There's Really Only One Way to Succeed in Business (Unless Your Business Plan is Based on "Dumb Luck") By Chris Kelleher

People wanting to be in their own business ask me “What does it take to be a success in your own business?” 

Having been a serial entrepreneur since age 10 (with a few “employed” periods along the way), they obviously assume that I know THE ANSWER.

Well, like all $100,000,000 questions,  there is an answer.  But, like all $100,000,000 answers, it’s not the answer that a lot of people want to hear.

But, first, let’s get straight about what “success” is and isn’t.

“Success” to me is having owning a business that

     (a) provides for your material and money needs (however great or small you set those needs),

     (b) is an activity that you derive sufficient personal and professional satisfaction from (of course, you define what the word “sufficient” means to you), and

     (c) allows you to have a lifestyle that is reasonably in keeping with your personal and life goals. Again, everyone’s personal and life goals are different. But here’s a good base line to start at: you never want to hear from a child, “Gee, I wonder what my dad looks like because he’s never home?” and you never want to be told “You’re just heart attack waiting to happen.”

Yes, it’s true that a few “successful” business owners can be successfully solely because they were “dumb lucky” (in polite company, I refer to it as “being in the right place at the right time”).  But, these “success stories” tend to be “one hit wonders” because they don’t realize that their success was solely based on “luck” and “luck” is a fickle partner to team up with for future endeavors.

It’s also true that a few “successful” business owners may have made a lot of money by acting like truly wretched human beings.  But, in my book, these “success stories” (even if the media adores them) will find out, as the Beatles taught us years ago, that “money can’t buy me love.”

So, what is THE ANSWER?

THE ANSWER is that all successful business owners I’ve ever met have developed the following VIPQs™ (Very Important Personal Qualities):

Self-Motivated

Self-Disciplined

Self-Directing

Self-Instructing

Self-Contained

Self-Correcting

Without Being Self-Destructive

In future blogs, I’ll discuss practical ways to develop these critical “success” qualities while minimizing the chance that you’ll make a wrong turn onto the superhighway of self-destruction.

Please note:  VIPQs™ is a trademark of LFB Enterprises, Inc.

Chris Kelleher JD-MBA is a award-winning business attorney, author and speaker.  Chris was named Small Business Lawyer of the Year by The United States Small Business Administration and currently serves as the Chair of the Business Law Committee of the Missouri Bar Association. Praised in the media for his “high energy level and a great sense of humor,” Chris has appeared on broadcast and cable programs and his “plain English” articles on legal and business topics have appeared in a variety of national and regional publications.
 

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