25 Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

1. Do what you enjoy.
What you get out of your business in the form of
personal satisfaction, financial gain, stability and
enjoyment will be the sum of what you put into your
business. So if you don't enjoy what you're doing, in all
likelihood it's safe to assume that will be reflected in the
success of your business--or subsequent lack of
success. In fact, if you don't enjoy what you're doing,
chances are you won't succeed.
2. Take what you do seriously.
You cannot expect to be effective and successful in
business unless you truly believe in your business and in
the goods and services that you sell. Far too many home
business owners fail to take their own businesses
seriously enough, getting easily sidetracked and not
staying motivated and keeping their noses to the
grindstone. They also fall prey to naysayers who don't
take them seriously because they don't work from an
office building, office park, storefront, or factory. Little do
these skeptics, who rain on the home business owner's
parade, know is that the number of people working from
home, and making very good annual incomes, has
grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.
3. Plan everything.
Planning every aspect of your home business is not only
a must, but also builds habits that every home business
owner should develop, implement, and maintain. The act
of business planning is so important because it requires
you to analyze each business situation, research and
compile data, and make conclusions based mainly on
the facts as revealed through the research. A business
plan also serves a second function, which is having your
goals and how you will achieve them, on paper. You can
use the plan that you create both as map to take you
from point A to Z and as a yardstick to measure the
success of each individual plan or segment within the
plan.
4. Manage money wisely.
The lifeblood of any business enterprise is cash flow.
You need it to buy inventory, pay for services, promote
and market your business, repair and replace tools and
equipment, and pay yourself so that you can continue to
work. Therefore, all home business owners must become
wise money managers to ensure that the cash keeps
flowing and the bills get paid. There are two aspects to
wise money management.
1. The money you receive from clients in
exchange for your goods and services you
provide (income)
2. The money you spend on inventory, supplies,
wages and other items required to keep your
business operating. (expenses)
5. Ask for the sale.
A home business entrepreneur must always remember
that marketing, advertising, or promotional activities are
completely worthless, regardless of how clever,
expensive, or perfectly targeted they are, unless one
simple thing is accomplished--ask for the sale. This is
not to say that being a great salesperson, advertising
copywriting whiz or a public relations specialist isn't a
tremendous asset to your business. However, all of
these skills will be for naught if you do not actively ask
people to buy what you are selling.
6. Remember it's all about the customer.
Your home business is not about the products or
services that you sell. Your home business is not about
the prices that you charge for your goods and services.
Your home business is not about your competition and
how to beat them. Your business is all about your
customers, or clients, period. After all, your customers
are the people that will ultimately decide if your business
goes boom or bust. Everything you do in business must
be customer focused, including your policies, warranties,
payment options, operating hours, presentations,
advertising and promotional campaigns and website. In
addition, you must know who your customers are inside
out and upside down.
Related: Keeping Your Customers Satisfied -- It's All in
the Details
7. Become a shameless self-promoter
(without becoming obnoxious).
One of the greatest myths about personal or business
success is that eventually your business, personal
abilities, products or services will get discovered and be
embraced by the masses that will beat a path to your
door to buy what you are selling. But how can this
happen if no one knows who you are, what you sell and
why they should be buying?
Self-promotion is one of the most beneficial, yet most
underutilized, marketing tools that the majority of home
business owners have at their immediate disposal.
8. Project a positive business image.
You have but a passing moment to make a positive and
memorable impression on people with whom you intend
to do business. Home business owners must go out of
their way and make a conscious effort to always project
the most professional business image possible. The
majority of home business owners do not have the
advantage of elaborate offices or elegant storefronts and
showrooms to wow prospects and impress customers.
Instead, they must rely on imagination, creativity and
attention to the smallest detail when creating and
maintaining a professional image for their home
business.
9. Get to know your customers.
One of the biggest features and often the most
significant competitive edge the home based
entrepreneur has over the larger competitors is the he
can offer personalized attention. Call it high-tech
backlash if you will, but customers are sick and tired of
hearing that their information is somewhere in the
computer and must be retrieved, or told to push a dozen
digits to finally get to the right department only to end up
with voice mail--from which they never receive a return
phone call.
The home business owner can actually answer phone
calls, get to know customers, provide personal attention
and win over repeat business by doing so. It's a
researched fact that most business (80 percent) will
come from repeat customers rather than new
customers. Therefore, along with trying to draw
newcomers, the more you can do to woo your regular
customers, the better off you will be in the long run and
personalized attention is very much appreciated and
remembered in the modern high tech world.
Related: Why You Should Never Prejudge a Sales
Prospect
10. Level the playing field with technology.
You should avoid getting overly caught up in the high-
tech world, but you should also know how to take
advantage of using it. One of the most amazing aspects
of the internet is that a one or two person business
operating from a basement can have a superior website
to a $50 million company, and nobody knows the
difference. Make sure you're keeping up with the high-
tech world as it suits your needs.. The best technology
is that which helps you, not that which impresses your
neighbors.
11. Build a top-notch business team.
No one person can build a successful business alone.
It's a task that requires a team that is as committed as
you to the business and its success. Your business team
may include family members, friends, suppliers, business
alliances, employees, sub-contractors, industry and
business associations, local government and the
community. Of course the most important team
members will be your customers or clients. Any or all
may have a say in how your business will function and a
stake in your business future.
Related: Why Teamwork Should Be Your No. 1 Sales
Tool
12. Become known as an expert.
When you have a problem that needs to be solved, do
you seek just anyone's advice or do you seek an expert
in the field to help solve your particular problem?
Obviously, you want the most accurate information and
assistance that you can get. You naturally seek an
expert to help solve your problem. You call a plumber
when the hot water tank leaks, a real estate agent when
it's time to sell your home or a dentist when you have a
toothache. Therefore, it only stands to reason that the
more you become known for your expertise in your
business, the more people will seek you out to tap into
your expertise, creating more selling and referral
opportunities. In effect, becoming known as an expert is
another style of prospecting for new business, just in
reverse. Instead of finding new and qualified people to
sell to, these people seek you out for your expertise.
13. Create a competitive advantage.
A home business must have a clearly defined unique
selling proposition. This is nothing more than a fancy
way of asking the vital question, "Why will people
choose to do business with you or purchase your
product or service instead of doing business with a
competitor and buying his product or service?" In other
words, what one aspect or combination of aspects is
going to separate your business from your competition?
Will it be better service, a longer warranty, better
selection, longer business hours, more flexible payment
options, lowest price, personalized service, better
customer service, better return and exchange policies or
a combination of several of these?
14. Invest in yourself.
Top entrepreneurs buy and read business and marketing
books, magazines, reports, journals, newsletters,
websites and industry publications, knowing that these
resources will improve their understanding of business
and marketing functions and skills. They join business
associations and clubs, and they network with other
skilled business people to learn their secrets of success
and help define their own goals and objectives. Top
entrepreneurs attend business and marketing seminars,
workshops and training courses, even if they have
already mastered the subject matter of the event. They
do this because they know that education is an ongoing
process. There are usually ways to do things better, in
less time, with less effort. In short, top entrepreneurs
never stop investing in the most powerful, effective and
best business and marketing tool at their immediate
disposal--themselves.
15. Be accessible.
We're living in a time when we all expect our fast food
lunch at the drive-thru window to be ready in mere
minutes, our dry cleaning to be ready for pick-up on the
same day, our money to be available at the cash
machine and our pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's
free. You see the pattern developing--you must make it
as easy as you can for people to do business with you,
regardless of the home business you operate.
You must remain cognizant of the fact that few people
will work hard, go out of their way, or be inconvenienced
just for the privilege of giving you their hard-earned
money. The shoe is always on the other foot. Making it
easy for people to do business with you means that you
must be accessible and knowledgeable about your
products and services. You must be able to provide
customers with what they want, when they want it.
16. Build a rock-solid reputation.
A good reputation is unquestionably one of the home
business owner's most tangible and marketable assets.
You can't simply buy a good reputation; it's something
that you earn by honoring your promises. If you promise
to have the merchandise in the customer's hands by
Wednesday, you have no excuse not to have it there. If
you offer to repair something, you need to make good on
your offer. Consistency in what you offer is the other
key factor. If you cannot come through with the same
level of service (and products) for clients on a regular
basis, they have no reason to trust you . . . and without
trust, you won't have a good reputation.
17. Sell benefits.
Pushing product features is for inexperienced or
wannabe entrepreneurs. Selling the benefits associated
with owning and using the products and services you
carry is what sales professionals worldwide focus on to
create buying excitement and to sell, sell more, and sell
more frequently to their customers. Your advertising,
sales presentations, printed marketing materials, product
packaging, website, newsletters, trade show exhibit and
signage are vital. Every time and every medium used to
communicate with your target audience must always be
selling the benefits associated with owning your product
or using your service.
18. Get involved.
Always go out of your way to get involved in the
community that supports your business. You can do this
in many ways, such as pitching in to help local charities
or the food bank, becoming involved in organizing
community events, and getting involved in local politics.
You can join associations and clubs that concentrate on
programs and policies designed to improve the local
community. It's a fact that people like to do business
with people they know, like and respect, and with people
who do things to help them as members of the
community.
19. Grab attention.
Small-business owners cannot waste time, money and
energy on promotional activities aimed at building
awareness solely through long-term, repeated exposure.
If you do, chances are you will go broke long before this
goal is accomplished. Instead, every promotional activity
you engage in, must put money back in your pocket so
that you can continue to grab more attention and grow
your business.
20. Master the art of negotiations.
The ability to negotiate effectively is unquestionably a
skill that every home business owner must make every
effort to master. It's perhaps second in importance only
to asking for the sale in terms of home business musts.
In business, negotiation skills are used daily. Always
remember that mastering the art of negotiation means
that your skills are so finely tuned that you can always
orchestrate a win-win situation. These win-win
arrangements mean that everyone involved feels they
have won, which is really the basis for building long-
term and profitable business relationships.
21. Design Your workspace for success.
Carefully plan and design your home office workspace to
ensure maximum personal performance and productivity
and, if necessary, to project professionalism for visiting
clients. If at all possible, resist the temptation to turn a
corner of the living room or your bedroom into your
office. Ideally, you'll want a separate room with a door
that closes to keep business activities in and family
members out, at least during prime business and
revenue generating hours of the day. A den, spare
bedroom, basement or converted garage are all ideal
candidates for your new home office. If this is not
possible, you'll have to find a means of converting a
room with a partition or simply find hours to do the bulk
of your work when nobody else is home.
22. Get and stay organized.
The key to staying organized is not about which type of
file you have or whether you keep a stack or two of
papers on your desk, but it's about managing your
business. It's about having systems in place to do
things. Therefore, you wan to establish a routine by
which you can accomplish as much as possible in a
given workday, whether that's three hours for a part-time
business or seven or nine hours as a full-timer. In fact,
you should develop systems and routines for just about
every single business activity. Small things such as
creating a to-do list at the end of each business day, or
for the week, will help keep you on top of important
tasks to tackle. Creating a single calendar to work from,
not multiple sets for individual tasks or jobs, will also
ensure that jobs are completed on schedule and
appointments kept. Incorporating family and personal
activities into your work calendar is also critical so that
you work and plan from a single calendar.
23. Take time off.
The temptation to work around the clock is very real for
some home business owners. After all, you don't have a
manager telling you it's time to go home because they
can't afford the overtime pay. Every person working
from home must take time to establish a regular work
schedule that includes time to stretch your legs and take
lunch breaks, plus some days off and scheduled
vacations. Create the schedule as soon as you have
made the commitment to start a home business. Of
course, your schedule will have to be flexible. You
should, therefore, not fill every possible hour in the day.
Give yourself a backup hour or two. All work and no play
makes you burn out very fast and grumpy customer
service is not what people want.
24. Limit the number of hats you wear.
It's difficult for most business owners not to take a
hands-on approach. They try to do as much as possible
and tackle as many tasks as possible in their business.
The ability to multitask, in fact, is a common trait shared
by successful entrepreneurs. However, once in a while
you have to stand back and look beyond today to
determine what's in the best interest of your business
and yourself over the long run. Most highly successful
entrepreneurs will tell you that from the time they started
out, they knew what they were good at and what tasks
to delegate to others.
25. Follow-up constantly.
Constant contact, follow-up, and follow-through with
customers, prospects, and business alliances should be
the mantra of every home business owner, new or
established. Constant and consistent follow-up enables
you to turn prospects into customers, increase the value
of each sale and buying frequency from existing
customers, and build stronger business relationships
with suppliers and your core business team. Follow-up is
especially important with your existing customer base,
as the real work begins after the sale. It's easy to sell
one product or service, but it takes work to retain
customers and keep them coming back.