The JPAbusiness Business Owner’s Checklist is a useful first step for anyone considering moving from the employed workforce to self-employment. It consists of a list of 10 common attributes the JPAbusiness team tends to find in people who successfully build and run businesses.

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JPAbusiness
Business
Owner’s
Checklist
10
attributes
of
successful
business
owners
hen considering whether to buy or start your own business, or remain in the employed
workforce, it may help to consider the following list of personal attributes.
These attributes are the common ‘ingredients’ the JPAbusiness team tends to find in people who
successfully build and run businesses.
If you don’t have all these attributes when first embarking on self-employment, we recommend you
find a way to get them. You could seek some professional business advice and/or partner with
people who can complement your skills and attributes.
One of the most important attributes is ‘self-awareness’, so make sure you’re honest with yourself in
your assessment of your abilities and personal attributes.
W
10
common
attributes
of
successful
business
owners
Sounds
like
you?
1. Persistent You need to be someone who won’t take ‘no’ for an
answer. While you need to be realistic, willing to take
advice and objectively consider that advice, you also
need an element of doggedness in pursuing the
outcomes you require.
o
2. Capable of dealing
with uncertainty,
including extreme
lows and highs
For this attribute you need dual strengths: the ability to
keep sight of your long-term business objectives, while
simultaneously finding your way through short-term
turbulence. The turbulence may be due to great
successes or great disappointments, but it’s a matter of
navigating through while keeping the end goal in sight.
o
3. Self-driven,
self-motivated
You need to be someone who has their ‘engine’ running
when they get up each day. You need to be self-
motivated and internally driven – not reactive. Your
internal drive needs to ensure you remain consistent in
the way you think about and interact with your team,
customers and suppliers.
o

2. ©
2015
JPAbusiness
Pty
Ltd
This
work
is
licensed
under
the
Creative
Commons
Attribution
4.0
International
License.
ABN
62
150
534
099
To
view
a
copy
of
this
licence,
visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
10
common
attributes
of
successful
business
owners
Sounds
like
you?
4. Strategic,
big-picture thinker,
with an eye for detail
This requires the combination of visionary, strategic
thinking skills with an ability to monitor detail. For
example, you may have a well-developed strategic plan
for your business’ expansion over the next three years,
but unless you successfully manage your debtors and
cashflow today, that plan can never succeed.
o
5. Leader and
influencer
This attribute requires a degree of charisma, or ‘x’ factor,
that allows you to influence the way people think about
your value proposition, whether they be staff, customers,
suppliers, financiers etc. There is an element of ‘sales’
quality to this attribute, but in a very credible way.
o
6. Self-confident and
self-aware, but not
arrogant
You need to know yourself very well, both your strengths
and your areas of vulnerability. You need to spot
weaknesses and monitor them before anyone else and
also be willing to seek support to compensate for them.
o
7. Problem solver
and delivery person
You must be a practical person – a ‘doer’ – because you
need to bring a collection of resources together to deliver
a consistent offering. Being very busy, but not achieving
or creating anything, won't put dollars in your pocket in
terms of product sales.
o
8. Sharer Real business success means sharing your vision and
objectives with the market, staff and partners, and
engendering their interest and involvement in your
proposition. Once you have a team sharing your vision it
means you’ve moved from a sole operating environment
to a business that’s no longer just dependant on you, and
that adds to your business value.
o

3. ©
2015
JPAbusiness
Pty
Ltd
This
work
is
licensed
under
the
Creative
Commons
Attribution
4.0
International
License.
ABN
62
150
534
099
To
view
a
copy
of
this
licence,
visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
If you would like to learn more about the business advisory and broking services
offered by JPAbusiness, please contact the team by visiting
www.jpabusiness.com.au/contact-jpabusiness
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10
common
attributes
of
successful
business
owners
Sounds
like
you?
9. Ideas person,
with an eye to
commercialisation
and reality
I regularly come across inventors who are very innovative
and have great ideas. But an idea is not a business. In
business you have to lead with ideas and ensure you’re
constantly innovating, but you also have to understand
which ideas are right to commercialise and which strings
to pull to get them commercialised.
o
10. Someone who
can trust others
You can’t do everything, so you need to be able to
identify people you can trust to assist you where
necessary. These people may include advisors or
specialists, mentors, and other business people and
partners in a range of different fields. Your trust shouldn’t
be unconditional, but given in a way that’s conducive to
marshalling expertise that will benefit the business.
o