The internet has changed the world in many ways. Of course, they aren’t all positive, but many are. It’s made it much easier to start a business and work for yourself. It’s given people the opportunity to work from home or turn their hobbies into jobs, and it has made many things, like accounting and marketing much easier.

But, this has also led to a culture of everyone thinking that they can do it. The amount of small businesses launching and their growing role in the economy has led people to believe that anyone can do it. That anyone can throw in their job and startup on their own without any consideration or preparation. Unfortunately, this means that a large number of small businesses never make it. They never get a chance to settle and grow, and they never become anything special. Many of these owners find themselves looking for work, once more settled into a life as an employee.

Of the small businesses that thrive, there are a few things that many of their owners have in common: traits, attitudes, and tools at their disposal that will help them along the way. Let’s take a look at some of them.

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Passion

All those people that think starting a business is easy are underestimating the amount of work that goes in. The best small business owners commit hours and hours to their business. It’s all they talk about, think about, and even dream about, certainly for the first few months. To do this, and do it well, they must have a passion for what they do. They must passionately believe in what they have to offer, and they must love doing it.

Drive

Starting your own business is tough, and it rarely all goes to plan. There are bad days. There are the days when you spend 14 hours at the office, and nothing goes well, and even passion isn’t enough to keep you going. Successful business owners are driven by success. They know where they want to be, and where they want to take their business, and they are definitely going to make it.

Commitment

On these hard days, it would be all too easy to throw in the towel. To accept that you don’t have what it takes, and to start looking for work on job sites. To do well, you need to be committed to your business and its success, even when it would be easier not to be.

Confidence

Successful small business owners are confident. Sure, they have doubts and worries; we all do from time to time. And they don’t all start out full of confidence; for some, it grows over time. But, eventually, they are confident in themselves and their own abilities, in the team that works for them and in the products or services that they are bringing to the market. They’ll be days when everyone seems to be against you, and there are knock backs at every turn, you need your self-belief and this confidence to keep going.

Financial Options

Unfortunately, even with all of these traits and qualities, it’s never going to be plain sailing. Sometimes, other factors work against you, and you can find that even with thorough and detailed financial planning and forecasting, and good accounting systems, you face cash flow issues. When this happens, you need options. Having your own savings to invest is great, but do you want to risk your family’s finances? Other options, like short term funding, investors, loans, and credit cards, should always be available. Read a Strategic Funding review for more ideas and information.

Support

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All those hours that you are going to put in is going to be stressful and tiring. You are going to come home, annoyed and upset, and you might find yourself neglecting your family and friends terribly. To get through this period, you’ll need a reliable and understanding support network who are willing to put up with your moods and push you forward.

Resilience

No one likes rejection, but unfortunately, it is something that has to happen to us all at some point, and it might happen much more than you’d like as you launch your own business. Not everyone will be as convinced by your business as you are. Not everyone will want to take you on or work for you, and you might get some bad reviews and negative feedback.

It’s only natural to find this upsetting, but you can’t give up because of it. If you want to do well, you need to be resilient enough to pick yourself up, learn what you can and carry on.

Patience

Growing a business takes time. You might not turn a profit straight away. In fact, in your first year, simply not taking a loss could be considered a success. It’s unwise to rush things or to try to expand before you are ready. Successful small business owners take their time to build slowly, learning all that they can and taking their time.

Plans

Taking your time doesn’t mean that you can’t make plans and set goals. Having a business plan is an essential requirement if you want to do well. Having a business plan with goals for the future, and a detailed breakdown of how you are going to reach your targets will help to keep you on target and pull you back on track if things start to go wrong. Good small business owners take the time to plan before they launch, and regularly reassess their goals and targets, updating their plans as they move forward.

Financial Sense

You don’t need to be an expert in everything to run your own business. There’s a lot that you can learn along the way, and there’s always help available. But, being good with money is a definite bonus. Being the sort of person that rushes out and spends money as soon as they’ve got it could make life much harder, so if you have these impulses, you should learn to manage them.

An Open Mind

Business doesn’t always go to plan. Great business owners are able to keep an open mind. They are keen to try new ideas and processes, and they are eager to embrace change.