For Small Business Owners & the Self-Employed

Insider Secret:

Five Personal Character Secrets of Gold Mine Business Owners

Successful business owners seem to share the same traits and attributes 

by Alex Goumakos, CPA

Having a successful business is absolutely not a random event or occurrence. It doesn’t matter if you generate five million dollars a year in sales or fifty thousand, you still need to follow key success strategies and tactics in order to grow and remain profitable.

The truth is that successful business owners of any size business do things differently. No question about it. As a result, these gold mine business owners get away with what I like to refer to as business murder! They charge higher prices, earn more money and profits, and do it all in less time than their less successful counterparts. They don’t just survive. They thrive!

Whether it's developing a new product, cracking an existing market or managing their employees, these in-the-know owners have a clear, competitive advantage. It's an edge that keeps them on top of the competition and ahead in the earnings department.

It should come as no surprise that these successful business owners all share the same personal character traits. The truth is, one of the quickest ways to become successful is to emulate successful people. By doing so, you will save untold days, weeks, months or even years of fruitless trial and error.

Gold mine business owners tend to share many of the same traits and attributes. These include the following:

1. They Set Standards - The first trait that all highly successful business owners and self employed individuals possess is the desire to set measurable standards for themselves and their business.  They set standards for nearly everything. For example, I don't know of one successful business owner who doesn't have a minimum amount of money they need to earn and a related amount they can afford to spend.  They have standards for sales, costs, tax liabilities, number of customers and so forth. Sadly, many business owners never set standards for anything and as a result they don't achieve the results they deserve. 
   
   

2. They consult with advisors on a regular basis - Show me a business owner who consults regularly with their business advisors and I'll show you a successful, money-making entrepreneur. There is no denying the correlation between seeking business advice and getting results. In my own CPA practice, the business owners who requested my services on a continual basis where much, much more successful than those who I saw once or twice a year.
   
   

3. They have great rapport with their customers - Most of the gold mine business owners I know have great rapport with their customers. From the moment you meet them, you feel warmth, compassion and a sense of belonging. You feel so good about dealing with them that you want to buy from them and tell others to do the same. One of the biggest mistakes people make when dealing with customers is that they neglect to deal with them on an individual basis. Customers are human beings. They have concerns, desires and needs just like you. Shower them with extra special attention and you will have more business than you can handle!
   
   

4. They're highly effective communicators - One of the most important skills a business owner can have is the ability to communicate well. Most gold mine business owners I know have mastered the art of communication. They’re able to communicate their ideas, desires and objectives to nearly everyone they come in contact with. The fact is, the better your ability to communicate, the better your chances of influencing others. Think about it. You must influence customers to buy from you, vendors to sell to you, employees to work for you and advisors to listen to you. Effective communication is the way to yield influence.
   
   

5. They're masters of their time - Most of the gold mine business owners I know see time as a valuable and finite resource. Instead of working more hours, they've learned to use the time they already have more efficiently and effectively. Being organized too helps keep them from wasting too much time. The biggest contributor to wasted time is focusing on low quality work. Successful business owners seem to have a knack for immersing themselves in high quality pursuits such as picking up new business or planning for their company's growth. While the average business owners worries about trivialities, the gold mine business owner delegates the work.

Of course, there are many more traits shared by gold mine business owners. If you start with these and make them a daily part of your life, you'll be on the right track to success.

In Gold Mine Tactics: The Business Owner's Success Manual, I discuss many more traits and attributes of highly successful business owners.

I also show the specific strategies and tactics they use to effectively manage their business operations and lead others such as employees, advisors and customers. To learn more, click here.