Women Home Business: Small Business Success Stories » Success Tips

Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur

Lyve Alexis Pleshette — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:16:57 +0000

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? This is a question that every business owner wants to know, with many trying to understand if there’s some magic formula to achieving success.

This video discusses the qualities that successful entrepreneurs typically have, and these are:

Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve.
Be passionate with what you do.
Identify and focus on your strengths.
Have a strong faith in your idea, your capabilities and yourself; though your confidence should be balanced with calculated risks.
Plan how you will achieve your vision.
Constantly look for ways to network
Be willing to learn.
Have the courage to persist and persevere.
Discipline yourself.

10 Tips on Choosing Your Home Business

Isabel Isidro — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:23:33 +0000

Choosing the right home-based business is the foundation of your success. It is not an easy step, and for many, will require a lot of introspection and thinking. I’ve even met an entrepreneur who said it took him six months to identify the right business for him, after narrowing down his likes and dislikes and finding the business that will fit into what he wants.

Select the wrong business, and you’d be in a tough position. Your resources on hand may not be enough to sustain the business, and you’ll find yourself neck-deep in debt. Or you may choose a business that you did not foresee the inventory requirements, and your family room has now turned into a storage room after your garage has been filled to the brim with your products. You may also find yourself way into your head with what the business needs.

Here are 10 tips on choosing the right home-based business for you:

1. Instead of choosing the first business that comes to mind, take time to explore various options.
2. Find out what type of business appeals to you most.
3. Choose a business that will be profitable.
4. Think whether you can, and want to handle every aspect of the business.
5. Draw a layout of your intended work area to see how it will fit into its allotted space into your home.
6. Make sure the business meets high safety standards, esp. if you have children at home.
7. Check with an insurance agent to determine the kind of insurance coverage the business is going to need.
8. Ensure compliance with zoning laws and ordinances in your area.
9. Select a business whose requirements are compatible with yourself and your family.
10. Get your family members involved in the business, and have fun together working for its success.

Read the full article 10 Tips on Choosing a Home Business

Success Tips from Women Small Business Owners, Home-Based Entrepreneurs and Work at Home Moms

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:10:26 +0000

December 27, 2009 – WomenHomeBusiness.com, a top-ranked small and home business success stories site, has compiled some of the best business lessons, tips and advice from the small and home-based women entrepreneurs featured on the site this year. View the PowerPoint presentation at http://www.womenhomebusiness.com/success/learning-from-small-business-women-entrepreneurs.htm

“We featured a number of wonderful and dynamic women who shared their stories of success, startup challenges and strategies from their own small businesses in WomenHomeBusiness.com,” said Isabel M. Isidro, Managing Editor. “These women may not be headliners and may be running businesses you’ve never heard of, but they have succeeded in achieving their business goals. We typically ask these women business owners the question ‘What advice can you give other women entrepreneurs’ and this PowerPoint presentation is a collection of the lessons and wisdom of these women.”

Some examples of the lessons these women entrepreneurs shared are:

Chanell Scott, founder of Guffly.com : “Start simple and get good at one thing. Once you’ve truly mastered it, don’t be afraid to try new things.”

Johnita Glover and Tracy Jackson, founders of Virtual Business Consultants, Inc. : “Our number one lesson for other women entrepreneurs is to establish and prioritize your goals. Establishing and prioritizing your goals creates destination points along your road to business success and helps you to keep focused along the way.”

Erin McKennna, Founder, BabyCakes NYC : “My advise is to stay strong and don’t lose sight of what inspired you in the first place. Don’t go to others for ideas–let it be from you. It has to be authentic.”

You can read other business success tips by checking out the PowerPoint presentation Learning From Small Business Women Entrepreneurs

About WomenHomeBusiness.com

WomenHomeBusiness.com http://www.womenhomebusiness.com presents real stories of women (and men too!) who have succeeded in their entrepreneurial ventures. The site provides resources to inspire, empower and educate small business owners, home business entrepreneurs and work at home moms. Aside from the small business success stories, the site includes summaries of books on entrepreneurship and business success as well as success tips

Contact Information:

Isabel M. Isidro
Managing Editor
WomenHomeBusiness.com http://www.womenhomebusiness.com/contact

Learning From Small Business Women Entrepreneurs

admin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:42:10 +0000

As the year comes to a close, we’ve compiled into a PowerPoint presentation some of the very insightful business lessons, tips and advice from the small and home-based women entrepreneurs we’ve featured on WomenHomeBusiness.com. Learn from these wonderful women who shared their stories of success, startup challenges and strategies from their own small businesses.

Learning From Small Business Women Entrepreneurs

View more presentations from PowerHomeBiz.com.

The Simple Secrets of Successful People

Lyve Alexis Pleshette — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:06:35 +0000

On a recent visit to our library’s book sale, I bought this fascinating book “The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It” by Dr. David Niven. This gem of a book presents conclusions of scientists who have studied success in all walks of life. The author combed through various studies of success and successful people, and distilled in this book the factors that contribute to the success of an individual.

According to the book, here are some secrets of successful people:

Take small victories. Life satisfaction is 22 percent more likely for those with a steady stream of minor accomplishments than those who express interest only in major accomplishments. (Orlick 1998)

Write down the directions. People who regularly keep a journal, or some kind of written record pertaining to their aspirations, are 32 percent more likely to feel they are making progress in their lives. (Howatt 1999)

Winners are made, not born. Case study research on business executives reveals that 98 percent see their position as a result of plans and strategy amd that more than half credit their use of a successful person as an example to help define that plan. (Gordon 1998)

Use your own self-interest. Researchers find that perceived self-interest, the rewards one believes are at stake, is the most significant factor in predicting dedication and satisfaction toward work. It accounts for about 75 percent of personal motivation towards accomplishment. (Dickinson 1999)

Volunteer to feel better. Volunteers are 25 percent more satisfied with their jobs, have a better work ethic, and are more persistent in working toward long-term goals and rewards.

Tomorrow will be a better day (but how exactly). People who construct their goals in concrete terms are 50 percent more likely to feel confident they will attain their goals and 32 percent more likely to feel in control of their lives.

Win your own respect first. Researchers find that an optimistic personal outlook is more than just seeing the bright side of things. Believing in yourself actually produces increases in good health, motivation, and achievement for six in ten people.

Lessons from Successful Women in Design

Lyve Alexis Pleshette — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:56:36 +0000

Elle Decor Magazine in their November 2009 issue run a series of articles on the secrets of success of leading women in the design industry. They interviewed a number of famous business women in the field of interior design and fashion, such as Josie Natori (President and CEO of Natori Co.), interior designers Kelly Wearstler and Michelle Nussbaumer, Holly Hunt (CEO of the business that bears her name), as well as interior designer/author Charlotte Moss. All of these women have demonstrated their talents and business acumen to succeed in their respective fields.

The Q&A articles delve into their design philosophies to the most important lessons they’ve learned and what lessons can they share to other people thinking of starting in the design business. Their responses are highly instructive and can give you nuggets of wisdom to live by.

One of the questions is: What does value mean for you? All of their responses focus on the same theme — that value means delivering more than the client expected:

Kelly Wearstler: “It means the client got more than expected.”
Josie Natori: “It’s not about doing something just to be inexpensive. It’s about craftsmanship. Our fragrance is not only a fragrance, the bottle is a collector’s item.”
Charlotte Moss: “If clients are prepared to spend X amount, it’s my job to use the funds so they get the most value for the money. “

With regards to the most important lesson they’ve learned from their businesses and careers, here are their responses:

Michelle Nussbaumer: “Listen to your clients. Don’t compromise on quality … and don’t get off track.”
Holly Hunt: “Intuition counts, don’t sell it short. You have to take risks, but some of them have to be right.”
Josie Natori: “I have always been very clear about our vision for Natori: the East-West sensibility and the comfort, craftsmanship, and luxury of the apparel.”
Kelly Wearstler: “Be incredibly organized and have the proper skill set. Having an eye is one thing, but you have to be able to execute.”
Charlotte Moss: “Listening and absorbing. My job is to interpret what a client wants, and sometimes they aren’t entirely clear of the details, so you have to listen and listen carefully.”

The advice they would give to someone just starting out are:

Josie Natori: “Your business needs a raison d’être. Be prepared to work 24 hours a day, and be willing to take risks. And you have to love it or you won’t succeed.”
Charlotte Moss: “Do your homework. Inform yourself on a daily basis. Study magazines. Go to museums. Attend lectures. Ignorance isn’t bliss.”
Michelle Nussbaumer: Work for – and learn from – someone who is successful … Read.”
Kelly Wearstler: “Train your eye. Whether you are going to a museum or a flea market or flipping through a book, always be on the lookout for something special.”

My most favorite line is the response of Josie Natori to the question “If you could pass wisdom on to the next generation of women entrepreneurs, what would it be?”

“My biggest assets are being a woman and being Asian-American. Both of those facts make Natori what it is today. What’s really important is doing something you can relate to, something that’s personal.”

Tracey De Leeuw: Online Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

Lyve Alexis Pleshette — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:53:22 +0000

Marketing on the Web has become a fundamental skill that all entrepreneurs must master. The Web has become a powerful and ubiquitous platform, that women entrepreneurs need to know how to use it to reach their target audiences. Tracey De Leeuw is an Internet marketing expert who has been using the Web as a marketing platform since its early days. Today, she runs an eBusiness consulting site http://www.smartspeed.ca to help other small business entrepreneurs learn how to navigate the Web to communicate and reach their markets.

Tracey De Leeuw, Internet Marketing Consultant and Expert

Tracey has created a video series entitled “40 WAYS to sell online FREE (or under $ 40)” on internet marketing and growth activities for small businesses. She will soon launch an online marketplace for small businesses selling services with Bizdrive.biz, which aims to offer outstanding value for women in business who want to increase sales and reduce costs for their business.

We talked with Tracey on her internet marketing tips for women entrepreneurs:

How did you start in Internet marketing?

My first Internet marketing effort was in November of 1993. I was marketing a software training video series by posting to newsgroups to test the viability of Internet eCommerce. It was barely an acceptable practice back then, so I discovered, but it was effective. The test results spawned an idea in 1994 to create one of the first b2b2c commerce sites so others could market and sell online.

I partnered with Royal Bank of Canada, Canada Post, and a telephone company from Manitoba and built the marketing and sales system. Imagine evangelizing Internet marketing when few knew what the Internet was or its commercial potential?

My first company was too early. Since then, I’ve been studying Internet marketing and sharing my insights and ideas with strategy clients and C Suites and entrepreneurs.

Over the past 6 years I’ve been using and integrating a suite of Internet marketing tools into a b2b2c commerce platform for small businesses (specialist and local service providers so they can market and sell online).

Can you briefly describe the work that you have been doing with regards to online marketing and small businesses?

My work focuses on helping large and small business reach new customers, sell more and do it more profitably with inexpensive Internet marketing techniques and technology. I come up with innovative ideas on how to apply tools and tricks. I love finding easy and low cost tools that help differentiate, or weaving small business software and business ‘best practice’ together. I am passionate about Internet marketing (as a means to an end), increased sales and sustainable relationships. I focus on secure transactions that build longstanding service engagements. I focus on attraction, retention, referral and repeat business objectives online.

To help small businesses increase sales online – I did a 40 tip video series http://www.bizdrive.biz/prereg/40-40/ covering the 40 marketing and sales activities (FREE or under $ 40 each) that I think a small business should consider. 25% of these videos are focused on Internet marketing; the remainder focus on growing Internet sales, network monetization and business growth.

From your experience, what do you think is the most common mistake of small business entrepreneurs with regards to Internet marketing?

The biggest mistake might be underestimating the power of harnessing Internet marketing. Clearly ‘internet entrepreneurs’ – those with new business models understand the opportunities – but dog walkers, hair stylists, home service providers, wellness practitioners and other ‘traditional’ service business entrepreneurs often overlook the power of being ‘popular’ or an information leader in the online community.

They need to be where their customers are; and communicate as their customers want them to, with info integral to the research, purchase and relationship activities their customers are engaging in online.

As a marketing guideline to begin, I suggest playing to ones strengths. Replicate offline activities that work – online. If referrals offline help you – get them working for you on Facebook. If signs work – try banners. If power points sell – try video bios. If being the ‘local expert’ is your thing, be that online in local communities. Compete online as you do offline.

How important is online networking for small businesses?

Online networking is becoming more important by the minute. A small business must be found online in a very noisy web world and the way to do that is to be connected to and through all the natural networks related to the person, the product and the business.

If you are a seamstress who makes costumes and you are not connected to the theatre, dance and performance communities, and advertising on Craigslist and Facebook – someone else is taking your business opportunities everyday and you are unaware.

Natural networks include existing customers, past clients, colleagues, family, friends, sports and leisure groups, business networking, chambers of commerce, professional organizations and other people that might like your service, value or knowledge enough to give you a referral.

What tactics, tools and strategies should be included in the online marketing campaigns of small businesses?

Internet marketing tactics need to stress repetitive, high value, differentiated and targeted messages. It’s never the tool – but what you do with it. Use Internet marketing tools of every type to learn, try and test. Tools for communication and content creation and distribution, married with monitoring and measuring tools, fosters conversations, learning and marketing focus.

Strategy: Be found. To be found, a business must jump into all types of new and targeted (related) communities, where customers might be hanging out. Be generous with your insights, be many (use your staff and partners), be consistent, be clever, mix-up types of media to distribute the messages, use multiple channels to share insight, knowledge and expertise. Show off your specialty. Figure the tools out, then do what you can – and leverage what you’ve got.

The 40 tip video series we produced identifies free marketing tools, methods, tactics and strategic ideas to help a business grow online. It’s a growing list of tips and tricks so I hope viewers with contribute some of their own ideas too. Each video is brief. Viewers are free to ask questions in the comment sections on the videos.

How important are videos right now for small businesses? Is this a venue they need to start exploring?

Videos are very important because they are great marketing collateral, they highlight the enthusiasm and expertise that sells the business; and they are viral in nature. Using video live, streaming, collaboratively or just occasionally instead of meetings bridges the missing web link – the person-to-person aspect of communication and business online. Videos can teach, coach and explain a message 24/7, extending the value and shelf life of the information dramatically. Doing video to market a small business is now both essential and basically free.

Everyone is nervous doing video, so laugh and have fun with it. Try Skype or msn with your friends and family before you try making your own video. Treat your web cam video time as you would guest appearances on national television. Put on the lipstick, power clothes and perfume and feel like the confident guru star you are, or your video with be blah. Shine.

What do you think is the biggest need of small businesses right now?

That’s easy. Sales. Small business needs to gain access to new deal flow.

They need to sell more of what they have to new customers. They need to access products and services for lower costs and at a lower cost to them (time and effort) to make those new sales more profitable. They need to find partnerships that pull them into deals. They need procurement deals from large steady companies who pay promptly. They need to be easy to do business with. They need to do more sales with less marketing and ad budget, or none. They need to sew together services to create new value for themselves and their customers. They need to grossly differentiate themselves from their old and new competition. They need to be online, everywhere and be found.

I built a small business online sales platform that is affordable, easy to plug in and gets a business into a new deal flow. Stay tuned, www.bizdrive.biz is coming soon.

I pose this to the leaders of economic change — if the ‘Government’ (any and all) spent 10% of their procurement budgets on small business, those small businesses might be able to pay for healthcare costs, or stay in business, create jobs and contribute to national economic recovery. Tweet that to your elected official J

What other advice can you give other women entrepreneurs?

Technically – learn keywords, keyword phrases and learn how the search engines find you. Learn these key acronyms: SEO (search engine optimization) and HTML (just learn what it is and how an idea becomes a page). Learn PHP (page handling protocol) and MySQL (my system query language) – the foundation for open source (free tools you’ll want). Learn SaaS (software as a service) and learn RSS (real simple syndication). These are the most powerful concepts you can tame to your greatest advantage and success.

Marketing – be part of the communities. Be the research content your prospects find when they go looking. Be found by being everywhere relevant your prospects might be searching. Be the answers to their questions in the forums and groups. Be the solution to their problem.

Executive leadership – be an expert specialist in your business and a strong generalist in online marketing.

Personally – I believe women have a natural aptitude for online tools and business marketing and that our attention to detail, reliability, relationship integrity, tenacity and perseverance serves as strong competitive assets online. I believe this online world is an exciting frontier for women entrepreneurs. It most certainly has been the greatest career I environment I could imagine.

Understanding the Factors for Small Business Success

Contributor — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:36:57 +0000

We all know the stats: 80 percent of new businesses fail. The question, therefore, is: How can your business be part of the 20% that succeeds and flourishes? With so many businesses being started, why do some succeed while many more fail?

We looked at the factors authors and experts say contribute to the success of a business:

George Rodriguez in the article “How to Launch a Successful Startup” lists 12 factors that are important in creating and building a successful start up business:

Have a long-term vision
Hire the best people – and manage them well.
Keep your focus.
Innovate; don’t duplicate.
Keep realistic expectations.
Have a clear understanding of the market and your competition.
Run your business lean.
Get the right partners.
Develop a culture of success in your organization.
Conduct regular business and market review.
Learn, and keep on learning.
Prepare for changes.

Jim Tracy, President and Founder, America’s Best Companies, gave these factors for a small business to succeed

Ask your customers the question, “What can I do for you?”
Form a mastermind group
Become known within your community
Distribute a newsletter
Every business should have a website

According to the book “Loops: The Seven Keys to Small Business Success” by Dr. Mile Chaet and Dr. Stephen Lundin, success in business is all about closing loops – the right loops. Here are the seven essential loops of small business success.

Manage the Experience Zones.
Build a winning culture.
Monitor the Fundamentals.
Standardize every major process.
Innovate.
Live in the real world.
Lead by example.

In the PowerHomeBiz.com article 10 Rules for Small Business Success , here are factors that contribute to the success of a small business:

Find a Niche.
Be small, yet think big.
Differentiate your products.
First impression counts.
Good reputation.
Constant improvement.
Listen to your customers.
Plan for success.
Be innovative.
Work smart.

Best selling author Seth Godin lists his five pillars of success

See (really see) what’s possible
Know specifically what you want to achieve
Make good decisions
Understand the tactics to get things done and to change minds
Earn the trust and respect of the people around you

Susan Ward of About.com Canada lists 10 tips for starting a small business that will succeed. Her lists include:

Do what you love.
Start your business while you’re still employed.
Don’t do it alone.
Get clients or customers first.
Write a business plan.
Do the research.
Get professional help.
Get the money lined up.
Be professional from the get-go.
Get the legal and tax issues right the first time.

The article “10 Power Steps to Small Business Success” by Isabel Isidro lists steps that can help build a solid foundation for your small business:

Develop your personal and company goals.
Define a viable market segment for your product or service.
Develop your marketing plan.
Write your initial version of the business plan
Determine your financing needs.
Form your key teams: founders, management, and directors.
Finalize your financing needs and create your formal business plan.
Develop a marketing strategy to obtain financing for your company
Market your plan successfully, attracting capital on your terms
Market your product/service and manage your business to achieve your goals

Jim Blasingame listed the success factors espoused by his friend Doug Wilson, Vice President for Marketing at Palo Alto

Choice of business
Education and experience
People
Creativity in Management
Potential of the Industry
Understanding the Information Collected
The Corridor Principle or ability to change focus in response to market demand

The book “The Six Fundamentals of Success: The Rules for Getting It Right for Yourself and Your Organization” by Stuart Levine provides these factors for success in entrepreneurship:

Make sure you add value
Communicate up and down, inside and out
Know how to deliver results
Conduct yourself and your business with integrity
Invest in relationships
Gain perspective

Closing Loops: 7 Keys to Small Business Success

8 Tips to Stimulate Your Small Business

Lyve Alexis Pleshette — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:01:19 +0000

Is your business in the doldrums? Are sales slow? Reinvigorate your small business with these tips:

1. Learn from the past experiences, including your mistakes.

Before you can move forward, it is always helpful to review the past year and analyze what worked and what did not work for your business. What strategies worked for your business before, and what do you think can work again this time? What were the mistakes you did and need to avoid? Now ask yourself: what could you do better this time?

2. Look at everything with a fresh new perspective.

Shaking up your business starts by looking at the world in new ways. It is so easy to continue doing what you have been doing for years, because of its familiarity and safety. The downside is that you can gradually lose your focus, take things for granted or just assume you know how things are.

A fresh perspective can get you out of your comfort zone, kick start your thinking, and help you find better solutions to your problems — especially during hard economic times.

To do this, start by examining the assumptions you’ve made. Get fresh ideas by reading new books or magazines about your business. Get out and talk to other business owners. Check out forums or even social networking sites to see what your target customers need and other business owners are doing. If it will work for you, take time off and visit new places or experience new things. It can help take your mind off your business and infuse you with new ways of looking at things.

3. Set your goals.

Think of what you want to accomplish this time. Make a list of your objectives for your business, and then list the specific activities that can help you achieve the objectives. Keep your objectives as detailed and measurable as possible. Even better, make a note of what you need to achieve every single day. Sometimes, putting a specific deadline on tasks or goals can spur you more into action.

For a blogger who earns primarily from serving ads, an example of a goal and its activities maybe:

Goal: Increase traffic to blog by 20 percent before the year ends.

Write at least 5 new posts per week, carefully analyzing the traffic statistics of each post to determine the types of posts preferred by the audience.
Participate in blog carnivals at least once a month.
Submit content to social bookmarking sites (even strive to develop content most likely to get to the front page of Digg, for example).
Connect with at least 3 bloggers per month, whether in terms of commenting on their blogs or requesting for blog roll link exchanges

4. Create your calendar of activities.

It is important to break down your goals and activities into smaller and doable lists of tasks that you can do. To help you keep track of what you want to accomplish for your business, prepare specific timelines for your goals and activities – and stick to it. Whether you are using a planner, PDA or any other scheduling systems, be sure to incorporate your activities into your planning system. Create specific targets for each month – e.g. make a list of what you want to be accomplished each month.

And using whatever system works best for you, set up reminders that can help you keep your eye back to your objectives. Reminders can be in the form of popups in your Outlook calendar, a paper listing the activities that needs to be done pinned to your corkboard, or daily entry into your planner.

5. Do the work!

What good is all the planning if you are not going to implement any of it? Firm up your plans for the first quarter, and then start the work. It feels mighty good to cross off from your list the first thing that you need to do.

Using the blogger as an example, you may want to gear up for the work ahead of you by analyzing your blog statistics. What posts get the most traffic? What posts get the most links? And what posts give you large number of links and clicks from sites such as Digg and other social bookmarking sites?

6. Pump up your networking.

Networking is important for any business. For many things, “who you know” is very important. Having the right contacts can help open doors for you – new opportunities, new customers, new suppliers, new funding sources, new mentors, even someone just to talk to and bounce off ideas. If you’re a home-based business owner, just having a meeting to attend and a chance to interact with other people can bring about a beneficial change of scenery and pace.

Check out professional business networking groups in your area such as BNI http://www.bni.com/ and investigate whether participating in such a network can be beneficial to your business and yourself. Check if using sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or even MySpace can benefit your business. Or join your local Chamber of Commerce and be active in your local business scene.

7. Try to learn something new.

As they say, the only thing constant is change. Hence it is important to learn to adapt to new ways of doing things, including reaching your target market.

Five years ago, you wouldn’t have thought of promoting your business via online videos, but now the wide reach of online video sites such as YouTube has made it a very appealing way of reaching customers. Consider how having a video can help your business grow and get more buzz. Look at how a presence in social networking sites such as MySpace can grow your business. Or whether direct mail can work wonders for your business.

Be on a lookout for ways you can improve your business, even if that means venturing into unknown territories. Study how others are improving their business processes, doing their marketing and promoting, or creating new revenue streams – and see how these new trends can work for your business.

8. Keep your momentum going.

The difficult part of setting goals to reinvigorate your business is keeping the interest and momentum going. It is so easy to lose track of what you need to accomplish.

To encourage yourself to keep working on the goals you’ve set up, celebrate after every task you have accomplished. Reward yourself, even if that only means taking a day off away from work (meaning no Blackberries, no checking of emails or making phone calls). It may be helpful to put a visible reminder of why you are doing this business. Having a visual reminder can prop you up on days when you feel you’ve lost interest in the business or when you start questioning why are you doing all this hard work.

10 Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs

Isabel Isidro — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:38:15 +0000

Running a one-person business is a creative, flexible and challenging way to become your own boss and chart your own future. It is about creating a life, as it is about making a living. It takes courage, determination and foresight to decide to become an entrepreneur. From the relatively safe cocoon of the corporate world, where paychecks arrive regularly, you will be venturing into the unchartered territories of business.

Is there a way to determine whether you can be a successful entrepreneur, or you are better off to work for somebody else? Alas, there is no formula for success. However, most successful entrepreneurs share these ten characteristics. Check if you possess any one of them:

1. Think success.

To attain the kind of success that you want, you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big dreams. You need to have big dreams for yourself – which you want to be somebody rich, famous or fulfilled. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. But it doesn’t stop in dreaming alone. You should actively visualize success in your mind that you can almost feel it, touch it or it is within your reach. Play this image back at every opportunity. What does it feel to triple your current income? How will your life change? What will your business look like if you achieved the million-dollar mark?

Successful entrepreneurs possess an attitude of openness and faith that you can have what you want if you can simply envision it as the first step on the path of action to acquiring it. Management gurus have taught us the power of visualization – seeing yourself in your mind as having accomplished your dreams. If you want to be a successful writer, envision yourself signing books for a throng of people who have lined up to have your autograph. If you want to be rich, picture yourself in luxurious surroundings holding a fat bank account. And the process of envisioning success for you should be a constant activity! You need to think that you are successful (or will be one) every single waking hour. A personal development coach shared me her secret to help her continuously visualize her goals for the moment: when climbing stairs, recite your goal with every step you take. So if you want more money, say “I will have money” in every step of the stairs. This technique will reinforce your goal and keep it fresh in your consciousness.

2. Be passionate with what you do.

You start a business to change any or all part of your life. To attain this change, you need to develop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the way things are and to live life to the fullest. Success comes easily if you love what you do. Why? Because we are more relentless in our pursuit of goals about things that we love. If you hate your job right now, do you think you will ever be successful at it? Not in a million years! You may plod along, even become competent at the tasks, but you will never be a great success at it. You will achieve peak performance and do what you have to do to succeed only if you are doing something that interests you or something that you care about. Entrepreneurs who succeed do not mind the fact that they are putting in 15 or 18 hours a day to their business because they absolutely love what they do. Success in business is all about patience and hard work, which can only be attained if you are passionate and crazy with your tasks and activities.

3. Focus on your strengths.

Let’s face it; you cannot be everything to everybody. Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses. To be effective, you need to identify your strengths and concentrate on it. You will become more successful if you are able to channel your efforts to areas that you do best. In business, for example, if you know you have good marketing instincts, then harness this strength and make full use of it. Seek help or assistance in areas that you may be poor at, such as accounting or bookkeeping. To transform your weakness to strength, consider taking hands-on learning or formal training.

4. Never consider the possibility of failure.

Ayn Rand, in her novel The Fountainhead, wrote, “It is not in the nature of man – nor of any living entity, to start out by giving up.” As an entrepreneur, you need to fully believe in your goals, and that you can do it. Think that what you are doing will contribute to the betterment of your environment and your personal self. You should have a strong faith in your idea, your capabilities and yourself. You must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to recognize and fulfill them. The more you can develop faith in your ability to achieve your goals, the more rapidly you can attain it. However, your confidence should be balanced with calculated risks that you need to take to achieve greater rewards. Successful entrepreneurs are those who analyze and minimize risk in the pursuit of profit. As they always say, “no guts, no glory.”

5. Plan accordingly.

You have a vision, and you have enough faith in yourself to believe that you can achieve your vision. But do you know how to get to your vision? To achieve your vision, you need to have concrete goals that will provide the stepping-stone towards your ultimate vision. Put your goals in writing; not doing so just makes them as intangible fantasies. You need to plan each day in such a way that your every action contributes to the attainment of your vision. Do you foresee yourself as the next Martha Stewart of hand-made home furnishings? Perhaps today, you need to see an artist to help you conceptualize the new line of hand-made linens that you hope to launch. Intense goal orientation is the characteristic of every successful entrepreneur. They have a vision, and they know how to get there. Your ability to set goals and make plans for your accomplishment is the skill required to succeed. Plan, plan and plan – because without which failure is guaranteed.

6. Work hard and smart!

Every successful entrepreneur works hard, hard and hard. No one achieves success just by sitting and staring at the wall every single day. Brian Tracy puts it out this way, “You work eight hours per day for survival; everything over eight hours per day is for success.” Ask any successful businessperson and they will tell you immediately that they had to work more than 60 hours per week at the start of their businesses. Be prepared to say goodbye to after-office drinks every day, or a regular weekend get-away trip. If you are in a start-up phase, you will have to breathe, eat and drink your business until it can stand on its own. Working hard will be easy if you have a vision, clear goals, and are passionate with what you do.

7. Constantly look for ways to network.

In business, you are judged by the company you keep – from your management team, board of directors, and strategic partners. Businesses always need assistance, more so small businesses. Maybe the lady you met in a trade association meeting can help you secure funding, or the gentleman at a conference can provide you with management advise. It is important to form alliances with people who can help you, and whom you can help in return. To succeed in business, you need to possess good networking skills and always be alert to opportunities to expand your contacts.

8. Willingness to learn.

You do not need to be a MBA degree holder or PhD graduate to succeed in your own business. In fact, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who did not even finish secondary education. Studies show that most self-made millionaires have average intelligence. Nonetheless, these people reached their full potentials achieved their financial and personal goals in business because they are willing to learn. To succeed, you must be willing to ask questions, remain curious, interested and open to new knowledge. This willingness to learn becomes more crucial given the rapid changes in technologies and ways of doing business.

9. Persevere and have faith.

No one said that the road to success is easy. Despite your good intentions and hard work, sometimes you will fail. Some successful entrepreneurs suffered setbacks and resounding defeats, even bankruptcy, yet managed to quickly stand up to make it big in their fields. Your courage to persist in the face of adversity and ability to bounce back after a temporary disappointment will assure your success. You must learn to pick yourself up and start all over again. Your persistence is the measure of the belief in yourself. Remember, if you persevere, nothing can stop you.

10. Discipline yourself.

Thomas Huxley once said, “Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not.” Self-discipline is the key to success. The strength of will to force yourself to pay the price of success – doing what others don’t like to do, going the extra mile, fighting and winning the lonely battle with yourself.