3 Traits to Avoid to Be a Successful Business Owner

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There are so many glorified stories of business ownership that many people have a misinterpretation of the real and respected life of a business owner. Millions of people are making their decision to start their business and become their own BOSS, and many will succeed! Will it be you?

Well, to be a profitable and successful Business Owner, here are 3 traits to AVOID …

Being a Cheapskate

Unfortunately, I believed the “Bootstrap” banter! To bootstrap is to start a business with little capital and I thought that I could get everything I needed for little to no investment. What I learned is that getting the information and services that I needed to be a successful business owner would cost me. If I was not willing to invest my money to get what I needed faster, I would have to invest my time to figure out how to get it slower. Although I learned a great deal along the way, I wasted valuable time, money and potential revenue by being a cheapskate.

I had the misnomer that I would be giving my money away if I hired a coach. This mis-education of money helped me to lose over $50,000 in a year. If I had invested a few hundred dollars in a coach to help me do it right, I would have gotten a return on my investment through building my business the right way with income coming in faster.

TIP: Successful business owners take risks and understand the value of investing in themselves and their business by getting experienced coaches and talent to help them propel their business to stratospheric success. Don’t be afraid to invest in what you need to be successful. You are worth it. [tweet this]

Being a Know-It-All

I was able to run a financial institution; surely I could certainly run my own business. Right? WRONG! It turns out that there is much more to running your own business than there is to running a business that someone else built. Unfortunately, I was a know it all. I did not think that anyone could tell me something that I did not already know. This cost me big. What will it cost you?

It reminds me of when I was a teenager. I dismissed everything my parents said because I knew so much more than them. Of course, when I grew up and became a parent I finally understood what my parents were trying to tell me. And yes, they were right.

Oftentimes new business owners have the same mindset that their idea has never been thought of and that it will work regardless of the experience of other business owners. Take it from me: don’t dismiss the knowledge of an experienced business owners.  It is not always that someone is trying to tear down your dream of being the next Bill Gates. The experienced business owner that you trust just may be sharing some of the requirements and possible obstacles that you may face so that you will be prepared.

TIP: Connect with trusted experienced business owners. Listen to their wisdom as you would a great-great-grandparent. [tweet this] If you think you know it all, you actually may not know what you do not know, and that is the most expensive ignorance there is.

Being a Scaredy Cat

I wanted to be a successful business owner, but I was scared! Scared of what? You name it, and I was scared of it. I was scared to Fail, scared to Succeed, scared of people’s perceptions, scared that no one would like, want or buy my products and services… the list could go on. I was so scared of everything that this fear paralyzed me. Some call it self-sabotage, but sometimes I was paralyzed. The real scary thing about it was that I did not know why I was so scared?

I missed so many opportunities by being scared and allowing that fear to keep me from doing what I wanted to do. For example, I knew I needed to do videos to increase my brand exposure. All of my competitors were utilizing video and they were experiencing major success. However, instead of doing what I knew I needed to do to be more successful, I would say, “I hate doing videos,” or “I have nothing to say for a video.” I was just qualifying my fear and justifying why I should not do what I needed to do for my business.

I learned that fear is not a bad thing or a bad word. Fear is a signal that goes off when we venture outside of our comfort zone. And, guess who controls our comfort zone? We do! As we expand our comfort zone, the fear signal goes off less and less.

TIP: Expand your comfort zone by doing what causes you the most fear with your business. [tweet this] If video scares you, do a video and post it on YouTube, or do a Periscope or Facebook Live. After you do it a few times, you will notice that your fear signal will get quieter. The best way to shut Fear up is to expand your Comfort Zone.

Can you related to any of these or know someone who fits any one or all of those categories? Share you comments below.

CLICK HERE to get your copy of the best selling eBook “10 Traits to Avoid To Be A Successful Business Owner“ via Kindle along with more tips on how to get ready fast!