10 Habits of Successful Small Business Owners

Here is a summary of some key points to glean from this infographic…

1) Follow Your Gut.
If you want to find your passion in business, follow your gut paired with research. Understand that an entrepreneur must know exactly who they are. They must also know exactly what it is they want. Often, the most successful in the business world find their passion and stick with it. Passion should be tempered with timing, as well. Research, ask for the opinions of others, and jump when the time is right.

2) You Need a Power Team.
How can you make yourself more successful? Building a great team! One way you do this is by hiring people with fantastic skills. You are also building your extended team when you look for connections with others in other industries. Be sure to encourage greatness in your team. Build a culture that you can shape, influence, and that will propel your team and business to greatness.

3) Set a Standard.
Once you found the business that you are interested in, hired your team, and gotten started, it is time to define the key metric to your business. All energy and effort should be channeled into the most important area. Keep tabs on how successful your metric is. Change it as the business evolves and needs evolve.

4) Win the Hearts of Investors.
Investors are everything! Well, they are when you are running a business. Be sure that you have a few different working budgets planned for your business. In this way, if you do not have the money but have to keep doing business, you can. Try to get money from those outside your social circle, if possible. If not, be sure to let them know that they are probably not going to get rich quick.

5) Give Trust.
If you are going to be successful in your business, understand others. This means that you should understand what investors want. You should also understand what your employees want to spur them on to do better. Be understanding toward those that you partner with, as well. If you do this, you will be trusted and respected. Listen to your customers, as well. This, too, will get you far. Another aspect of being human is not being afraid to make mistakes. When you experiment, understand that you will make mistakes. Then, be sure to learn from these mistakes. Rethink as you learn. Always be reevaluating your stance, your plans, and your business. Keep what is working for you, but get rid of everything else.