If you are presently wondering about whether you have the correct aptitude and characteristics to go into business for yourself  it is probably worth sitting down and trying to analyse your own skills set and then trying to compare it with the skills set that is needed for your intended business. Most people rush into setting up their own businesses, excited by all the possibilities that might offer, without taking the time to see all the pitfalls and to work out whether they might be suited to the new working style and all the inherent risks and changes. The best way to do this is to list all your personal strengths, (such as organising and managing for example) and where you might be lacking (such as creative thinking or marketing) and whether this will affect your business. When you have done this and analysed your personal weaknesses and strengths you then need to work out whether you can cope on your own or whether you need to hire staff to help you out. Bear in mind that you wont be able to tick every box, bit that every business will need the following skills in one form or another:

(1) Technician or Engineer:

No matter what business you want to set up, the technician or engineer type of character will be the person who gets the actual workings of the job done. This could be a designer, or a developer of products, a builder or a computer programmer. Invariably this will be the person running the business as people normally tend to go into business doing something they love and are trained to do. If you are setting up an online business to do something you love to do then you may well need a programmer or designer to set up the site for you. This is normally a more efficient and wiser use of time as it allows you to concentrate on your core business skills and not have to get bogged down in coding. Trying to do everything yourself could lead you to build a poorly laid out and designed site.

(2) Project Management:

This will most likely be your main job if you go into business on your own. The vast majority of your time will inevitably be taken up with the running, management and execution of the business. Project managers need to coordinate every section of the business, from sales to marketing and from communication to administration. As owner and manager of your own business you will deal with everyone from suppliers to bank managers to customers.

(3) Entrepreneur:

Finally, remember that all of the most successful businesses have at their heart an entrepreneur or someone who is good at coming up with the big ideas. Have you got what it takes to think outside of the box? And have you got the entrepreneur mindset that knows when to take risks and when to be cautious? If you are naturally cautious and don’t want to take risks at all then going into business on your own is clearly not the safest route to future prosperity and you might want to think again. But if you are ready and willing to take chances on your future then starting your own business is the right career path!

Esther is a small business blogger based in Chicago. She writes about all areas affecting small business from entrepreneurship to tax relief and from invoicing to accounts receivable financing and where to find a decent invoice funding company.