Tony Elemelu once said, “Let’s dream big but realise that hard work, resilience, discipline, staying focused, and making short-term sacrifices are the components of success.” In other words, successful business owners have developed certain habits that help them turn ideas into successful, large, and enduring businesses. The good news is that these traits can be learnt.
Below are seven traits of incredibly successful business owners, and the steps you can take to emulate them:
- Visionaries:
Successful business owners think big and are interested in solving problems for thousands, if not millions, of people. They have a road map of where they want their business to be in the next five, ten or 20 years.
They set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) goals that are challenging but achievable.
Successful business owners picture the future in their mind, and feature to turn their picture into fruition. Successful business owners constantly share their vision with their team members. They have can-do attitude and impossibility does not exist in their dictionary.
Think big. Set SMART goals. Add most value to most people. Have a clear road map. Communicate your vision to your team. Work hard every day to turn your vision into reality.
2. Lifetime learners:
Highly successful entrepreneurs and business owners or managers have growth mindset. They are open to new information, new insights, and new ideas that will help them to make informed business decisions and choices, so that they can fast-track their success in their entrepreneurial journey. Therefore, they keep finding ways to improve themselves and their team members. Successful business owners study books, attend seminars, work with a coach, learn from mentors, and ACT on their learning.
To become one of these successful business owners, you must keep learning and improving on a daily basis. You must subscribe to CANI (Continuous And Never-ending Improvement) in who you are and what you can be.
Invest in your growth on a daily basis; develop the habit of learning daily. Study books. Subscribe to relevant business journals. Listen to audio messages in your car. Attend online classes. Schedule seminars for yourself.
Always look out for opportunities to improve your KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Attitude). Set aside budget for your personal and professional development. Most importantly, take action on your learning. ACTION is the bridge between where you are and where you want to be.
3. Hunter for human excellence:
Building a very successful business requires you to work with the best people you can find. As a human capital development professional, I strongly believe that the greatest asset of a business is the people.
Smart business leaders, like Jeff Bezos, Strive Masiyiwa and Aliko Dangote, have reiterated this truth again and again. They hire the best people to work with them and reward them handsomely. Sincerely, what makes you a successful business owner is to have competent hands that can handle your business successfully without your presence.
Your recruitment process must be thorough. Hire the best hands to work for you. Have a robust compensation plan. Have plans for learning and development. Reward performance. Celebrate excellence and results. Build a strong HR. Develop an organizational culture that will help great talents to flourish and excel.
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ACTION PLAN: Identify one of the above habits you can master that will give you a special advantage as a business leader. Take action to start developing this capacity.
AFFIRMATION: I am open to developing the habits of successful business leaders. I am blessed and highly favoured.
Sesan Kareem is the founder/CEO of HubCare Health, www.hubcarehealth.com, and the principal consultant of Sesan Kareem Institute, www.sesankareem.com.ng
