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Prizes and pitfalls: do you have what it takes to succeed in business?

Written by: Caroline Jones

Article Overview: Why are you entering into business? It’s worth examining your motives. The decision to ‘go it alone’ as opposed to starting or continuing to earn a living as someone else’s employee can be rooted in a number of emotions and circumstances.

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Prizes and pitfalls: do you have what it takes to succeed in business?

For many, the entrepreneurial driver
shows itself from an early age – for
example in school children who buy and
sell sweets at a profit or teenagers who
seek money-making opportunities in
car-washing or selling unwanted toys.

Such people often go straight into
business from leaving education, or try
out a few jobs before going it alone in
one way or another.

For others, the impetus is quite different.
A jaded outlook on employment is quite
common: redundancy, mid-life crisis, a
feeling of being trapped or becoming
weary of office politics or the daily
commute. These tend to be more
negative drivers. If you’re experiencing
these kinds of emotions as your reasons
for entering into self-employment it’s
important to turn them into positive
levers for a different lifestyle: convert
them into reasons to succeed, not
reasons to run away.

Whatever your motives for entering into
business, you will need certain
characteristics. These will vary in
relative importance depending on
whether you are working alone in a
freelancing capacity, or buying a
franchise with a partner, or setting up a
business which employs people – but
they will be imperative nonetheless.

A willingness to take risks is, of course,
the first characteristic which most
people identify. Buying a franchise – the
reason you’re visiting this site – can
reduce the risks involved. Yet you still
need to have the mindset and the
determination to push yourself -
sometimes beyond your comfort zone.

Is this you? Some typical personal characteristics of a
successful entrepreneur:

Vision
This is perhaps the most important factor of all. Without vision
– a picture of where you are going and what you want to do –
you will be unlikely to achieve anything worthwhile.

Self belief
If you don’t believe in yourself, no-one else is going to.
Successful entrepreneurs need a wholehearted and genuine
belief in the product or service they provide and the ability to
convince others.

Nerve
A little nervous energy is helpful, but the ability to cope
appropriately with stress is essential. It is rare for a business
to run smoothly from day one and if you’re prone to excessive
panic and sleepless nights, it will soon wear you down and
those around you.

Determination
You cannot give up easily if you are ultimately going to
succeed. Self-motivation is essential – as is the ability to
renew it time and time again.

Competitive
You may have a new or niche product, or serve a particular
geography, but if you’re successful you won’t be alone for
long. You need to have the will to fight when contenders take
you on.

Curious and adaptable
The business world moves fast – and to remain successful
you need to investigate emerging technologies, markets,
ideas … anything which does or could affect your business
operations or the way in which your customers view your
offering relative to that of your competitors. Burying your head
in the sand leaves you, literally, sightless.

Timely
A sense of timing is imperative in two ways: day-to-day time
management in order to achieve tasks but leave time for
thinking and planning; and urgency in when it comes to
making important decisions.

Willing to make sacrifices
Uncapped earnings and the ability to manage one’s own time
are often the most common reasons for going into business
rather than being employed – but it’s unlikely to land in your
lap. You may have to live frugally and put phenomenal hours
into your business, particularly in the early years.

Copyright FranchiseExpo 2006

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About the Author: Caroline Jones
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