Waaay back (a whole 11 months ago) at the dawn of 2006, when we had yet to break our lofty resolutions and continued to scribble “2005” erroneously on paperwork, we examined some key characteristics common to successful entrepreneurs. Now, in the last days of the fourth quarter and in anticipation of the shiny, untarnished newness of ‘07, we cap off that list. Our lofty resolution is to inspire the budding business owner out there. So find out if you’re one of them before you tell your boss to take this job and shove it.

Steady As She Goes

Keeping an even keel while navigating the choppy waters of business is always a challenge. Mapping a course and staying with it can be a very trying, adventurous experience, and emotional stability is absolutely essential. If you fail to remain calm and optimistic your family go on vacation (and forget to tell you), and your employees will undoubtedly surf Monster on their lunch hour.

Piloting your own vessel is a great deal of pressure. You are everyone’s compass. They look to you for guidance and daily attitude, and if you believe in your business, they will too. If you show fear, they’ll too be frightened. And scared, gloomy employees are most certainly not productive ones.

Be warned: playing commercial conquistador is also sometimes lonely. Though employees will most certainly volunteer to share their personal problems with you, it is best not to reciprocate. If you must, only unload fears to those who are incapable of sinking your business: an equal or friend outside the business.

Often times you’ll want to drop anchor or fire off your cannons. Don’t. It may provide you temporary relief, but it’s bad for business. Feeling crummy is OK, but letting everyone know about it isn’t. When employees or clients watch you fall apart, they lose confidence in what you’re doing, which then causes you to run aground. (We know – enough with the nautical analogy, already.)

What A Concept

To sustain a successful business, you need excellent conceptual ability. Don’t mistake this as natural intelligence. It’s possible to be smart as a whip and board fence at the same time. Though impressive, possessing the knack to write in dactylic hexameter or calculate the square root of 546 sans calculator won’t earn you Business Owner of the Year.

The capacity to conceptualize allows you to effectively handle chaos, an inevitable and perpetual state of most any enterprise. Naturally, in order to make the best decision possible, the ideal is to be fully briefed – from the big picture to the most microscopic detail. In reality, however, that’s never going to happen. Ever. So savvy entrepreneurs are able to suck it up and surrender to guessimates, filling in the proverbial blanks, but filling them in correctly.

Recognizing flaws in your system – whether existing or potential – because of your mind’s penchant to identify particulars in patterns of data is only the first step in conceptualizing. The ultimate talent lies in the ability to brainstorm ideas agilely and swiftly, comfortably settling on a solution to the latest bump in the business road. And everyone can do that.

Just The Facts, Ma’am

It may sound callous, but the most successful business owners make operational decisions based on cold, hard facts rather than on warm-n-fuzzy feelings. Though sensitivity can’t be buried entirely (uh… you won’t have any employees left), 99% of the time subjective emotions must come second to tangibles such as profit and loss statements.

Though there’s something to be said for gut feeling and sixth sense, a realistic thought process is behind (what might seem like) every “snap decision” an owner makes. In business, denial equals death, so directness in message and brevity in action is required. Just do your best Joe Friday impression.

Understand that choosing objectivity over emotion is not a free pass to unethical behavior, though. Morality for morality’s sake is good, but morality for business’ sake is critical. Solid, trustworthy business relationships bring in even more business. Burn bridges and you will undoubtedly spontaneously combust (just like Spinal Tap’s drummer). And you really wouldn’t want that.

No Hard Feelings

One last blurb on objectivity. Building your own empire requires an objective personality. The capacity to carry this out can be harder than anything you ever learn in school (organic chemistry included), and, quite honestly, not everyone can do it. And not everyone even wants to because it requires an impartial, somewhat detached, approach to business relationships.

When it comes down to it, “switching it on and off” is typically more achievable for XX’s than XY’s. From birth, women have traditionally been trained to be gentle, considerate, and conciliatory. (Sugar and spice and everything nice…)

As George from Seinfeld confirmed, the desire to be “liked” is not exclusive to women. For anyone, making decisions that render you unpopular are some of the most difficult to make. Though you should definitely aspire to be friendly with co-workers, being true blue with them is slippery. Maintaining a smidgen of “psychological distance” is always a good idea, though not as fun.

So can someone who tears up during a coffee commercial ever develop this characteristic” Hard to say. But those who can learn to be a lamb in the home and a lion in the office will typically ascend the workplace food chain.

Here’s To Your Health

Lastly, it might sound silly, but joining the rat race demands good health. You don’t have to be fit enough to beat Flo Jo or Lance, but you do need to have enough stamina to endure stress and long hours, which tend to weaken your immune system.

If you expect the seeds of a new venture to thrive and bear fruit, you better have some healthy soil. If you have a history of poor health or refuse to take care of yourself, then prepare for a wilting enterprise. From the initial planting, who promotes the business, makes clients happy, and pays the bills” You, you, and you. Even when you can’t get out of bed. So you better start using that gym membership.

Is It In You”

Sooooo many things to think about, eh” To sum up, your best bet is to be honest with yourself, ask a lot of questions of those who have been down the same (or similar) path, and pre-plan as much as possible. Oh, if at all possible, try to learn on someone else’s time instead of your own. Then, when you become rich and famous, be sure to return the favor by mentoring another bright, young (even if only in spirit) thing.