Many people feel they should ‘aspire to something more’ than being an employee i.e. owning their own business.
Personally, I think business ownership is only the right environment for some people, and for many of those it is only the right environment at the right time.
There are many factors that contribute to a person’s success in business, but the following four personality types – or personal attributes – often seem to manifest themselves in successful business owners:
- Risk takers: Being a business owner is right for people who are prepared to take calculated risks, who are prepared to live outside the predictable, at least for a period of time.
- Strategic thinkers with an eye for detail: It’s right for people who are good at identifying and monitoring detail, but who are also good at having a broader, longer term, strategic perspective on what they’re doing. This attribute is really interesting because not many people are good at both of those things.
- Effective resource managers: Running a business is about resource management, whether it is capital, labour, materials, information, or intangible resources like relationships, networks and brands. So running a business is for people who are good at influencing and managing those things to deliver a planned or desired outcome. The best business people are conductors of an orchestra of resources, not the trumpet players.
- Leaders: Running a business is right for people who are leaders. These people can identify a direction, an aim or goal, and put the flesh around those plans in order to convince people – staff, customers, suppliers, bankers, funders, regulatory authorities – to follow them on a journey and value the product they’re delivering.
For an obligation-free, confidential discussion on whether owning a business is right for you, and the things to consider when making that decision, please contact the business advisory team at JPAbusiness on 02 6360 0360.
James Price has over 30 years' experience in providing strategic, commercial and financial advice to Australian and international business clients. James' blogs provide business advice for aspiring and current small to mid-sized business owners, operators and managers.