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The one trait the majority of all millionaires have in common is that they owned their own business. Every year thousands of people attempt to follow in their footsteps and start their own business. Failure rates are high for new businesses with over half of them out of business within five years. How do you avoid this fate? There are certain things you can do that will let you succeed at your own business. Here are the skills sets that successful business owners say are critical to have if you want to succeed.

Defined Goals
The one thing that separates successful companies from failures is planning. If you want to succeed then you need to have a well-defined plan. This plan should be in writing and it should include step-by-step directions. This plan will be your roadmap that shows the best and quickest way for you company to gain profitability. All actions taken should be measured against your goals to see if they are driving you one step closer to success. Not having a plan is the quickest way to failure.

Initiative
The hardest part of starting a new business is taking that first step. You have to have the initiative to get things started and to keep them moving forward. You will not have a manager telling you what you need to do nor will you have co-workers holding you accountable. It is very easy to procrastinate if something needs to be done or the task appears daunting. If something needs to be accomplished, you will have to step up and make sure it is completed. Nothing happens unless you make it happen.

Hard Work
There is no substitute for hard work when you start your own business. Usually you are the only employee. If things get done and the business succeeds, it is because you put in the time and effort to complete the task. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Hard work is the cornerstone of success for any new business and the motto is “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.”

Persistence
If you are working for yourself then you must have persistence. Running a business is not easy. When a problem exists you do not have a manager or an employee that you can rely on to solve the problem for you. You have to take the initiative to solve the problem. Most importantly you have to have the persistence to push through problems instead of giving up. If you face a roadblock, you need to adapt and change to overcome it.

There is nothing more rewarding that starting your own business and watching it succeed. While there is no guarantee that a new business will be successful, there are certain characteristic traits found in almost all successful business owners. If you have these traits then you are one step closer to building your own successful business.

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