To become a successful entrepreneur you need to know what you’re good at – but you need to know what you’re not so good at too! And then do something about it!!
Being your own boss, making your own hours, unlimited vacation time – that's the dream right? But how do you become a big success? Hard work is one thing – but another thing is to understand what you're good at…. and understand what you're not good at. However, don't sit down and list all the things you "can't do" The important thing is to take a look at your own strengths and figure out how to balance them as an Entrepreneur.
Twice a year, momstown meets with entrepreneurs across the country to share ideas, and build our business. We recently had the opportunity to get together in the conference centre at Fern Resort in Orillia. Finding strengths was first up on the agenda – and here's some tips for you to help balance your business.
1. Know What You're Good At
There are lots of self-tests out there – and with a little research you can identify exactly where your own strengths lie. We used Tom Rath's Strength Finder – using the Gallup Strengths Finder Test we were able to identify our top 5 strengths
2. Understand that Strengths come in All Shapes and Sizes
There were several entrepreneurs at our conference surprised (and maybe disappointed) that their strength didn't immediately sound like a strength. Words like Competitive, Includer and Restorative didn't seem like qualities that would help them build their business. After taking the time to read through those strengths, it became more apparent how they would be useful in business.
3. Stand Back and Take a Good Look
What are you really good at? Bet you'll find that your strengths align perfectly with the parts of your business that you love! Good Communicator? Bet you love presenting your ideas – or meeting with new people! Know that you see the things you're really good at, you can figure out what parts of your business you personally should be focusing on
4. Fill the Gaps
Now that you've figured out where you should focus – where are the gaps? Call in the reinforcements and find someone to support! Maybe you should hire a bookkeeper, a marketing assistant, or maybe it's just having someone come in once a week to tidy your office!!
It came as no surprise to most of the entrepreneurs at our conference that we are big thinkers – and that we need the support of those around us to put ideas into action. Investing in our business for us likely means hiring others to help – but that's what will take us to the next level!
And as an added bonus, we got a little support at this conference from some great businesses that all started small…. and built and grew!
A big THANK YOU to our conference sponsors: Fern Resort for hosting us, Walmart Canada for all the snacks and goodies to keep us going, Amarula original cream liquor from South Africa for the perfect addition to our business book club discussions, Hot Wheels Canada for the gifts for the kids, and Now For Mothers Healing Mix (which can help the budding mama-entrepreneur with it's natural and organic nutritional supplementation to help alleviate post pregnancy exhaustion)
