Winning in Small Business is as hard as running a race in the Olympics, actually I think harder, but the interesting fact is that the traits to succeed in small business are the same ones athletes use to succeed in any sport. Essentially the ten traits small business owners must have to succeed are the same ones we all must have if we ever think that we will achieve something in our lives.
Trait 1: Know Your Purpose
The first trait all small business owners must have is to know their purpose. First and foremost what is it that you want? What is it that youu want to achieve? Once you know what your purpose is then this will be the force and motive behind you taking this journey.
Trait 2: Have a Desire to Succeed
How many people do you know want to win Lotto? Probably a lot ? Did you know that most people who win the lotto actually spend every cent of it in the first 12 months? Why, because they have not got a desire to use this money to succeed. To be truly successful you must have the desire to want it so bad that you will do anything to achieve your objectives
Trait 3: Have Faith That You Can Achieve What You Want
Just like an athlete, you must have faith that you can and will achieve your objective. If you do not have faith that you can achieve success in your business, then you will simply give up when the things get tough and let me assure you as a 10 year veteran in small business, things at some point will get tough and you will skate along the edges of losing everything. You may even fall over the cliff, but you have to have faith to climb up the cliff and continue on your journey.
Trait 4: Have a Clear Plan
Without a plan, you will simply be like a lost animal in the wilderness. Let me ask you this,do you go on holidays without a plan of what you want to do and where you want to go? Absolutely not, because you would simply be lost and would probably see and do nothing. It amazes me though how many small business owners plan their holidays more rigorously than they plan their small business. Remember the old clich?, "If You Fail to Plan, You Plan To Fail"
Trait 5: Have the Knowledge
If you do not have the knowledge to enact your plans, then you are in trouble before you begin. You must have the knowledge that the plan you are implementing will in fact give you the desired results. If you do not know that, then how can you move forward.
Trait 6: Be Prepared To Co-Operate
Small business is not like any other business you can enter into. In small business you simply do not have the resources or the money to hire a plethora of staff or advisors so it is essential that you learn to co-operate with others to help you in your desire to succeed. You will need to co-operate with other small business owners, your clients, your friends and family and also your band of mastermind business advisers in your path to success.
Trait 7: Have the Will Power To Go On
Without will power you cannot succeed in small business because you are the boss and there is no driving factor behind you. If you do not have the will-power to keep going even in the midst of adversity then your business is doomed because the bottom line is this, small business is tough. Things do go wrong and when you get knocked down, you have to pick yourself up and keep going. You have to keep going to the office each day, even if all seems lost.
One of the books I consider my bible to success is called Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. In the first chapter he tells the story in his first secret of 13 in the path to success about an uncle called RU Darby who went west to Colorado to dig for Gold. After investing a lot of money, his gold mine was up and running. After a period of time the gold was no longer found in the mine and after lots of drilling he simply gave up. In the end he sold the equipment for the mine to a Junk Man. The Junk Man being a shrewd operator hired an engineer to find the gold and in the end it turns out that RU Darby was just 3 FEET Short from where one of the largest gold deposits could be found in Colorado. In fact that mine is one of the richest mines in Colorado.
What this illustrates though is that you must never give up, because you could be just 3 FEET from success.
Trait 8: Be Habitual In All You Need To Do
Getting into a habit of doing your daily tasks every single day is one of the most important aspects of success and is the basis of the tenth trait, persistence. When people get out of the habit of doing certain things that is when small business goes wrong, like getting the books done weekly, answering the phone within three rings, getting quotes out within 24 hours of a request, these are all habits you must stick to and being habitual will lead you to success.
Trait 9: Maintain the Quality
Maintaining the quality of your business is paramount. Quality covers every aspect of your business from the way you answer the phone to the way you present your products and services to your clients. If you do not maintain the quality in your business then there is know way that your customers and staff will stay with you.
Trait 10: Be 100% Persistent
In Trait 7 I talked about how RU Darby was just 3 FEET from successfully finding one of the largest Gold Deposits in Colorado but simply was not persistent enough to continue on.
All of the ten traits lead to one thing, being persistent and fighting on even when success is only a small spark of light a million miles away. You will be surprised how quickly success will sneak up on you when you stick with your game plan and maintain your persistence.
Let me take a few moments to simply refresh your mind of the ten traits all small business owners must have to succeed:
1.Know Your Purpose 2.Have a Desire To Succeed 3.Have Faith that you can achieve what you want 4.Have a Clear Plan 5.Have the Knowledge 6.Be Prepared to Co-operate 7.Have the Will-Power to Go On 8.Be habitual in all you need to do 9.Maintain the Quality 10.Be 100% Persistent
You should never have one product, one supplier, one main client or one marketing method. If you have one product, how do you think it will be before the demand for that product starts to wane? How long before a competitor finds a way to offer this product at a lower price and starts taking away your business? If you have one supplier, how long before they go out of business? Or maybe they decide to change their terms of business and start to demand payment up front from you or minimum quantities in order to maintain your level of pricing? If you have one client that accounts for more than 50% of your business, how long before they decide to try one of your competitors? Or maybe they go out of business? Or maybe the contact person that you built a relationship with retires or moves on and a new person is in their role? If you have one marketing method, how long before this method stops pulling in the business that you rely on? Or maybe some new regulation makes it harder or more expensive for you to get the leads that you need? You get the idea.
You must think about this often. Too many times, you can be so consumed with running your business that you don't realise that you need to have options and backups everywhere. How can you avoid this number one?
Communicate with other business owners, especially those in related but non competitive fields to your own. You can set up joint ventures with them or just have brain storming sessions for new ideas for your businesses. This is so important because it also helps you realise that you're not the only business facing certain challenges.
Test as many marketing methods that you possibly can. Not every method works for every business but you will only be sure if you test it. Try direct mail, try telephone sales, try networking, try pay per click advertising, try leaflet drops and even try radio advertising. Test it all and be brutal. If it isn't working, stop it! If the magazine ad is not generating enough leads, pull it. Test but don't test your business into bankruptcy.
Treat your current clients like gold. You have found them and now you don't want anyone to steal them. Let them know that they are important to you by staying in touch all year long and giving them extras such as faster or free deliveries, discounts or whatever applies to your market. Don't just sell and move on. You have heard a million times that it is easier to sell to an existing customer than to a new one. Make that a million and one times now!
Always have backup suppliers. This can be difficult in some markets but if you have more than one product or service that you offer your clients, then you won't be stuck with only one supplier.
Both Chris Le Roy & Tara Roitman are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris Le Roy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Asthma and Asthma. If you would like the opportunity to read the book by Napoleon Hill simply visit our website where you can download the book and audio readi. Chris Le Roy's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
Tara Roitman has sinced written about articles on various topics from Software, Advertising Guide and Small Business. Tara Roitman is the marketing manager for Media Heaven Ltd - full service experts in ,. Tara Roitman's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.