For Small Business Owners & the Self-Employed

Insider Secret:

Success & The Leadership Factor

The more leadership ability you possess, the higher your potential for success.

by Alex Goumakos, CPA

Note: The following is adapted from Chapter 7 of Gold Mine Tactics: The Business Owner's Success Manual.

If you want to survive in business, there’s no doubt that you need to be an effective manager. But if you want to grow and become highly successful, you need to be an effective leader. In fact, it’s been proven time and time again that the more leadership ability you have, the higher your success potential.

What’s the difference between management and leadership? Management is all about turning goals into results. It’s about planning, taking action and gathering feedback. On the other hand, leadership is the ability to influence and persuade others.

If you want your business to be a gold mine, you must be able to influence those around you. For example, you need to influence prospective customers and convince them why they should buy from you and not one of your competitors. You need to influence employees and keep them excited, motivated and productive. You need to influence partners, vendors and professionals and show them why they should help you. You even need to influence or convince banks and lenders to loan you money. Clearly, the ability to influence is a vital ingredient for success in business.

Leadership is the fuel that feeds success. And influence is the key to leadership. If you aren’t a natural leader, don’t worry. Leadership, like management, is something that you can easily learn. It’s not difficult. In fact, a lot of it is in knowing how to effectively deal with others.

It's No Accident Why We Follow Leaders

It’s human nature for people to follow leaders. People naturally tend to follow or align themselves with others who are stronger, more skilled or gifted than themselves. Many times they follow leaders without even realizing it. Even leaders follow other leaders who are stronger, tougher and more capable than themselves. This suggests that most people are willing to be led by others who can impart advanced knowledge, skill, wisdom or support. As a businessperson you should harness this power to lead people.

If you want your business to grow beyond all of your expectations, focus on being a leader. In order to reach your true leadership potential you need to develop or acquire the traits, characteristics and winning ways of leaders. What are they?

Think about people who you respect and like to do business with. Chances are, they’re successful leaders because they’re able to influence you in a positive way to either follow their cause or to buy from them. Think about the traits and characteristics that make these people attractive.

Ask yourself why you like doing business with them. Are they honest, trustworthy or reliable? Do they feel strongly about certain things? Are they competent, informed and professional? Chances are that you’ll answer these questions in a positive way.

The fact is all leaders, whether they’re in business or elsewhere, share the same basic traits and characteristics. The great news is that anyone from any background can learn and implement theses same characteristics and traits.

In Gold Mine Tactics: The Business Owner's Success Manual I devote an entire chapter to Success and the Leadership Factor. In it, I describe in detail the skills and traits required to be an effective business owner and leader.  I show the exact winning ways, traits and characteristics of gold mine business owners.

In addition, I show how to supercharge your influence through mastery of communication skills. One of the most important skills a leader can have is the ability to communicate well. Most highly successful 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. In Gold Mine Tactics, I'll show you tactics and strategies to help you hone and maximize your communication and persuasion skills

Sure success is all about revenues, profits, returns on investment and building wealth, but it's about YOU and leadership FIRST.