Personality traits of successful business owners

If you’re considering entrepreneurship, you might wonder if you possess the typical characteristics of successful business owners. The good news is that even if you don’t have every quality listed, it doesn’t mean you can’t run a successful business.

Business owners learn and adapt their skills over time, so as long as you have the right mindset (and business idea), you’re off to a great start.

Eight Common personality traits of successful business owners

Business owners come in all shapes and sizes — from educated backgrounds to having as little as zero experience in the field. But if you’re wondering if you’ve got what it takes, here are some small business owner personality types shared by successful entrepreneurs.

1. Great communication

You need to be able to communicate your business to anyone. From clients to suppliers, communication is crucial in business regardless of industry. Whether it’s chatting on the phone, writing a proposal, presenting an idea, recruiting staff or communicating via email — you need to be able to clearly and succinctly converse with everyone.

2. Creativity

Being creative means finding unique solutions to problems, which can help you compete in your chosen industry. Looking for creative ways to market your product or service or trialling innovative packaging ideas, for example, can help set you apart from everyone else.

If you’re not a particularly creative problem solver, that doesn’t mean you can’t run a business. Identifying your limitations early can help you recruit and manage employees that help you achieve your business goals.

3. Passionate

If you don’t love what you do, you’ll run out of steam eventually. When things don’t go quite right, your passion for what you do can help spur you on. Try to focus your small business idea on something you enjoy rather than it being motivated by monetary gain. Of course, making a living is essential, but it shouldn’t be your sole driver.

4. Knowledgeable

By knowledgeable, we don’t mean highly qualified — many billionaire businesspeople famously dropped out of college (Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, for example). What you should be knowledgeable in is the industry you’re trying to penetrate. You should also know your product and your customers inside out. This is vital to understanding how you can level yourself with or better your competition and make your business a success.

5. Determination

Running a business has its highs and lows, so when the lows roll around, it’s easy to become despondent and feel like you should give up and start job searching. The truth is that every business has to weather bad times alongside the good; it’s just part of running a business. That’s why you need determination.

Determination helps keep you focused and motivates employees as your company faces its biggest challenges. If every business owner gave up at the first, second or third hurdle, there wouldn’t be many business owners out there.

6. Risk taker

To grow your business, there’s a high chance you’ll have to take some risks. We’re not talking life-altering risks, but certainly some calculated ones. By taking the leap and starting your business in the first place, you’ve taken a risk — you’ve waved goodbye to a relatively stable 9-5 income and are looking out towards uncertainty.

7. Adaptability

Adapting to new situations is essential when running a business. You can’t always plan the future. You might have a business plan, and you could have done a ton of market research before launching, but you never know what’s around the corner — the pandemic is a prime example of this.

Customer purchasing behaviour could change, market fluctuations could mean your product is no longer as desirable as it was last week, or an economic downturn could mean you have to diversify quickly. Remain as agile and flexible as possible.

8. Self-awareness

Being self-aware is key to business success. Without it, you could be flogging a dead idea, wasting resources, time and money. An unwillingness to hear feedback or not realising the customers’ opinion is absolute —makes your business journey an uphill battle.

Being self-aware means you know your strengths and limitations, you know when to call an expert for guidance, and self-awareness also helps you identify areas for professional development, which can ultimately improve your offering and your bottom line.

Do I have what it takes to become a successful small business owner?

As long as you’ve researched your business idea and are driven and focused, there’s no reason you can’t become a successful business owner. Researching your options means you’re well-prepared to start your business journey.

Remember that a successful business won't happen overnight — your journey can be just as much about working on yourself as it is about working on your business at times. Developing and exercising these personality traits will help you grow a successful small business.

Looking to make your business dreams a reality? We work with UK lenders to help small business owners find flexible, affordable business funding solutions, from startup loans to self-employed business loans. Compare business loans today.