A person’s strengths in certain situations can unfortunately become a weakness in other situations. Many of the qualities that make for a successful entrepreneur are qualities that are essential when someone is first building a business all on their own. However, overtime these qualities can become less effective and potentially even cause setbacks, once their business starts to grow.

Here are a list of these qualities and the importance of being mindful of how they can cause setbacks within your business once it has grown.

Multitasking

One strength of entrepreneurs that is highly valuable is having the ability to multitask. However, when you start to grow, you need to bring in people who are specialists to focus on and multiply the effectiveness and efficiency of their domain expertise. You want to make sure that they are more highly skilled and talented in their fields than you are so you can get out of the way and allow them to put their talents to use.

Personal Reputation and Experience

It is not uncommon for entrepreneurs to build their businesses based on their reputation and experience. However, as the business grows it is super important to institutionalise values and articulate standards so that your new employees and staff can replicate what clients expect. Instead of taking pride in being at the centre of it all, to scale, entrepreneurs need to focus on teaching others how to perform the best quality of work that they possibly can.

Reliance On Your Instinct

Many successful entrepreneurs launched their businesses by relying on their instincts to achieve their visions. However, as companies scale and grow, data and research are needed to correctly predict the next level of growth. It is important for entrepreneurs to allow the disciplines of research and systems to take hold while still honouring the origin of their vision and instinct.

High Risk Tolerance

Entrepreneurs are natural risk-takers. As your business grows, it is essential for founders of the organisation to explore innovation while also justifying risk by engaging their teams, stakeholders and external advisors. They also must gain buy-in and commitment from their leadership team for new, potentially risky expansion ideas and work with the teams to create manageable growth plans aligned with the company’s vision.

Perfectionism

It is very common for entrepreneurs to want to make everything perfect. For example, they may want to create comfort by changing and modifying their logo or website. However, constantly trying to improve can eventually become a weakness. Acknowledging all of the great strategies you have formulated and used to find your success will build a foundation that allows you to continue to serve. Continue to strengthen your personal and professional message, and know that sharing with others and asking for feedback will bring success.

The Willingness To Work Fast And Hard

Having a strong desire to work hard and work fast is a common strength that many successful entrepreneurs have. However, as the business grows the pace may become difficult to sustain. Learning to train others, delegate and manage “from the top” instead of managing “everything” is a key to ensuring a business grows at a strong, steady pace. As a business owner, it is important to recharge to maintain the pace and take care of your mental health.