Numerous studies have been written by small business managers over the years. Many look at traits and characteristics that appear common to most people who start their own businesses, while other studies focus on characteristics that seem to appear frequently in a successful owner-manager.

First consider those characteristics that seem to distinguish the person who opens a business from the person who work for someone else. Studies investigated successful and unsuccessful owners, some of whom went bankrupt several times. Some were successful only after the second or third try. The characteristics they share might almost be said to predispose a person into trying to start a business. Of course, not all these characteristics appear in every small business owner-manager, but the following seem to most predominant.

 When a person starts and manages his own business, he doesn’t see risks; he sees only factors that he can control to his advantage. If you possess these traits to some degree or other, it doesn’t mean you will be successful, only that you will very likely start your own business.

Studies have shown that very often the small business owner doesn’t differ from anyone else in risk avoidance or aversion when measured on tests. At first thought, this seems unreasonable, since logic tells us that it is risky to open your own business.

Characteristics of a Small Business Owner

 The characteristics that appear most frequently among successful small
business managers include drive, thinking ability, competence in human relations, communications skills and technical knowledge.