5 Traits of Outstanding Small Business Owners

Would you rather have a boss or be the boss? C'mon, I know somewhere inside of you is a desire to run the show. So why are you still working for someone else?

Small businesses still form the backbone of the American Dream. The most lucrative job on the company ladder is just three letters long. CEO. Sometimes we don't pursue it because we honestly don't want the responsibility. But we also have a tendency to get stuck asking Do I have what it takes?

Our modern economy provides limitless opportunity to become the head honcho of your very own business. Here's five traits to start growing now to become the next SMB success story.

VISION:

The freedom your CEO enjoys to chart the company's course might seem nice, especially when you don't like their decisions. But that freedom comes with enormous responsibility.

If you want to be the biggest boss, you'd better have a strong vision. Creating a business requires extremely hard work for an extended period of time. Think sixty months not sixty minutes. As the late nights and early mornings pile up, you'll need the inspiration to see things through.

In addition, your employees will perform the best when they know where the company is going. Think how clear Amazon is about their intention to become earth's most customer centric company. Customers know the end goal and so does every employee.

When everyone involved understands your vision, they can collaborate towards achieving it. The opposite is also true. People can't work to build your vision if you can't articulate it.

PATIENCE:

It should go without saying that the best things in life require patience to achieve. This is doubly true when you own a business. Business is all about relationships. Great relationships always require patience.

Your business won't be built in a day. But don't worry, word on the street is neither was Rome! It takes time to work out your vision. To earn customers and repeat business. It's fits and starts as you find the wrong help on your way to finding the right help. And even the right help will drive you crazy sometimes.

Remember to be patient with yourself. If you bring a growth mindset to work each day in your role, it will bleed into how you view your people and your company. Great leaders are patient. Prepare now by learning to be patient with yourself.

HUMILITY:

How well do you know yourself? Can you recognize your own gifts, limitations, and fears? Because these are the things that will make or break your business. It's easy to embrace that we soar with our strengths. It's harder to anticipate how our weaknesses can cause everything to come crashing down.

Businesses are like married couples. They work best when people bring complementary strengths to the table. A disorganized big picture thinker might not have chosen a spouse who excels at managing details. That's fine, but as captain of her business ship, she needs an organized second mate.

We all have strengths and weaknesses. In life and in business, things work out better when we partner with people who can cover our blind spots. Having the humility to learn the truth about yourself empowers you to recruit teams that can do just that.

ADAPTABILITY:

Quick Thought Experiment: When something doesn't go as planned in your office, who is the employee who freaks out? And who is the leader who settles people into a new direction? (Ideally it's your boss...Ideally)

Want to be the boss? Then it's your hand that must be steady. And not just in the day to day. Businesses are like people. They start every year with a game plan and have to adapt on the fly as circumstances change. Businesses with adaptive ownership will ride the rocky road to success. Keep learning to adapt. Your business (and your bank account) will thank you later.

CONTEXT:

The worst decisions most of us will make are the ones where we lost track of context. For instance, imagine removing your 401K from the stock market once the media projects a recession. That's a bad call. Staying in a toxic relationship out of fear you won't find a better one. Same deal.

When you own a business context is a two-fold issue. On one hand, you need to stay even-keeled through success and failure. But you also need to remember the place your business ought to have in your life. No matter how much time and energy you invest you are not your business. Remembering this will help you prioritize the people who are most important, even up to walking away from it all when it's truly best to call it quits.

Deep down inside, everyone has moments where they truly wish they were the boss. If you're thinking about making your dream a reality, try growing these five strengths starting today. Whether you become a CEO or something totally different, they'll make your tomorrow stronger, fuller, and filled with more success.