Most people equate business success with top icons such as Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. These individuals are usually the answer when people are asked who their role models are for business success. What are common among them, besides having a huge amount of wealth produced in a rather short amount of time, are the traits these people have. What is strange is that these people have somehow found the right mindset to run a successful business.

There are huge differences between being employed by a company compared to being self-employed. The demands of both are definitely different. For those who work for others, the requisites and responsibilities are known and expected and almost every individual can adjust perfectly to this scenario. This is also the reason why some people usually start out as being employed and once they gain the required experience, quit and decide to start up a business venture.  

Although being employed by someone else is usually less stressful, there is often much less to gain than throwing caution to the wind and starting a business venture centered around a great idea.  While starting a business venture is ambitious and is usually a positive experience, not everyone has made it as far as being successful is concerned. Most entrepreneurs dive quickly into starting something without a plan only to spend their life savings and eventually fail without even being able to reach breakeven.  

According to the SBA, or small business association, only 70% of new businesses survive the first two years, and only about 50% survive the first five years.  This is due to many reasons such as lack of proper planning, bad locations, and problems securing capital.  This is not unusual and there have been many business owners who have prematurely called it quits and eventually stopped altogether. The more resilient and resourceful people have learned a lot about the risks first and formulate great business plans from the start.

Historically, business success stories were so rare that they were made into fairy tales. But with the interconnection and interactivity of communication afforded to every person located in the globe through the internet, the opportunities for success seem to be much higher.  Attitudes such as faith, perseverance, and determination, and traits such as creativity and confidence are some of the weapons that any person who wants to succeed in business needs to possess. Other things such as material wealth and money can disappear, but the knowledge gained can never be taken away. Such is the price of experience.

In all endeavors were money and people are involved, especially a startup business venture, one of the key things that will never change will be the power of communication. While technology has made communication easier, the art of speaking to please the ear of a customer and writing in a language suitable to commerce has never changed.

Dale Carnegie, in his famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, stressed the point that you should never argue with a person you want to win over. This should be followed by heart even if you know you are right when it comes to business customers. Another trait that Dale Carnegie stressed was that it always pays to listen more than talking more.

At the end of the day, being self-employed is basically like having a relationship. Whether you are an owner of a factory, or you personally handle a service based operation, business will always be about relationships between people. If you can manage to be successful, the business will no longer become a just a reason to earn money, but a sense of pride and accomplishment for the entrepreneur who has put his or her heart and soul into its success.