Only 3% are Leaders – Are You a Leader?

Many individuals dream of starting their business and a large percentage of them actually manage to take the plunge. However, only a very small percentage of entrepreneurs manage to become successful business leaders.

Characteristics of Successful Business Leaders

Understanding what separates good leaders from the truly great ones is the first step towards managing a home business successfully. Some important traits of a successful businessperson are:

• Mindset: Working for yourself is a challenging task and requires one to be self-motivated and self-disciplined. A successful leader is able to break the 'employee' mindset, which is programmed to work 9 to 5. S/he does not hesitate to put in long hours and always seeks excellence.

• Goal-oriented or visionary: Successful business leaders have a clear vision about where their businesses will head. This forward thinking trait of leaders enables them to channel their efforts in the right direction and reduce wastage of efforts and resources. Successful leaders not only establish long-term goals, but set crystal clear daily targets for themselves.

• Time managers: Successful leaders do not shirk from uninteresting (but necessary) tasks. Rather, they prioritize and start their day by completing such tasks, enabling them to focus on other tasks without any distractions or anxiety. Moreover, great home based business leaders set up firm work schedule for themselves. They hold themselves accountable, as they realize that there is no one else to hold them responsible if they fail to meet the deadlines.

• Limit distractions: An important drawback of home based business is its vulnerability to distractions. Successful home based business leaders set up clear ground rules for themselves and their family members to ensure that their work is not compromised. Further, they ensure that their work area is neatly organized so that they can focus on the tasks at hand more easily.

In addition, a successful businessperson learns continuously. Leaders not only practice continual learning, but personal development as well. They achieve these through various means, such as leadership books and personal growth and development workshops. Besides, they work on their personal health by incorporating exercise in their daily schedule. This enables them to increase their energy levels, which subsequently leads to higher productivity and results.

Running a Home Based Business Successfully

If you wish to start your own home based business and aspire to stay in the '3% leaders' category, consider the following guidelines:

• Research your market: Do not try to force your offering in an unwilling market. First research your projected market and then evaluate the feasibility of your offering. You might also have to repackage your product/service to fit the market.
• Keep growing: A business is destined for failure if people are unaware of it. Therefore, establish a sound marketing plan and revise it periodically to expand the customer base.
• Develop a contingency plan: Most businesses go through rough patches. Although they are usually sudden, often there are various warning signs. Learn to recognize such indications. Also, develop a contingency plan to ensure that your business keeps running with the minimal loss of time, effort and resources.