What Does it Take to Successfully Launch a Business?

We all know a few 'born entrepreneurs' - those special individuals who are always bubbling with energy and ideas. People who have a knack for getting others to jump on board and support them. What makes a truly great leader? What personality traits and habits are critical to successful entrepreneurs? What does it take to successfully launch a new business venture?

1. First and foremost, truly great leaders know their destiny. If you plan to be a successful entrepreneur, you must discover the deeper values that justify why you do what you do, and explore the contribution your new business can bring to the world.

2. All great entrepreneurs are confident, influential people. Don’t misunderstand – by influential I don’t mean extroverted or wealthy! You must be innovative, passionate and dedicated to your goals in order to succeed in promoting your business.

3. Successful leaders must have a sense of humor and a high tolerance for frustration. As Winston Churchill said, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.” Never be as high as your latest accomplishment or as low as your last disappointment.

4. Effective business owners and managers develop an intimate understanding of their customers and the value that they expect. The depth of your customer insight will ultimately determine the level of success you experience in the marketplace.

5. Brilliant entrepreneurs understand the importance of excellence! Countless studies have shown that the quality of your products or services will have the single greatest impact on your bottom line and your competitive advantage.

6. Great leaders surround themselves with great people and let them do their job. Many entrepreneurs view their businesses as their babies, and they try to micro-manage everyone around them. The right people will naturally move your company in the right direction, so find those people and get out of their way!

7. Successful business owners excel at the fundamentals. Most small businesses will ultimately fail because the owners are not excellent managers and administrators. Dedicate yourself to running your business well, and never lose your focus on achieving tangible results.

8. Leaders who reach the top of their game are always ‘money savvy’. In order to profit from your hard work, you must constantly monitor the financial health of your company and ensure that you are spending money wisely. Without adequate capital and the ability to manage it well, you can never be successful.

9. Great entrepreneurs trust their own instincts. You must be willing to accept calculated risks and take action based on your gut feelings.

10. Entrepreneurs who are poised to succeed are able to look beyond themselves and appreciate a sense of community. The most successful business owners strive to become local heroes and philanthropists, and create a culture of giving within their companies. By looking beyond the process of building your own business, you will reap rewards far greater than simple monetary gain.

If you are beginning the process of launching a new venture, take the time to look inside yourself and acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. Work on building the behavior patterns, thought processes and habits that have been proven to achieve results and drive new companies to success. Most of all, believe in yourself and the strength of your ideas and you will be able to translate that strength to those around you and make your dreams a reality.

Gratitude

At some point in the past year my dear friend Cynthia Morris, owner of Original Impulse, (check them out at www.originalimpulse.com!) gave me a little laminated card about gratitude. With Thanksgiving coming up I pulled it out recently and stuck it on my bulletin board. Here is the gem of wisdom it shares:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Melody Beattie

What a powerful message for each of us! It's so easy in America to get caught up in the rush of spending, parties, work and trips during the holidays and forget to be thankful for all we have. It's also easy to forget how blessed each of us is in light of the rest of the world. The poorest families in the US are wealthy by the standards of the third world.

Often our mental and spiritual state depends not so much on external circumstances, but on how we view them. So, with Thanksgiving on the way, let us all remember to show gratitude for all the wonderful things that make our lives rich and full.

Love...
Friends...
Family...
Material possessions...
Talents...
Dreams...
Work for our Hands...
Faith...
Hope...

Take a moment this morning to run through the list of things you have to be grateful for. It will make your entire day look brighter - I promise!

Wishing you an amazing Thanksgiving filled with gratitude, love and light,

Trish

Working with Different Personalities

As part of a presentation I'm doing next week, I've been re-acquainting myself with the four personality types of the DiSC profile. It's been a while since I've taken an in-depth look at core personality traits, and the exercise has been a stark reminder of how different we all are and how tough it can be to relate to someone with an opposing style.

A huge challenge in my business is helping people maximize their effectiveness and get things done by putting aside their differences and working together. Unique communication styles and personalities can definitely make that process a challenge. I thought that for today's blog I would lay out the four primary personality types and remind everyone of the value that each style brings to the workplace. Sometimes, even if someone is incredibly annoying, it helps to understand that they have special strengths and positive contributions to make as well.

D - Dominance
D's are committed to shaping their environment by overcoming obstacles. They are direct, and are usually risk-takers who are decisive and like positions of authority.

i - Influence
I's are fun-loving and people-oriented. They are good communicators and come across as enthusiastic, charming, persuasive and free.

S - Steadiness
S's are patient, easy-going and like stability. They are empathetic listeners and can often be very accommodating and passive, but they don't like change and conflict.

C - Conscientiousness
C's are analytical, detailed and performance-oriented. They are often perfectionists and need a lot of information to make a decision.

On their face, all of the types seem to have some good traits, but let's take a closer look at what happens with these personalities in the workplace:

D's come across as very pushy, blunt and stubborn. They want to GET THINGS DONE!

i's come across as disorganized, gossipy and unfocused. They want to SOCIALIZE!

S's come across as indecisive pushovers. The just want to GET ALONG!

C's come across as overly sensitive and anal. They just want to GET IT RIGHT!

So, as you can see, we have some problems. But, in spite of each type's annoying tendencies, they all bring certain needed strengths to a team. Working with respect and balance, a team that has all four types represented will get a lot done. Here are the good points about each type. Remember them! Everyone has good points. :)

D's: Not a lot would get done in this world without D's. Although they can come off as aggressive and demanding, they take on challenges, drive change and keep everyone focused on results.

i's: i's are inspiring. They bring fun and emotion to the workplace. Their positive energy and ability to involve everyone in a project can be critical for success.

S's: S's are the peacemakers. They help people trust each other and relate to each other. Their team mentality and calming influence are often the glue that holds a temperamental group together.

C's: Somebody has to look at the details and the C's will do it. They will make teams look at all the data and examine all their options before diving into a big task. Their intuition and control keep standards high for everyone.

Next time a co-worker is making you crazy, try to think about who they really are and what they bring to the table. Often, the very things that are bugging you are some of the traits that make them valuable in their own way. So take it easy on each other!

Trish