Audrey Seymour MA PCC CPCC Business Fulfillment Coach  
   

Entrepreneur Success Factors

By Audrey Seymour

There are many personal qualities needed to start and maintain a successful business. However, it is not required that all be met by a single individual. The following exercise will help you assess some of your own strengths and weaknesses, so that you can see where collaboration or further professional development work might be appropriate.

What do you notice as you reflect on the following list?

1. Vision - ability to see and articulate the long term picture.

2. Passion - choosing a business that inspires you so that it will bring out the best in you -- and so that you will inspire others to do business with you.

3. Service orientation and relationship skills - valuing quality customer service and business relationships that bring in repeat business and referrals.

4. Initiative - ability to motivate yourself and work independently.

5. Focus - keeping your eyes on your vision and priorities in the midst of risk, stress and distractions.

6. Persistence - staying committed to the course without immediate or constant reward.

7. Adaptability - changing course as needed under changing circumstances.

8. Time management skills - knowing what to focus on in the absence of external supervision.

9. Strategic and tactical thinking - managing daily operations and planning for growth while delivering your service or product.

10. Financial resilience - capacity to ride out the inevitable ups and downs while building your business.

Cut and paste that list of qualities onto a worksheet, and reflect on your level of confidence and strength in each area. You may want to add a few other entrepreneurial qualities that come to mind. Choose a measurement system that works for you, such as plus/minus or a scale of 1-5.

What patterns do you see? What strengths could you be taking advantage of more often? What are the weaker areas where you need support or training? For example, if multitasking is not your strong point and you dislike tracking details, consider hiring an assistant. If you're not a strategic thinker and just want to focus on serving clients, find a partner who loves planning for the long term.

By sharpening your skills and building your team, you can have the freedom of an entrepreneur with the richness of community. To your success!

© 2005-2007 Audrey Seymour. All rights reserved.

Home | Services | Client Results | Articles | About Audrey | Resources | Contact


© Copyright 2003-2008 Audrey Seymour. All Rights Reserved.
Site Design by Big Blue Design

 

Articles

Resources

About Audrey

Contact