Traits of a Good Business Person

Part 3 of Acey Gaspard’s Simple Guide to Starting a Small Business

This article covers the core personality traits that separate business owners who stay in control of their company from those who get pulled along by it. It’s written for small business owners, founders, and managers who want a practical checklist of habits to build — not a personality test, but a working list of traits you can develop on purpose.

When you own and operate your own business, you’re in charge, you’re in control, and it’s you who takes the credit for the company’s failure or success.

Some people get so caught up in the day-to-day tasks of running their business that they fail to realize they’re in charge and should be controlling the direction of the company. Instead, circumstances control them and keep them from focusing on the big picture.

Let’s Look at Tammy’s Story

Tammy runs a clothing store in a local mall. She was so excited about starting her boutique. In the early days of running her shop, Tammy would plan the window displays. She was a trend watcher who kept up with fashion around the world and traveled to some of the top shows on the calendar.

Tammy’s business was growing, and she started to get busy. She was overwhelmed with shipping, receiving, customer service, bookkeeping, and inventory. She was taking on much more than she could handle.

After a while, instead of directing the company, she began to respond to whatever problems and tasks came up during the day. Tammy had turned into an employee of her own store, and the events around her had become her boss.

Rather than running the show, Tammy let it run her. She had lost her enthusiasm — it was more about keeping up with the workload.

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Don’t let this happen to you. Keep in mind that you’re in charge, and if you feel that you aren’t, then do something about it.

Tammy’s story is just one example of how a leader can get off track. You can learn from and use many traits of successful business people in your personal and professional life. Next, let’s go over some of the traits successful business people have in common.

Essential Character Traits of a Good Business Person

Personality research on entrepreneurs has consistently found a pattern: people who succeed in business tend to score higher on extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness, and lower on neuroticism, than the general population. The 15 traits below build on that pattern with practical habits you can work on directly.

1. Persistence

Persistence is a common trait of many successful entrepreneurs and can be an essential asset. It will help you get through tough times and ruts.

However, persistence doesn’t mean being stubborn. You may have a tough situation and don’t want to give up. If you do the same thing repeatedly without results, you’ll go nowhere. You are better off changing your approach to get the results you want.

2. Adapt to Change

The business world is in constant fluctuation. When you can adapt quickly without losing track of your mission, you are in a good position.

When you complain about change, resist it, and do nothing, you may find yourself behind the competition and lose business. Adapting to change is a positive practice and a skill you can use in other areas of your life.

3. Assess Risks

The better you are at assessing risk, the better your outcomes will be. You’ll be able to make intelligent decisions, and you’ll avoid mistakes that can put you out of business. Good risk assessment allows you to seize opportunities that others pass up.

Research on entrepreneurial risk-taking backs this up: successful founders tend to pair risk tolerance with balanced optimism — a realistic but positive outlook — rather than pure risk-taking. Before committing to a risky move, write down what you know, what you don’t, and what happens if it doesn’t work out. That habit alone will sharpen your risk assessment over time.

4. Lifelong Learning

Whether or not you are aware of it, learning is an ongoing process in all aspects of life. Since you’re learning anyway, you might as well take charge of the process by filling your mind with useful information.

The key to continuous learning is taking an interest in the topic and defining what the information can do for you. For example, you might decide you want to learn how to advertise on LinkedIn to increase sales while improving brand awareness.

When you know what you want to learn, you can gather a few articles or take an online course to get familiar with the topic. The next step, and it’s an important one, is to take action on what you learn. If you don’t take action, you will forget most of it.

Once you’re satisfied with the topic, you can move on to the next one. Your learning sessions can run 30 minutes or an hour — whatever works for you. Consistency matters and can help you build a routine.

Another learning channel worth trying is audiobooks. Audible.com has a vast library of educational material you can listen to while working or on your commute.

5. Responsibility

Entrepreneurs take responsibility for their actions. They’re not afraid to take the blame when things go wrong. They own up to it, and instead of focusing on blame, they concentrate on solutions.

Entrepreneurs are not afraid to take action. They don’t wait for someone to tell them what to do. They act on their own because they know their responsibilities.

Being responsible takes effort and builds character; the more you take responsibility, the stronger you become.

6. Creativity

In business, being creative may give you the edge you need to stand out and offer something special.

Practice creativity in small steps. Ask questions like, “What can I do to improve this?” Try brainstorming to help you come up with creative ideas.

7. Taking Charge

Successful business people take charge and hit the ground running. By getting in the habit of taking charge, you build leadership skills and learn to manage companies.

Taking charge of situations may come naturally to you, or you may be hesitant. If you’re hesitant, take small steps to practice and build the skill.

8. Aware of The Numbers

Numbers and business go hand in hand. If you don’t know much about numbers, you’re going to need to learn.

You don’t need to become a financial wizard who understands the ins and outs of multinational companies, and you don’t need to become an accountant, but you need to know the basics.

You need to know whether or not you’re profitable, how to manage money, and how to hold onto it. Even if you hire an accountant or bookkeeper, you still need to know what’s going on in your business.

9. Marketing Savvy

Whatever business you’re in, without marketing you won’t have much of a business. You need to develop these skills.

Marketing can be as simple as placing ads, running promotions, or hanging an enticing sign. Word of mouth counts too — anything that gets the right people through the door.

You need to be able to promote what you sell. It’s the lifeline of the company.

10. Being Proactive

If you’re a seasoned procrastinator, you’re going to have a hard time finding success. You may be doing okay, but it takes much longer to reach the success you want, and you’re probably missing out on opportunities along the way.

One of the reasons you procrastinate could be juggling too many things at once and getting distracted, or you get bored easily. Whatever the issue, you need to overcome procrastination. There are many resources out there that can help. Successful business people don’t procrastinate.

11. Self-Reliant

When you’re on your own, you have no one pushing you or telling you what needs to be done. It’s hard to stay on track, but it’s essential to keep yourself there.

Once you decide what to do, create a list in order of priority. You may want to follow the list yourself, or have someone check up on you to see how you’re doing. Keeping a running list on your phone — checking off what’s done and adding new items as needed — works well for many owners.

12. Life Balance

Successful people usually have a balance between their business and personal lives, and it shows: they report a stronger sense of accomplishment and higher confidence. Keeping that balance is worth protecting at all times.

The payoff isn’t just personal. Businesses and leaders who prioritize work-life balance see measurably higher productivity, so guarding your own downtime is a business decision, not just a personal one.

13. Focused On The Business

Focus on what’s best for your company. What can you do better for your customers? How can you make them happier? Questions like these help you become a better businessperson.

When you focus on yourself instead, you tend to cut corners and look for shortcuts. They may get the job done, but they rarely produce great outcomes.

14. Performance Consciousness

When you’re doing something important, ask yourself, “Am I doing the best I can?” If the answer is yes, that’s great. If you have doubts, push yourself to do better.

A simple tactic while working on something significant is to stay aware that you’re performing, the same way you would if you were being judged in a competition. That mindset pushes you to do better than coasting through the steps.

No one can expect more than your best, not even you.

15. Strong Decision-Making Skills

Strong decision-making is a skill you can develop to help in your personal and professional life.

Making the right decision is always a benefit. To make good decisions, use a process: write down the pros and cons, gather the facts, and identify the different outcomes.

Make sure you don’t rush a decision, but don’t take too long either. Finding that middle ground is a skill worth practicing on its own.

Key Points and Facts About Traits of a Good Business Person

Owning a business means being in charge of its direction — losing sight of that can turn you into a reactive employee of your own company, as Tammy’s story shows.
Personality research links entrepreneurial success to higher extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness, and lower neuroticism.
Successful entrepreneurs tend to pair risk tolerance with balanced optimism rather than reckless risk-taking.
Protecting work-life balance isn’t just personal — leaders who prioritize it see measurably higher productivity.
The 15 traits covered include persistence, adaptability, risk assessment, lifelong learning, responsibility, creativity, taking charge, financial awareness, marketing savvy, being proactive, self-reliance, life balance, focus, performance consciousness, and decision-making.

Action Steps for Traits of a Good Business Person

Take Stock of Where You Stand

Read through the 15 traits and honestly rate yourself on each one.
Pick the two or three traits where you’re weakest — those are your starting point.

Build One Habit at a Time

Choose one trait to work on for the next 30 days rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Tie it to a concrete habit — for example, writing pros and cons before every major decision to build stronger decision-making.

Protect Your Role as the Owner

Set aside time each week to work on the business instead of just in it.
Watch for signs you’ve slipped into “Tammy’s pattern” — reacting to problems all day instead of directing the business.

Checklist for Traits of a Good Business Person

Stay in charge of direction
- Block time weekly to plan instead of just react.
Develop persistence without stubbornness
- Change your approach when something isn’t working instead of repeating it.
Practice risk assessment
- Write down knowns, unknowns, and worst-case outcomes before big decisions.
Keep learning on purpose
- Set a fixed block of time each week for reading, courses, or audiobooks.
Guard your work-life balance
- Treat personal time as a non-negotiable business decision, not an afterthought.
Sharpen decision-making
- Use a simple pros-and-cons process before committing to major moves.

FAQ: Traits of a Good Business Person
What’s the most important trait for a small business owner to develop first?

There’s no single “most important” trait, but staying in charge of the business’s direction — rather than just reacting to daily problems — is the foundation the other traits build on.

Can these traits be learned, or are they something you’re born with?

Research on entrepreneurial personality shows patterns, not fixed rules — traits like persistence, risk assessment, and decision-making can all be built through deliberate practice.

How do I know if I’ve lost control of my business like Tammy did?

A common sign is spending most of your day reacting to whatever comes up instead of working from a plan you set.

Conclusion

We reviewed 15 traits of successful business people, each summarized in a few sentences to highlight the main idea. Go back over the ones that stood out to you and note them as the traits you want to develop. Putting them into practice is the best way to get value from this list.

Back to the table of contents of Acey Gaspard’s Guide to Starting a Small Business.

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