About Strengths and Weaknesses

bydonherby

214 followers

5 years ago

As entrepreneurs and business owners, it is crucial to know our strengths and weaknesses. This is not always easy to identify and can take time, honesty, and self reflection to figure out. It is important to check upon our strengths and weaknesses periodically since we all change. Further, it is advisable to write down our findings about ourselves, reflect on them, and update them on a regular basis.

Two types of strengths and weaknesses

We have to distinguish between mentally related strengths and weaknesses, and skill related strengths and weaknesses.

1. Mentally related strengths and weaknesses:

These are the ones we have to take seriously. They are also the ones that are potentially hard to identify and are rooted deep in our subconscious.

Weaknesses that have the biggest impact on our success are under-estimating ourselves and/ or overestimating ourselves.

Strengths that have the biggest impact on our businesses are passion, determination, perseverance, and belief.

2. Skill related strengths and weaknesses:

These are strengths and weaknesses that are related to certain skills. They can be inherent at birth, or we can be trained/ conditioned to them.

Both types are connected to each other in various forms. For example, I had a friend in high school who was a born athlete. He won every track and field event without giving much effort; however, he had no passion for sports, he was lazy, and lacked desire to train. He had the skill related strengths, but was lacking the necessary mental related skills to become a successful athlete.

There are people with very little talent for a certain skill, but unbelievable determination to learn. They want to be the best in their field of interest and do whatever it takes to get there. Then there are people with determination and talent, but constantly self sabotage themselves. Common forms of self sabotage are procrastination, ignoring problems, or bad people skills. As an example in our town we had a talented entrepreneur opening a computer store. He knew everything about computers, but he had an arrogant attitude and customers didn't feel welcome in his store.

Weaknesses:

Underestimating ourselves

As business owners, we need to be well aware if we are facing this weakness. There are 4 common examples of how we underestimate ourselves:

1.The Impact of Past Failures

If we have failed in the past, the traumatic memory can be significant. This can heavily influence our self esteem to try again. Becoming aware of this is the first step in solving it.

The next step is to clearly and honestly identify why we failed in the past, then start fresh by not repeating the same mistakes. “Mistakes” can be a dangerously negative word. How we look at our past mistakes is a mindset. Mistakes are THE opportunity for growth. Nobody gets through life without mistakes. We can either let them defeat us, or we defeat them. If we want to be successful in business, we have to defeat them, which means we look at them, analyze them, correct them, and never repeat them.

2.How we Look at Competition

How we look at our competition can have an impact on our self-esteem. For example, let's say you just chose your niche in your WA training and you are excited to get started. You google your niche and on the first page there is an amazing website, perfectly outlined, easy to read, and every blog is engaging. It can make your heart sink. Thoughts like “how can i ever compete with that?” rush through your brain. You look at all the work you have ahead of you and here is someone who has been developing your niche for years. You are left feeling why you should bother.

How you look at competition is a mindset. We shouldn’t compare ourselves to others. There are unlimited opportunities out there. There is always a way to find a market , if you have something of quality to offer. With effort and the willingness to learn customer will find you.

You will do just fine in your niche. You will set yourself apart from that website that impressed you so much. People will follow you because of the way you are and other people will follow others in your niche because of what they have to offer.

3.Your level of education

This can have a significant impact on your self-esteem. A lack of education can make you believe that you are not good enough to become an expert in your field. Put that thought away. It's all about determination. If you are determined enough, you will learn what you need to learn. There are enough examples of highly successful business owners who hardly went to school and there are plenty of people out there with a PHD who barely survive.

4.General and unexplainable low self-esteem

People who find their low self-esteem is affecting their success may have to seek help from a counselor. There can be so many reasons that lead to a lack of self-worth and it’s not always easy to pinpoint. As entrepreneurs, we need to work on our self worth, knowing what we are capable of. It helps to surround ourselves with supportive people, and avoid people with negative talk. Being aware of the areas where we lack confidence will help us improve our skills and mindset. It’s important to acknowledge our moments of success, as even small achievements are a step in the right direction. As your business and services grow, you will become more aware of the need for your skills and the positive impact you can make in the world. As entrepreneurs we have the opportunity to make a difference, which will increase self esteem.

Overestimating ourselves:

Overestimating ourselves can be just as detrimental as underestimating ourselves, and both phenomenons are equally common. “I can do this” is a great attitude but it has to be taken with the appropriate amount of self awareness.

For example, I have undergone extensive training in my field of food manufacturing, but I had no training in marketing. When I started my dairy business, almost 30 years ago, I overestimated my capabilities in marketing. I made mistake after mistake, not even knowing what I did wrong until years later. Realizing this earlier and taking a marketing course could have saved me years and a great deal of money. Knowing what kind of skills my business requires and then filling the gaps through training or outsourcing can make all the difference.

Strengths:

Determination, perseverance and belief.

Without these traits, a business can’t be built. We need the willpower to start, to learn, and to overcome every hurdle. Determination is a biological term. According to Wikipedia, cell determination is how a particular cell develops into a final cell type, known as fate determination.

Through determination we can somewhat influence our fate. We can become a certain type, we can create and build something. Determination has to be combined with perseverance. It's not good enough to be determined if we lose it at the first hurdle. Overall, we need to believe. Determination and perseverance will fade away if we lack belief. We need to believe that we can do it, despite occasional doubts.

The tough part is that these strengths often have to be earned. Some are born with them, some lose them over time and have to find them again.

As a closing thought, we have to remember that we are not alone. We don't have to deal with our weaknesses ourselves. When it comes to skill weaknesses, it is a good idea to consider outsourcing certain things we are not good at. Partnering up with someone whose strengths and weaknesses compliment our own is another strategy. But ultimately, it all starts with self awareness and consciousness. We need to know where we need help and where we can offer help.