A DEEPER LOOK AT WHO YOU ARE: MYERS-BRIGGS

Another of today’s most respected and well-known personality tests is called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment. Developed in the 1940s by Isabel Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, the test is continually updated, and more than 2 million people take it every year.

The Myers & Briggs Foundation (www.myersbriggs.org) instructs people interested in taking the test to find a certified career or coun seling center so that a certified administrator can give you the test and review the results with you.

In the meantime, however, the following is an overview of what the test will identify, mainly the dominant factors in your personality, your natural tendencies, and how you process information and make decisions. These are all aspects of our personality that emerge on a daily basis in business.

Definitions of Personality
In the four pairings below, you will find descriptions from Wikipedia of two opposing personality traits. Each of us favors one over the other in each pairing, and the test reveals which of the two suits you more. The extrovert’s flow of energy is directed outward toward people and objects, and the introvert’s is directed inward toward concepts and ideas. Extroverts are action-oriented and desire breadth, while introverts are thought-oriented and seek depth.

Sensing and intuition are the information-gathering functions. Individuals who prefer sensing are more likely to trust information that is tangible and concrete. They prefer to look for details and facts. On the other hand, those who prefer intuition tend to trust information that is more abstract—those flashes of insight that seem to bubble up from the unconscious.

Thinking and feeling are the decision-making functions. The thinking and feeling functions are both used to make rational decisions. Those who prefer thinking tend to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what seems reasonable, logical, consistent, and matches a given set of rules. Those who prefer feeling tend to come to decisions by associating or empathizing with the situation, looking at it from another angle, and weighing the situation to achieve the greatest harmony, considering the needs of the people involved.

Judging (thinking or feeling) or perceiving (sensing or intuition) functions describe how we relate to the outside world. People who are “judging” types prefer to “have matters settled,” and those who are “perceiving” types prefer to “keep decisions open.”

So what does all this mean? Do you have to take any of these tests in order to start a business?

Not necessarily. However, among my goals for this book is helping entrepreneurs increase their chances of success. Risks must be considered when you’re deciding whether to launch a business and what type to launch. While there are numerous considerations to take into account in making these decisions, identifying a business and role for oneself that is compatible with one’s personality can only enhance your chances of success and satisfaction. Further, this awareness can increase the likelihood of your success in the ongoing management of the company. This knowledge is a hidden and powerful opportunity, one that will serve you well both in choosing a business that fits your style and building a business that works for you.

PERSONALITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Although there are proven personality tests that have been around for decades (which we’ll discuss later in this section), Bill Wagner’s book, The Entrepreneur Next Door, is a tremendous tool because it directly focuses on the relationship between personality and entrepreneurship. Wagner believes that personality does have a significant influence on how you perform as a business owner and that the secret to success is choosing a venture that fits one’s entrepreneurial personality. In a recent article by Wagner entitled “What’s Your Entrepreneurial Personality Type?” he explains:

Successful entrepreneurs share a number of common personality traits, and these traits are the predominant indicators of their success—outweighing education, family ties, skills, and experience. Moreover, people who choose business ventures that are in sync with their true personalities tend to experience the greatest level of success and fulfillment.

Wagner identifies seven broad personality types. Generalists, who are more strategic or leadership-oriented, include the Trailblazer, the Go-Getter, the Manager, and the Motivator. There are also three Specialist personality types, who are more tactical in their behavior; these are the true “experts” who enjoy the details and are typically very good at them. He calls these three types the Authority, the Collaborator, and the Diplomat. For a brief summary of the seven types, visit his Web site, The Entrepreneur Next Door (www.theentre preneurnextdoor.com), to find out which best describes you.

There are other tests that can help inform you about how to approach business, how you process information, how you interact with others, and how you make decisions. One of these was developed by Dr. David W. Merrill and Roger Reid back in the 1960s and is still in use today for achieving success in sales and management careers. The Social Style Model divides people into four Styles: Driving, Expressive, Amiable, and Analytical.

Driving Style. These people thrive on the thrill of the challenge and the internal motivation to succeed. Driving Style people are practical folks who focus on getting results. Words that describe them include action oriented, problem solving, direct, assertive, risk taking, and independent.

Expressive Style. These people are very outgoing and enthusiastic, with a high energy level. They are also great idea generators but usually do not have the ability to see the idea through to completion. Words that describe them include verbal, motivating, convincing, impulsive, influential, charming, and confident.

Amiable Style. They are dependable, loyal, and easygoing. They like things that are nonthreatening and friendly. Words that describe them include patient, loyal, sympathetic, team oriented, relaxed, and trusting.

Analytical Style. Analytical people are known for being systematic, well organized, and deliberate. Words that describe them include controlled, orderly, precise, disciplined, cautious, and logical.

Knowing who you are in relation to others is important. If you are Driving (which I happen to be) and the person you are speaking with is Amiable, you need to alter your way of communicating or the two of you will most likely clash. The relaxed Amiable Style may be put off by your action-oriented Driving Style. You may be seen as demanding, impatient, and forceful, which would instantly conflict with his or her easygoing and patient Amiable Style. However, if you can quickly assess that this person approaches things from an Amiable Style, then you can tone down your focus on results and instead recognize that this communication would be much more effective if you adjust and connect in a more personal and nonthreatening way, allowing time for things to unfold. On the other hand, if an Amiable person wishes to connect with you, he or she will need to adjust his or her own behavior to get right to the point.

One mistake common among business owners is the expectation that everyone is—or should be—just like them, and that these people should accommodate the owner’s communication needs, rather than the other way around. For example, I recently spoke with a businesswoman (Amiable) who hired a financial planner (Analytical) to help her figure out her next steps. She said that although he is offering sound advice, she finds herself drained of energy in his presence and resistant to his recommendations—so much so that neither of them wants to continue working together. We had a brief discussion about Social Styles. As an Amiable person, she felt the need to make tough decisions in a relaxed, friendly environment, with time to process the information. As an Analytical Style, his approach is, “Here are the facts, now make your decision.” However, armed with this new recognition, she realized how the two could work together and that she could, in fact, get her needs met. She came to understand that she does need his expertise and that she cannot take his style personally. She has adjusted how she interacts with him so that she now takes the information he provides home, which gives her ample time to digest it and make critical business decisions on her own terms and in her own time.

You can determine where your personality fits in this framework through books, career coaches, or Internet sites, but the originator is the TRACOM Group, which offers a variety of Social Style tests and books at www.socialstyle.com. The advantage of going directly to the source is that they provide comprehensive results that can clearly articulate your findings.

WHAT ROLE DOES YOUR PERSONALITY PLAY?

There are many tools and assets we bring to the table when starting a business. None is more important than you. Each of us is wired differently, and to some extent this wiring will play a role in determining what we will be best at, enjoy most, and find most challenging. With that in mind, I want to share insights and research that will prove useful in understanding personality and what role it plays as you begin to formulate your business idea and, eventually, your plan. Turning inward for a little self-evaluation is the first step in making money your way.

YOUR DREAM AND YOUR PERSONALITY

Business experts have long known the importance personality plays in business success, which is why some of the world’s biggest and most successful companies train their managers to do personality assessments for potential and current employees.

When starting your own business, you begin with a blank slate: you are free to design it to fit your needs, your lifestyle, and exactly who you are. But what specific impact does your personality type have on selecting the “right” business for you? And what role does your personality type play in your business success? In this section, we will explore several different kinds of personality tests and how they might affect your thinking about your prospective or current business. By examining your personality in depth, you will be able to answer questions like: What kind of business suits my personality? What type of role am I drawn to naturally? What traits do I need to compensate for? This knowledge can be a powerful tool. If you are like most people, certain tendencies and preferences may suddenly make more sense to you and quickly clarify the approach that is most likely to meet your needs and goals.

This knowledge can also lead to a deeper understanding of those around you, such as customers, clients, vendors, and potential partners, which can help you adjust your own communication to bring more positive results. I have taken many of these tests myself and can therefore verify that they’re a terrific way to better understand yourself and how your personality relates to your own business. While we’re all made up of many traits (some that may even appear to conflict), these personality assessments will help us gauge which traits are dominant, revealing both our strengths and those areas that require a bit more attention.

BUSINESS DEFINITIONS DEFINED

There are several ways people describe the type of business they are in, and in most cases more than one description will apply. While there are hundreds of categories that get very specific, for our purpose here, which is to help with the process of finding your niche, let’s review the most popular categories:

• Service business. A person (or more than one person) delivers a service, such as housecleaning, massage, or tax preparation.
• Product business. The business is based on the offer of a specific product, such as a household gadget, software program, or children’s toy.
• Retail food service. A business that directly provides food products (e.g., a pizza parlor).
• Food business. A business that offers a food product that is prepared for sale, direct to consumer or wholesale (e.g., your own jarred tomato sauce).
• Professional. A firm that provides professional services (e.g., a law firm, accountancy firm, detective agency, or computer support company).
  
• Technology. A company in the tech field, which can include anything from software development to the sale of mobile devices.
• Media. A business that focuses on some aspect of media, such as publishing, content production, public relations, or advertising.

Other classifications are based on the target customer. Who is your customer?

• B2B (“business-to-business”). A business that sells to other businesses. A printing company or medical device manufacturer are good examples.
  
• B2C (“business-to-consumer”). A business that sells to end consumers. A retail shop or eBay PowerSeller are examples.
  

SOLVE A PROBLEM: THE PROS The Creativity Is Boundless

When you create a business that fills an existing gap in the marketplace, being creative is not just possible, it’s essential. It is completely up to you to open up your creative channels and to take chances experimenting with your ideas. It requires a willingness to explore your options, read everything, look at the examples of others, and then allow yourself to put your own twist on things. It relies heavily on trusting your intuition.

You May Have Little or No Competition

When you find a clear market opening, there may be little or no competition, at least in the beginning. This is an incredible opportunity to create a new space in the market. If your idea is a good one, competition will eventually come on your heels, but you will already have paved the way and still have the opportunity to lead or to sell your business to those who want to enter the market.

You Have No Rulebook

The best part of creating a business from scratch in a clear market space is that there is no prescribed corporate structure, process, or requirements. You make it up as you go. Although it can be a daunting task at times to create the system, at least it is your system, and you have complete freedom and flexibility to make the necessary adjustments as you move forward.

SOLVE A PROBLEM: THE CONS
You Have No Rulebook

It’s both a pro and a con. You have to make up the rules as you go along, and you may travel down many blind alleys before you find the rules that lead to your success.

Your Risk Is High and Unknown

Not only don’t you have a rulebook, you don’t have a road map either.
Creating a brand-new product or service is not like buying a franchise,on your own. You must rely on your own vision of the gap in the market and create the business out of thin air. There is no “right” way to do it. It’s nice to have this freedom; however, the risks of failure are high. No matter how much you research the space and how hard you work, you are venturing into uncharted territory. You will earn the respect of some, but the passion and belief in your vision will need to come from you, especially when things don’t go as you had planned.

You Have a Large Learning Curve

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself. —Eleanor Roosevelt

When you start a new company from scratch, every aspect of your business needs to be created. This is an enormous task that requires a tremendous amount of learning, patience, and skill acquisition—or the knowledge to do what you know and outsource what you don’t. You will make mistakes. It’s inevitable. What’s important is that you try to make as few of them as possible, and learn from the ones you do make.

Most Start-Up Businesses Fail

As you probably already know, most small businesses fail within the first three years. However, if entrepreneurs dwelled on this statistic, new businesses would never be created. Start by devoting substantial time and effort developing and critiquing your plan. Focus on what you can do and what will work. Let go of ideas that aren’t working quickly. There is no place for an ego in this process. When I can see that an entrepreneur is so in love with his idea that he can’t see the glaring warning signs before him or hear the messages that people are telling him, things will fall apart quickly. Be willing to let go and move on. I have seen many inventions that were fantastic in concept. However, that does not mean they should all be taken to market. The business case must be scrutinized.

THE THIRD APPROACH TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP: SOLVE A PROBLEM

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.—Helen Keller

It’s something you probably say to yourself regularly: “If only a product or service existed that would solve problem X.” Usually this type of thought comes naturally within the course of a day—while you’re cooking, cleaning, driving, taking care of the kids, golfing. Whatever your activity, opportunities to solve challenges regularly present themselves. If you’re creative, you probably come up with new ideas frequently.

The third approach to entrepreneurship taps into this type of creativity, which aims to identify a problem and solve it. What could be improved or made more efficient? What is missing from the marketplace that could make life easier/better/more convenient? While the solution could be a product invention or a variation of an existing product, it might also be a service that could improve peoples’ lives or address a specific need. In some cases, the “solution” is actually creating a new market. Even so, whether consumers were asking for it or not, a need exists and the solution gains demand.

This approach can represent both the greatest monetary risk and the greatest potential for creative and financial reward. Even if you have knowledge related to a new venture, because it is truly novel there are simply many unknowns. And, unlike the second approach, there is no proven market, so your sales forecasts are hypothetical, or, as an investor once said to me, “pure fiction.”

The “solve a problem” approach requires the highest learning curve and can require significant investment. Also, it is not uncommon for powerful competitors to enter your space just as you begin to gain momentum.

Because the minority of people who attempt this approach overcome these barriers and achieve success, the rewards can be extraordinary. If successful, you can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars—perhaps millions. And these are the kinds of companies that can be sold to larger corporations for sizable sums. Further, there are few things more satisfying and fun than to see something you have conceived all the way through to fruition.

When it comes to this approach, I can speak from personal experience: I created my business in response to a market need I observed and then met. It began when my toddler-age daughter found great entertainment unraveling the roll of family toilet paper. Cute, yes—until she clogged the toilet. When I went to the store to purchase the gadget that would prevent this, it didn’t exist, and there came my inspiration. I reached out to other parents to find out if this was a challenge for them too, and when I found out it was, I went through the process of inventing and launching the TP Saver® into the marketplace. Seven years later, it is being sold through retailers across the country.

Throughout the invention process, I met many people along the way who helped me, and I realized that after going through the process I was in a position to help others. That’s when I conceived of my first business, Mom Inventors, Inc. Today, the company helps other moms bring their products to market by offering them information and support and by licensing, manufacturing, distributing, and selling products invented by moms under my internationally trademarked Mom Invented® brand.

HOW TO FIND A FRANCHISE THAT FITS

Buying a franchise requires lots of research. First, you’ll want to choose a brand you feel good about and an industry that fits with your interests and personality (there are at least 80 industries, so chances are good there’s a field you’ll be drawn to). It doesn’t need to be a big franchise to be worthwhile, and there are many options that enable even cash-strapped entrepreneurs to enter the marketplace.

A good place to start researching all franchise opportunities is the International Franchise Association (www.franchise.org). Other independent franchise lists are available on sites like Entrepreneur.com (www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/franchise500/index.html),Franchise Direct (www.franchisedirect.com), Franchise.com (www.franchise.com), or Franchise Gator (www.franchisegator.com).

Once you’ve targeted your options, more research is crucial, from reading the FDD (franchise disclosure document) to brushing up on your business basics so you can manage your new venture properly. Look for a franchise that offers substantial training so you’re comfortable from day one, and make sure you’ll get the support you need from the franchisor, whether it’s setting up your store, training your firsttime staff, or having the proper tools to manage your finances. It’s also a good idea to contact current franchisees and those who have recently left the system to learn about their experiences.