What traits have I noticed in “good” business owners, I don’t mean guys that have inherited their businesses or are just one-trick ponies. There is a lot of confusion going on when laymen look for successful business owners to learn from.
Some business owners have landed inside their parent’s company, some got lucky with the right staff member, some got lucky with the location, some got lucky with the timing of the market, this is all fine but it doesn’t mean they should instantly be looked up to and learnt from.
I have seen many people looking up to bad business owners, I have seen people listening to peoples advice just because they are rich or well known. When I watched dragons den, I learnt that they selected people that were successful multiple times, there was no chance or accident.
This doesn’t mean that people that got in the situations above are bad business owners, it just means we should be aware of what really happened.
Yesterday I wrote traits of bad business owners in Pattaya, so today I am going to write about good traits to look for.
- They are open-minded, they act like a student when they are facing new challenges, but they can act confident to the right people at the same time.
- They adapt, change, move forward, test things out, innovate (they do not have “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it attitude”) Its key to keep moving with the times, and not sit there complaining that the world changes, so many people say stuff like “I’m a fish seller, that’s all I do” or “I’m a carpenter, not a businessman” Identifying yourself like that and limiting your opportunities is common. We have to move with the market, I have changed how people identify me as countless times.
- They understand people, they enjoy psychology or they understand that they don’t understand enough, so they can employ someone that does
- They have tons of self-awareness, which is needed to know your good and bad points and let others work around you.
- They can disengage their egos, the company comes before our egos, we give examples and show staff how we took one for the team several times. Maybe some things we do are egos only? Some people don’t want to sell a particular product or service because of their egos.
- They try to pay staff around them generously and help them learn and rise (that’s how real wealth is created) Paying your staff right makes them faithful for a long time, this saves a lot of money retraining people, they often become more valuable to the company, especially with deep insight, understanding and even more if they have made relationships with customers.
- They learn every day, learning has become a habit, need to know about branding, read 5 books on it, need to know where to advertise? read 5 books, test places, speak to business owners, look where your competitors advertise or don’t advertise!
- They grow and grow. I find it better to build a bunch of related businesses to dominate a certain area or industry. All of my projects are related and help each other. I strongly believe, if you are growing you are working much harder, become more target orientated and stronger. I see many businesses that become stagnant and start failing. Growing a business keeps everyone engaged, hopeful and interested.
- They create leaders. True entrepreneurs find good staff and build businesses around them which suits their skillset, then teach them to manage and lead the business.
They advertise, tell their story, brand their service and products. They try many marketing strategies and branding.
