Payton Hughes Consulting

In my work as a business consultant, I have met a number of unique individuals successfully running businesses, doing the things they love. Some don’t necessarily love the “running the business” part (they hire me and others for that part), they love doing the things the business does (baking the cakes, selling the equipment or being a counsellor). Others get a thrill from “being the boss” and managing the business.

From my observations, the successful entrepreneurs (and I don’t measure success solely by monetary compensation) consistently exhibit important skills and abilities. These are:

1.  Self Discipline (very hard to “learn”, but not impossible).
   • Owning a business may mean putting 8-10 hours per day, 5-6 days a week into a business, especially in the beginning and working through the hard stuff (i.e. firing an employee, sending back bad merchandise, etc.).
2. Self Confidence (coachable).
   • This means having the ability to stand up in a meeting and introduce them self and their business and the confidence that what they are doing is right and will be successful, even when there are down turns.
3. Moderate Risk Taking (coachable).
   • This means the ability and confidence to take planned and calculated risks (i.e. borrow money to expand premises or take on a new product line, after much thought, research and calculation), the ability to see those risks through, even when they are not at first successful and the ability to cut losses when all evidence indicates the risk is not working (even when you are emotionally attached to an idea)
4. Networking Skills (teachable). 
   • I can not stress this point enough. Networking – regular, planned, conscious networking – is crucial to the success of any business. Your business may not fail due to lack of networking but it will be greatly enhanced and more enjoyable if you do.