liCan Motivate Others/li
liOrganized/li
liAccepts Responsibility/li
liCan adapt to Change/li
liDecision-Making Capability/li
liHave Energy amp; Drive/li
liIn Good Health/li
liGood Human Relations Skills/li
/ol
p10.nbsp; Have Initiative/p
p11.nbsp; People Person/p
p12.nbsp; Good Judgment/p
p13.nbsp; Open-minded/p
p14.nbsp; Planning Ability/p
p15.nbsp; unrelenting/p
p16.nbsp; Resourceful/p
p17.nbsp; Self-Confident/p
p18.nbsp; Self-Starter/p
p19.nbsp; Good Listener/p
p20.nbsp; Risk Taker/p
pScale:/p
ul
li110-140nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Very Strong/li
li85-109nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Strong/li
li55-84nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Fair/li
li54 and belownbsp; nbsp;nbsp;Weak/li
/ul
pAs an entrepreneur myself, I tend to be on the strong side of these traits.nbsp; But not every successful business owner is strong in every one of these areas.nbsp; This is why successful entrepreneursrsquo; recruit those who are strong in the areas they may be weak.nbsp; If you are a hard worker and have the drive to be on your own, then over time you can develop and work on improving these useful skills.nbsp;/p
pWe have discussed reasons why businesses fail and what are the common traits of successful small business owners.nbsp; Wouldnrsquo;t it be nice to know some of the reasons why certain small businesses are successful?nbsp; It is important to know what not to do as it minimizes mistakes, but being proactive and knowing what to do can importantly increase your chances of success.nbsp;/p
pstrongWhat Leads to a Successful Company?/strong/p
pstrongemAn Effective Business Plan/em/strong/p
pGoing off what I said in a previous article about business failure due to inadequate planning, it is absolutely essential to have a good a href=http://www.businessconsultingabc.com/Writing_An_Effective_Business_Plan.htmlBusiness Plan/a and good planning within your business.nbsp; Whatrsquo;s the distinction?nbsp; You can develop a good business plan, but if you donrsquo;t implement it and make it a part of the fabric of your business, then its usefulness is minimal.nbsp; However, to develop an effective Plan, you need to have a good business planning system to employ, and it is often very helpful to work with an experienced a href=http://www.businessconsultingabc.com/ target=_blankBusiness Plan Consultant/a in its design, development and implementation.nbsp;/p
pstrongemA Well Defined Market/em/strong/p
pMarket Research is critical as it gives your planning a dimension of predictable results.nbsp; It links your Product Development with your Strategic Plan.nbsp;/p
pstrongemUnderstand Your Industry and Market Trends/em/strong/p
pUnderstanding both wherever your industry and market are heading is important to staying competitive and continuing to meet your customerrsquo;s needs.nbsp; Never assume you have captured your market and can sit on your laurels.nbsp; Install Marketing Systems in your business to continually analyze and predict customer and market behaviors and needs.nbsp; Having consistent contact with your customers can help you establish better products, offer better suited services and grow along with your trending market.nbsp;/p
pstrongemUsing Accurate Information/em/strong/p
p Being accurate in market trend and business growth planning relies on intelligence that is both realistic and accurate. The ability to take that information and apply it to your business is key to success. You must be honest with yourself whether you can really exploit the intelliegence gained given your financial, human and operational capabilities and resources./p
pstrongemA Solid Capital Acquisition Strategy/em/strong/p
pIt is important to come into a business with a strong equity position.nbsp; You can then leverage off that cash potency with competitive, appropriate financial backing.nbsp; A cohesive Financial Strategy, and implementation of it, is vitally important to a businessrsquo;s success.nbsp; A business needs not just adequate capital, but the right type of capital for the business, its goals and objectives.nbsp;/p
pstrongemGood Recruiting and Excellent Human Resources/em/strong/p
pGoing into business with the right people and subsequently recruiting and retaining good people is vital for a businessrsquo;s success.nbsp; Often a talented, experienced, highly-skilled employee will save you money in the long run and be very effective in a crisis; as compared to, scrimping on your labor costs, having to constantly train new people, relying on more people to get the job done and experiencing high-turnover and low employee morale.nbsp;/p
pstrongemExpertise and Experience are Key/em/strong/p
pFrom the Companyrsquo;s Founders and Principals to the employees in the field, a high grade of experience and expertise is essential to effectively compete in todayrsquo;s markets.nbsp; The most successful entrepreneurs, bar none, are those that surround themselves not just with talent, expertise and experience, but have people on their team which fill the gaps in their personal experience base.nbsp; We are only as smart and talented as those we surround ourselves with.nbsp; Know your limitations and have the right people on board to fill the gaps.nbsp;/p
pstrongemUnderstand the Implications of Government Regulation in your Business and Industry/em/strong/p
pBeing surprised by changing regulations is not good.nbsp; Keep yourself well educated on Government Regulatory Trends through good government relations and active membership in Industry and Business Associations.nbsp; The efficacy of your product, service or market can change 360 degrees on the whims of government.nbsp; So be involved and cognizant of this significant factor./p
pstrongemVery Effective Time Management/em/strong/p
pA small business owner is pulled multiple directions at the same time all day long, every day.nbsp; Your ability to multi-task is important, however, putting systems in place to effectively balance tasks and time is just as important.nbsp; Delegation and planning are essential in effective time management.nbsp; As pointed out previously, you must have good people around you to delegate responsibility, as well as, to assist you in managing your time as effectively as possible.nbsp; Effective Time Management is a function of good planning as one comes with the other.nbsp;/p
pstrongemWork Hard for Long Hours/em/strong/p
pLast but certainly not least, Successful Business Owners must be willing to work very hard and spend many long days and weeks getting the job done for their customers.nbsp; The Entrepreneur is often the first one to arrive early in the day and the one who leaves late in the day or dark.nbsp; Having a good Business Plan helps the successful business owner to work ldquo;smartrdquo;, but there is no way around good old fashioned hard work, especially in the early stages of a companyrsquo;s growth.nbsp; You must be willing to put in the long hours to reap the benefits of self employment./p
pstrongConcluding Advice/strong/p
pIf you are contemplating starting a new business, do something you really love to do and have a passion for.nbsp; The work is hard so you might as well savour it.nbsp; Providing a great product or service to your customers is a worthwhile experience and should be something you really believe in.nbsp; Passion is what carries you through the inevitable rough patches, no matter how well you plan and set up your Company.nbsp; Small Business is simple:nbsp; see a need and fill it.nbsp; Working hard will be replaced with working smart as you build your Company over the years, gaining invaluable firsthand knowledge.nbsp; You will find, though, as your Company matures, the real efflorescence for an Entrepreneur is the start-up phase, when you build something from scratch and do it successfully.nbsp; Good luck in your endeavors./p
pstrongAbout the Writer/strong/p
pFrank Goley is a business consultant, business turnaround consultant, and business planner for ABC Business Consulting. Frank is an expert in writing, developing and implementing business plans, business turnaround plans, business funding plans, marketing plans, strategic plans and web marketing plans. Frank offers comprehensive business consulting, business coaching, business turnaround consulting, along with web seo, web development and web marketing consulting, to small and medium size companies.. Frank is author of the a href=http://www.businessconsultingabc.com/Business_Planning_Guide.htmlbusiness plan book/a, strongemThe Comprehensive Business Plan Workbook ndash; A Step by Step Guide to Effective Business Planning/em/strong, and he has over 50 published articles on business success strategies. He also writes the Business Success Strategies Blog./p