--- title: Should I buy or start my own business? [free checklist] description: 4 common attributes of successful business owners, plus an infographic with 5 first steps for buying or starting a business. image: https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/hubfs/1.%20Images/1.%20Stock%20Images/beautiful-colleagues-facial-expression-1430367.jpg --- 07 October 2025 # Should I buy or start my own business? [free checklist] WRITTEN BYJames Price | JPAbusiness ![beautiful-colleagues-facial-expression-1430367](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/1.%20Images/1.%20Stock%20Images/beautiful-colleagues-facial-expression-1430367.jpg?width=700&name=beautiful-colleagues-facial-expression-1430367.jpg) Many people feel they should ‘aspire to something more’ than being an employee i.e. owning their own business. As I've often said, **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**. In our ebook, [Pros and cons of owning your own business](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/pros-and-cons-of-owning-your-own-business-book), I told my own story of what it was like to start my business. Despite being highly motivated to create something of my own, and very confident that I 'knew my stuff', it was still **very challenging**, particularly in the first year. 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: 1. **Risk takers – **people who are prepared to take calculated risks, who are prepared to live outside the predictable, at least for a period of time. 2. **Strategic thinkers with an eye for detail – **people who can identify and monitor detail, while also having a broader, longer term, strategic perspective on what they’re doing. (Not many people are good at both of those things.) 3. **Effective resource managers – **people who are good at influencing and managing resources (e.g. capital, labour, materials, relationships, brands etc.) to deliver a planned outcome. 4. **Leaders –** people who can identify a goal and flesh-out a plan in order to convince others – staff, customers, suppliers, bankers, funders, regulatory authorities – to follow them and value the product they’re delivering. Download our [Business Owner's Checklist](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/business-owners-checklist-download) for more detail on the personal attributes we tend to see in successful business owners. ## 5 first steps for buying or starting a business If you believe you do indeed have the personal attributes needed to succeed in business, you can start thinking about which business is right for you. To help with this process we’ve created the infographic below as a series of **first steps **for those ready to buy or start a business. [![5 first steps to buying or starting your own business (1)](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/3.%20Infographics%20and%20cheat%20sheets/5%20first%20steps%20to%20buying%20or%20starting%20your%20own%20business%20(1).png?width=400&height=1000&name=5%20first%20steps%20to%20buying%20or%20starting%20your%20own%20business%20(1).png)](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/hubfs/3.%20Infographics%20and%20cheat%20sheets/5%20first%20steps%20to%20buying%20or%20starting%20your%20own%20business%20(1).pdf) We have created a number of free resources to help clients and readers navigate the business buying process: - [Business Buyer's Checklist](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/business-buyers-checklist-download-0-0) - [Buying a Business Planning Sheet](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/buying-a-business-planning-sheet-download) - [Buying a Franchise Planning Sheet](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/buying-a-franchise-planning-sheet-download) - [Pros and cons of owning your own business ebook](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/pros-and-cons-of-owning-your-own-business-book) - [Buying a small to mid-sized business ebook](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/buying-a-small-to-medium-sized-business-ebook) The JPAbusiness team can help with all aspects of buying a business, from finding the right business for you, through to detailed due diligence and purchase negotiations. [Contact](https://landing.jpabusiness.com.au/contactus) the team for a confidential, obligation-free discussion. ![Pros and cons of owning your own business cover 2022](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/hubfs/1.%20Images/Updated%20document%20cover%20images%202022/Pros%20and%20cons%20of%20owning%20your%20own%20business%20cover%202022.png) Free ebook Pros and cons of owning your own business This ebook will tell you: Positives and negatives of business ownership; The key personal attributes needed for success in your own business; Lessons learned from a start-up company; 5 first steps when buying or starting your own business. [Learn more ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/operator/pros-and-cons-of-owning-your-own-business-0) Share this Article Share this blog post on Twitter [mailto:?subject=Share%20this%20blog%20post&body=https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/should-i-buy-or-start-my-own-business-free-checklist](mailto:?subject=Share%20this%20blog%20post&body=https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/should-i-buy-or-start-my-own-business-free-checklist) Copied to clipboard Topics - [buying a business ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/topic/buying-a-business) - [infographic ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/topic/infographic) - [starting a business ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/topic/starting-a-business) - [checklist ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/topic/checklist) - [running a business ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/topic/running-a-business) - [start-up ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/topic/start-up) - [free template ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/topic/free-template) About James Price | JPAbusiness James Price has over 30 years’ experience in providing strategic, commercial and valuation 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. #### Related Blog Posts ### [Use the Buying a Business Planning Sheet to assess options [template]](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/use-the-buying-a-business-planning-sheet-to-assess-options-template) The JPAbusiness Buying a Business Planning Sheet is designed to help you work out whether a... [Read more ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/use-the-buying-a-business-planning-sheet-to-assess-options-template) ### [Our top due diligence tips for business buyers [cheat sheet]](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/our-top-due-diligence-tips-for-business-buyers-cheat-sheet) When buying a business, the due diligence process involves checking and verifying information... [Read more ](https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/our-top-due-diligence-tips-for-business-buyers-cheat-sheet) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "James Price | JPAbusiness", "url" : "https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/author/james-price-jpabusiness" }, "dateModified" : "2025-10-07T15:00:00.082Z", "datePublished" : "2025-10-07T15:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Should I buy or start my own business? [free checklist]", "image" : [ "https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/hubfs/1.%20Images/1.%20Stock%20Images/beautiful-colleagues-facial-expression-1430367.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/blog/should-i-buy-or-start-my-own-business-free-checklist", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.jpabusiness.com.au/hubfs/JPAbusiness-logo.svg" }, "name" : "JPAbusiness Pty Ltd" } } ```