Study analyzes traits of successful small business owners

If you are an entrepreneur or are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, you know that there is a lot of hard work involved in being successful. A recent study by The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute, a research center that studies small business owners and the businesses they build, surveyed 1100 small businesses (with 2-99 employees) and developed a list of 6 traits that seem to be prevalent in successful small business owners.

Traits of a successful business owner

1. Ability to collaborate- Small business owners will likely have strong customer relationships if they can build and maintain strong relationships with their management team and employees.

2. Being self-fulfilled- Successful business owners highly value "doing something for a living that I love to do".

3. Future-focused- Being able to plan well is a key to being successful. This includes both short-term and long-term planning.

4. Curious- Successful small business owners are constantly learning about how they can make their business better.

5. Tech-savvy- Investing time and money into a company's website and social media can make a small business more effective and efficient.

6. Action oriented- Bumps in the road are a good thing. Successful business owners find adversity helps them to constantly look for new ways of thinking and acting.




As an ag entrepreneur, do you feel that you posess all of these qualities? Do you think these traits are innate or do you think they can be learned? What other traits do you think are necessary for becoming a successful entrepreneur? If you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, do you feel that you possess all 6 of these traits? If you don't, do you think you can learn them?