Six years ago I decided to leave corporate America to live my best life as an entrepreneur. There were many obstacles and learning opportunities that would lie ahead however, in the process I discovered 8 very important characteristics that I believe helped me to build the work life of my dreams. These 8 characteristics can be both innate and learned but they are requirements to becoming a successful boss babe. In this post I will uncover my own experiences and reveal must have characteristics for anyone who wishes to make it with their own business.
Styling a fashion spread for a client
8 Traits All Entrepreneurs Share
Open Mindedness
This is a tough characteristic to learn if it doesn’t come naturally. Being open minded is a must for a business owner as they must understand that every negative experience, event, or obstacle is an opportunity to improve by cranking up the gears and getting the creative juices flowing in another direction. This new direction may be contradictory to what you had originally believed to be correct. The effectiveness of your workflow last year may have been negatively influenced by the economy this year and you must be able to be open minded to new opportunities for improvement while becoming flexible to your current environment to remain successful.
In 2016 I had decided that rapid growth and partnerships were my key to overnight success and riches. Boy was I wrong! I was looking at the bigger picture and not the details when coming up with this plan and it only created a bigger workload, more people to manage, and a huge headache. I was exhausted and hanging on emotionally by a thread.
One day when I realized that laying around was doing nothing so I put on my big girl panties, opened up my mind, and replanned my entire business strategy to be more of a work smarter and not harder theme. Within one year of hardcore focus I was back on track and climbing the ladder which leads me to characteristic number two, determination.
Heading into market to shop for Fall fashion.
Determination
A successful entrepreneur learns from their defeats but does not let them greatly impact their plan. They are not overly concerned with risk as they are generally not wired to believe that their dreams and goals are unattainable or “not possible”
I can COMPLETELY relate to this. Only once in my life have I truly felt defeated and that was when I tried to take a toddler and an infant to the grocery store for the first time alone. Never have I feared that my business plans or entrepreneur strategy could fail even though there have been several times that I have almost lost it all. It seems that when everything is massively in the gutter that is when my determination is at it’s highest and my creativity flourishes like never before.
Picking flowers at IKEA for a window display at m shop.
Creativity
The epitome of entrepreneurism is Creativity. Everything you do will stem from this. If you are not a very creative person, it could be challenging to be your own boss.
I have found my greatest ideas by discovering a relationship between two unrelated items, events, or situations that when put together, solve a problem, strengthen a strategy, or creates a completely new path for business.
Strong Work Ethic
Everyone doesn’t get a trophy in the entrepreneur world, or even in the real world at that! You must be determined to ensure successful outcomes for your expectations by keeping your eye on the prize and even keeping work in mind when you aren’t at work sometimes. You must be able to stay motivated even when you aren’t getting a pat on the back and to hold yourself accountable.
If you have ever sat down with me and had a conversation about business for over 5 minutes, you will know my biggest pet peeve when it comes to working with or managing people, which is Entitlement! Everyone doesn’t deserve a trophy and half of the time when they do deserve a trophy, they don’t get one. The entitlement that has ensued in our culture is sickening and makes for weak leaders. If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, you MUST be on time, be able to prioritize, and meet the expectations of your partners and customers. If you don’t, it is no ones fault but your own. You also must be able to remain humble and reward yourself because often times your hard work WILL go unnoticed.
About to head in to a business meeting 8 months pregnant
Passion
You MUST love what you do. Your success depends on it. You will not be willing to put in the extra hours or go the lengths to make your business idea successful if you aren’t. You will take major pride in seeing the fruits of your labor and if passion is truly evident, the monetary reward will be second to the personal gratification.
My passion has definitely carried me through my business journey. I have said on numerous occasions, I would rather live in a box than go back to work for the boss. To be completely transparent on the level of my passion. When I quit corporate America I cut my paycheck in half. That was 6 years ago. I am now 32 years old and am finally making what I made at the age of 26 in corporate. I have not regretted losing one penny though. I have had the freedom of making my own schedule, being available for my kids, and running my little empire to the way I see fit!
Hosting an influencer social event at one of my client’s locations
Strong People Skills
You must have extremely accute communication skills for both selling and managing. You must be able to motivate your team to cultivate the outcome needed for success. You must also be able to help your employees develop, as well as gain the trust of those who both work for you and are in your immediate business circle.
This was half learned and half innate for me. I have always been extroverted and easy to get along with as I am normally pretty passive and only rock the boat when I feel that my integrity and or family is being threatened. While this is a great personality type for networking, it turns out that this is not always the best personality when it comes to managing people. Being a “YES MAN”, or “YES WOMAN” in my case, means that you can easily be trampled on. If you don’t get the management skills down patt quickly, you will watch your business fall at the hands of others as their leader is not strong enough to identify and eliminate laggers in the team and or direct the staff on a path to success. My first 3 years of business taught me how to develop a thick, yet respectful, skin.
Self Starter
This one is simple. If you want something done, you must have the wherewithal and the know how to do it. You more than likely be a one man/woman show in the beginning so bput the fear behind you and take the first step like very other successful entrepreneur before you.
Shopping at Market for the Shop 7 Month Preggo
Discipline
Being able to eliminate outside distractions from your goals such as monetary wants, ditching an important work day for fun with friends, or simply getting out of bed at a reasonable time to start work is crucial to business success. Becoming your own boss doesn’t automatically mean you can go at your own will! You must discipline yourself to remain focused on the end goal and to not lose sight of it. You need to make continuous steps daily towards long term success.
Being able to put my mind to a task and remaining focused until it is complete no matter what time of night it may be has always been a characteristic of mine. My mind may jump down certain rabbit holes and come up with new ideas in the process but I “parking lot” them on a notepad and get back to my original task. Remaining disciplined with your money, time, and strategies will lay the tracking for a long term business footprint.
Working on a Beauty Blog Video
PS… No I did not come from money. Yes, I used my life savings from high school until the age of 26 to start my own business. No it was not a lot of money. And YES, you can do it too!
I have recently taken on 4 new clients for consulting on a wide array of projects from social marketing to brand development and business start up. I truly have a passion for developing new ideas and helping others bring their dreams to fruition. One of my latest projects has been helping others to start their very own retail store (online or brick and mortar) through my Retail Academy! If you are interested in learning more or reading some of my students success stories,visit my Retail Academy by CLICKING HERE!
