Our businesses and how they run reflect back to us – the entrepreneurs. This means that to really have a successful business, it is vital that we get an understanding of ourselves at home and in the workplace.

Why am I not suggesting that you spend time getting to know your employees, checking your business growth, or networking with clients in your city? Don’t get me wrong – those things are all important. But if you don’t know and understand yourself, none of the rest of it truly matters.

Knowing yourself is the key to successfully starting and maintaining a business.

Four Ways to Know Yourself & Have a Successful Business

Know your strengths and weaknesses

Perhaps this seems incredibly obvious, but we need to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses. As the StrengthsFinders authors say, it’s better to work at excelling in your strengths than trying to perfect your weaknesses.

This reminds me of the 10,000 hours principle. Have you heard that it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to become an expert at the task? Don’t spend your hours working on a skill that counts as a weakness. Rather, perfect your strengths.

In the same way, it’s important to know your weaknesses and bring along people of different personalities and gifts who can round out your business.

Know what inspires you

While I do believe that dreaming is important, I don’t think you should get lost in dreaming. Entrepreneurs are big dreamers. But without time, hard work and follow-through, your ideas will flop.

Keep generating ideas, but at the same time, take a soul search and figure out what really inspires you. You need to know what things actually give you lasting inspiration. Some ideas will give you passion for a moment, but will eventually run out of steam.

Take a detailed looks at your idea list and eliminate the options that don’t fully resonate with you.

Know what energizes you

Simply put: you need to know what energizes you because you need to lessen the effects of stress. Especially at the start of a new business, stress is high. Money, relationships, and self-confidence are on the line.

Don’t allow this stress to master you. Know your threshold and allow yourself space to relax. Know what stimulates and refreshes you – and make time to do it! If it’s yoga or running, make sure to fit it into your spare time.

With continuous stress management, you will be far less likely to burn-out.

Know what gets under your skin

Other people are going to be involved in your business – whether that’s the people your business serves, the people you contract out to, or your partners and employees. It’s important to take an intuitive look at yourself and others and recognize patterns.

Do you find yourself snapping at people who offer advice without invitation? Or does someone being late really drive you crazy? Take a step into nurturing healthy relationships by knowing ahead of time what irks you.

Celebrate differences, because what others bring to the table, you don’t. Where you may be an idea generator, another person is a detail organizer. Spend some time thinking on this so you can come to peace with these differences and be prepared to react professionally.

When we explore these things and really know ourselves, we can excel in our field. Knowing yourself really is one of the best ways to ensure long-term success in your business.

Check out these resources below and continue the process of knowing yourself.

Also, let us know in the comments what inspires you? What personality type are you?

Resources:

Myers Briggs – Time-tested, MBTI gives you a good look at your whole personality.

DISC – DISC is built specifically for your working self.

StrengthsFinders – You have to purchase this one, but it is well worth the money!

Talent Today – This is newer and free, but insightful.

Enneagram – This test gives you a general look at your personality and emotional health.