Photo (CC) by Victor Bjorklund, on Flickr
It’s time to start that business you have always wanted.
Why are you hesitating? Are you nervous that you don’t have the skills necessary?
Some of the skills the small-business owner needs are:
- Passion, perseverance and persistence: Call it what you want, but you need to keep going when things look bleak. Some might say you are just being stubborn, but that is often what small-business owners are about.
- Empathy: You need to understand what people want and then provide that service or product. When you discuss your business with others, you need to do so in terms of the benefits to them and not just the features of what you have to sell.
- Fairness: Successful small-business owners are known for how they treat customers, vendors and employees. They also are noted for what they give to their communities.
- Willingness to work hard: Starting and operating a business is work. The statement “build it and they will come” is not reality. Success in business is the same as success in anything one does; it requires lots of work.
- Vision: Not only must the small-business owner focus on the present, but he or she must see what tomorrow might be.
And what if you don’t have these skills. That’s okay, you can develop them.
But you may ask, what about business skills and accounting skills and marketing skills?
Well, you can learn those skills.
Maybe your final argument is that you are not like other business owners.
They come in all shapes and sizes, from a variety of backgrounds and have held a variety of jobs before getting to this point.
So, no excuses. It may take little time to get ready so start today.
- About the Author
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Glenn Muske is an independent expert on rural small business, working as GM Consulting – Your partner in achieving small business success. He provides consulting, and writes articles for county extension agents and newspapers across North Dakota. Previously, he was the Rural and Agribusiness Enterprise Development Specialist at the North Dakota State University Extension Service – Center for Community Vitality.
