It’s hardly a picnic to launch a new company. Some thrive, while others fail and eventually close up shop. The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics reports that of every 100 enterprises that opened their doors in March 2020, 18 died the following year.
The fate of your company is dependent on some variables. Some, like the state of the economy, are beyond your control. However, additional factors, such as your personality, significantly impact your company’s success.
When Does a Small Business Become Successful?
There is no universal agreement on what constitutes a “successful” company. Various shopkeepers may have contrasting reactions to this. However, the following elements were the most important in a 2018 research on how stakeholders like customers and banks evaluate a small business’s success.
Consider:
• How well your company is doing financially
• How quickly it is expanding
• How satisfied your customers and staff are
• Whether or not your company has a good image in the neighbourhood.
The business owner heavily influences these factors, and it’s not uncommon to find commonalities among different business owners.
Adaptability
The ability to change and grow is essential while facing new difficulties daily. Do you insist on using old-fashioned methods, such as paper and fax machines, even when everything else has shifted to digital formats? Can you quickly let go of tried-and-true business methods in favour of the direction in which the world is heading? Entrepreneurs exhibiting this quality may succeed tremendously, particularly in the long run.
Psychological Toughness
It’s one thing to be upbeat and flexible enough to take life as it comes, but it takes another set of skills to keep going when the going gets tough emotionally. You can feel bad about yourself, for example, if you have to leave a family gathering to be at the store to receive a large shipment of merchandise. But you can only earn a profit for your company with that item.
Control Over One’s Work Environment
This concept, first proposed by psychologist Julian Rotter in 1954, addresses the extent to which an individual feels in charge of their immediate surroundings.4 Individuals who feel they can influence their destinies are more likely to succeed professionally. But if you attribute your firm’s success to external factors rather than your efforts, you may be disappointed with the results.
Integrity at Work
A strong work ethic is more important than any other qualities listed above if you want to run a successful lemonade stand on the street. Most storefront and online entrepreneurs aim to expand their operations and increase revenue at the expense of sleep and leisure time.
Qualities that Help Entrepreneurs Succeed
The success or failure of your business also hinges on how you handle day-to-day operations.
Creativity
Apart from machine learning, our ability to improvise novel combinations of approaches to solving problems is what sets humans apart from machines. The capacity to think creatively is a crucial adaptation component since it allows you to devise and adopt novel strategies to get past previously unanticipated roadblocks.
Self-Discipline
While many would want to believe they can take on the challenges of business ownership, the reality is that only some are. Successful business owners can set and adhere to personal standards.
Personality Traits of Profitable Entrepreneurs
Although “extroversion” is often cited as a characteristic of prosperous business entrepreneurs, it is not necessary to achieve success. The key to success for introverted business owners is learning what sets extroverts apart and honing those skills.
Networking
As the adage goes, it’s not what you know but who you know. Customers are the lifeblood of any business, but attracting them can only be possible with a solid network.
Being able to network formally and informally, online and in person, will serve you well.
Negotiation
While some companies prefer consistent pricing and offerings, others thrive on more adaptable conditions. Pawnbrokers, in contrast to bakers, rely heavily on their negotiation skills. However, if you’re a small business owner, you’ll benefit from your ability to negotiate deals regularly.
Leadership
You’ll need to lead a crew unless you’re piloting a one-person show. Learning the strengths of your team members, how to encourage them, and what to do if they underperform are all things that require time and experience to master as a leader.
In addition, as business owners, you’ll need to be flexible enough to adapt to new situations by adopting new leadership methods. For example, your company will only last for a while if you continue to micromanage your 500-person staff like you did when you only had five.
