Curious? It’ll drive everything!

I’m often asked by people to define the single greatest character trait for successful self-employment. It’s a logical question.

There are so many attributes we need to start and run businesses. It’s helpful to have good organizational skills… people, places, things. It’s also helpful to have math skills so I can learn how to set up and maintain a set of financial records.

It helps to be reasonably adept at meeting people and taking constructive criticism and suggestions. I need to be a creative thinker and come up with interesting ways to publicize myself. I need to be able to spend money carefully.

I need to be tenacious, too…to not give up too quickly.

While all of this is important, I think the most important character trait is curiosity.

Why? Because curiosity will fuel everything else about self-employment.

Being curious about how to track money leads you to learning about managing books. Being curious about a specific kind of business can lead to strategic alliances. Being curious connects you to people in a way that’s not devoted to you, but to them… and that ultimately makes for good business. There is so much that curiosity will do for you and your business.

It opens up your mind and your heart to opportunity. Think of it as your sense of wonder!