Six Qualities of a Successful Small Business Owner

Do you have what it takes?

I have been in business for my self for most of my adult life.  When I founded Smallbusinessgrow.com,

a sales and marketing company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs bring their small business ideas to fruition, I began to mentor and coach lots of small business owners and, as I sat in their offices, I began to observe some similarities among those who were successful.

Many of the successful entrepreneurs I have met share at least three of these five qualities:

1. A Passion for their product or service.
   Being an small business owner demands long hours and dedication, even more than most higher paying jobs do. If you're not excited about your product or service, then your clients won’t be either.  Passion will sustain you through the financial highs and lows that will inevitably occur. If you find something you love enough to want to share it with others, that love will fuel you and give you the drive to succeed.
2. Willing to take advice.The most successful entrepreneurs I know never forget how much they can learn from others. They are flexible and teachable. They soak up the advice from business owners around them, then adapt that advice to their own company.  Most belong to one or more business networking groups where they meet other small business owners and share referrals.
3. Become an expert in their field. As a small business owner it is to your advantage to gain as much knowledge as you can in your industry. When you spend years in the same industry, you learn its history. Knowing what's been done before can help you identify how it will change in the future. By building a network of relationships that trust your expertise you are securing a team of loyal people you can draw from in the future.
4. Thinking about the next step. Successful entrepreneurs are always thinking about where they are headed next. They have a clearly established set of goals but are flexible on how to reach those goals. Your strategies may be constantly changing, but as long as you know where you are going, if you are flexible, chances are you will get there in a faster and more efficient way. 
5. Idea factory. Having one small business that is doing well is great, but the successful entrepreneurs I know don't put all their efforts into one project. Instead, they're constantly asking themselves, "What else can I do?" They understand that being a successful entrepreneur is a lifestyle, not a final destination.  Be creative and consider how you can use your existing customer base to generate more revenue for your business.  Perhaps starting a second business that can cater to another need your customers have, but have been paying someone else to do.  Always be on the look out for revenue generating ideas and opportunities and you will become a more successful small business owner.
6. Stong moral center. The most successful Small Business owners that I know are those who have a strong moral center that is founded on the Bible.  They have integrity that comes from their committment to the truth and to providing an honest product or service to their customers. They have thier priorities in order, their first priority is their relationship with God, next their family, third their friends, business and costomers.  They are people others come to depend upon and trust.  This is the foundation of the successful entrepreneurs that I know.

I hope you have seen some of these qualities in yourself and will strive to grow in these areas as an entrepreneur, for a Free Small Business Consultation contact Skip at www.smallbusinessgrow.com