As an owner of a small business you are the key person for your success. It is important to understand traits both personal and business that an owner must have to succeed. And, if some traits are missing, learn how to fill the void. The below lists should help.

Personal Traits

Passion for the business
Appetite for risk
Focused
Self Driven
Motivated
Decision Maker
Leader
Innovative
Work oriented
Time sensitive
Organized
Ethical
Caring

Business Traits

Management skills
Organizational skills
Basic finance
Competitive
Educated
Emotional stamina
Physical stamina
Basic Marketing
Decision maker
Rounded
Leader

It’s important to fully understand your personality and business traits. Only by knowing where the limitations exist can they be filled. The place to start is defining your personality through some tests and a good place to go is www.humanmetrics.com. Or go to the internet and type in free personality test to obtain more options. Have fun but the goal is to identify voids, what lacks and needs filled to be a rounded leader.

No one can have everything needed to run a successful small business. No one has all the traits listed above but through organizations, the owner can find the help. The partial list below will get you started. Build a network of people to fill your voids and get educated.

Join trade organizations and network
Hire experts when needed
Get a mentor from SCORE
Go to chamber lunches and events
Get involved in your community to network
Poll your friends for specific business needs
Network, network, network

It is the responsibility of the small business owner to recognize their shortcomings and fill them.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Judy_Haar

Who should I listen to when I am starting my home business? The best voice is your gut instinct. The gut instinct has been extensively analyzed but the results have not been satisfactory. Instead we have egotistical so called business men that attempt to justify their arrogance using gut instinct. In some ways this is a concept that has not place in modern business. It relies on fallible emotions and unquantifiable influences. That can be very worrying if the business decision is going to involve the movement of billions of dollars. That is why it is never advisable to listen to business models that are constructed by someone else.

Mr. Donald Trump can be very irritating. He has recently indicated that he could run for the office of President in the USA. Of course all that would do is to ensure that Sarah Palin or any Republican candidate loses. However the substantive point is that he has gut instinct. He knows that there is an opportunity to make money and will take it. A few months back there was a controversy with that failed beauty queen called Carrie Prejean. Apparently she expressed some homophobic sentiments. The political left came back at her and Mr. Trump valiantly defended her.

The cynics might argue that this is a ploy to keep conservatives on the Trump Empire. People with conservative leanings can sway the market if they put their money where their mouths are. Mr. Trump is an expert at self publicity and the ability to read the market. However not many people can get away with the things that he can get away with. If you decided to behave like him with your home business, then you will be called all the names under the sun. You will also probably go bankrupt.

Looking at that example it is quite clear that gut instinct is innate. You either have it or you don’t. That is why Mr. Trump was able to rebuild an empire from scratch. The business models that work for Bill Gates might never work for your business. You cannot afford to be experimental when you have poured your life savings into a business. That means that you will replace gut instinct with simple business models that do not open up unmitigated risks for you. Gut instinct is good to read about in business schools but is not really appropriate for your home business.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Osborne_R.

Many of us have at some time, have had an idea for a business.

The key factors in starting any business is the 4 P’s

Passion

Planning

Productivity

Performance

You can have the best of ideas, intensions and aspirations, if you do not have the 4P’s you are going to have trouble succeeding.

1. You have to have passion – The first and foremost key factor – that burning desire, that belief deep within you, it is in your thoughts present and future. This is your drive button.

2. Planning – another key factor. Planning involves all aspects of the business

Example: Business structure, legal requirement, financial requirements, marketing, products and services and the most important staff requirements.

The first thing you have to do is have a plan, how, when and why do you want your business to run efficiently and productively for success.

Structure

Draw up how you intend to structure the business i.e. individual, partnership or company these are all important to due taxation requirement s and personal requirements.

Financial

You need to see a third party (specialist) account, solicitor to gain expert legal advice prior to signing anything, how much capital is necessary, banking facilities, credit facilities, eftpos, what records and strategies are needed.

Contracts

Registered Business Name, ABN, ACN, OHS, BAS, PAYG,GST, Local Council permits, Look at the contract to see if any legal or other restraining factors could effect you i.e. lease, shopping centre guidelines, franchise agreements etc. Always get expert legal advice prior to signing any contract.

Marketing

Know your niche market, target your niche market, know your demographic area, look into local councils, be aware of competitors marketing, grow your own marketing plan for you business – networking, advertising, local groups, affiliates, online, business cards, promotions etc

Products and services

Know your product, are there any training facilities to train staff on products, quality, quantities, legal requirements on packaging and waste removal etc.

Customer service – building a rapport with your clients, educating your clients, marketing to your clients, feedback, quality assurance control.

Staff

These people are your front line people of your business, these people are the first thing your customer will see upon entering your business, so training and productivity skills are vital here.

These are just some basic formats to follow; correct planning from the beginning can save a lot of headaches later.

The statistics show that 1 in 3 businesses do not succeed after the first twelve months.

If you have passion, planning, productivity, and proven performance, training, staff, the correct marketing and good legal advice you’re off to a good start.

3. Productivity

I believe this is the most important part of any business, having systems in place from the beginning to implement, monitor, improve, analyse, and report are vital.

See ezine article 7 steps to staff productivity.

4. Performance

Having systems in place to monitor, improve, analyse and implement are vital to your staff, business and financial performance.

Research is showing that having a Coach in this specific Industry can attain you and your business an advantage, with all the new technologies and new business implementation strategies available this new innovative technique come in with high regards from many corporate companies as a huge advantage to starting any new business. What is coaching – it is new innovative technique to get the best possible positive outcome possible on a personal level and a business level, and guarantees your business starts off with the requirements needed to making it in today’s business world. (And gets started with a buzz rather than a boom).

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Day