As a small business owner, you may or may not have graduated from college. Can you guess which three highly successful, well-known entrepreneurs never graduated from college?
Hints: Here, in one simple sentence—three business people have made huge global and economic impacts by turning dreams into reality. Incidentally, they are also billionaires. One founded Microsoft. One founded Apple. One founded Virgin Atlantic.
If you guessed Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson, you are right.
However, based on my work with entrepreneurs, I imagine they share most or all of the following characteristics of entrepreneurs:
- Dreamer: focused on creative and innovative solutions
- Curious and not afraid of failure: focused on learning from their mistakes
- Persistent and passionate: will not forsake their dreams and they keep their eye on the ball.
- Positive and optimistic: possess a strong belief in their inventions or ideas
- Intelligent and driven: usually avid readers and information gatherers
- High expectations: set high standards for themselves and others
- Resistant to authority: may hesitate to ask for or receive advice
- Confidence: in their sole ability to provide for and reward their families (versus working for someone else)
- Prefer to lead, but not usually a disciplinarian: leads more like a Columbus than an army general
- Once a founder, always a founder: may have trouble transitioning to a managerial role
The question becomes: How can small business owners use these characteristics of entrepreneurs to successfully lead their people?
Obviously, it doesn’t necessarily take a college degree. At the same time, successful leadership techniques don’t always come naturally.
Basically, to grow and prosper, a small business owner must find, attract and keep employees who help them turn their entrepreneurial dreams into future successes. Once talented, loyal and ambitious employees are hired, business schools don’t often teach how to keep them. I’ve found successful entrepreneurs acquire and demonstrate certain people-development priorities:
- Communication: Entrepreneurs can become so engrossed with their business opportunities that they fail to remember the needs of their employees. Despite best intentions, they may not be as transparent as they need to be; and they may fail to develop the structure that the business needs. Some employees need messages repeated many times before they are absorbed. It is important to stay in touch with employees by communicating expectations and providing consistent feedback. You will be rewarded with higher productivity and a cooperative spirit.
- For extraordinary results, do extraordinary things for your people: You have invested a great deal in your people. Let them know you care about them and others. There are private and discreet ways, for instance, that you can help employees in times of personal need. Also, you can demonstrate your concern for the community by helping others which is always a positive for your image. Altruism or doing good things for others—such as helping them become healthier, more confident or more successful—creates good will and helps people take control of their own destiny.
- Understand your employees’ motivations: Learn about different personality types and general human-behavior tendencies. You want to reward certain behaviors. For example, there are specific behavioral modification techniques that can be adopted to produce desired results. On the other hand, you want to avoid rewarding undesirable or unproductive behaviors. In my work with entrepreneurs, we develop incentives for reinforcing desired employee behaviors. We also work to create an environment of trust so that employees feel safe.
I’ve found that when we show as much passion, drive and concern for our employees as we have for our business, we enjoy greater opportunities for creating “employee delight.” Delighted employees are usually happier, more loyal and committed to helping a business succeed. If you want to be as successful as other successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson, you need committed and dedicated employees.