This article looks at the qualities required to be a succesful home based business entrepreneur. It encourages people to take an inventory of their own skills before rushing off into the world of online marketing!
Copyright (c) 2009 Steve Cowley
Almost everyone thinks at one time or another about running their own business! Perhaps we see ourselves as the next Richard Branson or Donald Trump! Being an entrepreneur can be very appealing but not everyone is cut out to become one. This article asks the question: do you have what it takes to run your own successful online business?
One of the great things about the internet is that you start a business with very limited funds. For under $50 you can get a business set up and running - this provides a quick and safe way to see if you have the necessary skills to become a successful online entrepreneur. The beauty of this approach is that it can be started part-time around your regular work and family commitments.
Running an online business is not really about the product or service you provide. Far more important to your eventual success or not, are the attitudes and characteristics you bring to your business. Most business owners are taught to do a SWOT analysis on their business. The initials stand for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Unfortunately, very few owners actually do the same analysis on themselves! This can be a very enlightening process!
The first thing I recommend to all my clients is that they honestly evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses. Are they disciplined enough to get up early and work late? Do they see tasks through to completion? Are they prepared to take responsibility for their own success?
These are all important questions to ask before you spend any money! You must know how to plan, organize, and control every aspect of your new business. It is hard work and the buck always stops with you!
Organizing your time is a difficult task but if you want to run a successful home-based business, you must be able to do it. That may mean negotiating with children and partners, as well as keeping up with your regular commitments. You should also be able to work alone because now you're the boss and all business decisions will be made by you! Kind of scary isn't it?
You must also learn to be bigger than the problems you encounter. Even with an online business, you will have to deal with certain business problems and risks. You can't eliminate such risks because they go hand in hand with running any business, whether online or offline. You must develop the resilience to overcome any challenges that you meet on route.
Running your own business will still mean that you will have to deal with all sorts of different kinds of people. You will encounter demanding customers, moody vendors, and some very sharp business practices that will happily drain your credit card if you allow them! To become a successful home-based business entrepreneur, you should know how to deal with all these situations.
Another ability you should possess is being able to make quick and accurate decisions. There is something called "the paralysis of analysis", where we are so concerned about the possible consequences of our actions that we freeze the decision altogether. It is actually nearly impossible to know the full outcome of any decision we make - there are simply too many unknown variables. I have always followed my intuition and adopted the Nike philosophy - Just Do It! The more decisions you make the better you will get at them!
To be an effective online business entrepreneur, you must have lots of energy and superior work ethic. Owning an online business may mean working longs hours, usually late at night when the family has settled down, and on the weekends too. All of these sacrifices become worthwhile when the profits start rolling in!
Many of the risks we have spoken about can be reduced by choosing your home-based business carefully. There is a great deal of hype on the internet that may lead you to believe that money will come quickly and easily and without too much effort! These "instant wealth" opportunities should be avoided like the plague! Choose a reputable business with a proven track record and follow the system they teach.
Once you understand the responsibilities of an entrepreneur, then you can better assess if you have what it takes to become successful in an online business. Working at home with your own home-based online business requires dedication and hard work, but it can be done! Thousands of people just like you and I earn their living this way every day. You could be one of the success stories too!
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