Over the last few installments of this series, we have considered some of the ingredients necessary for business success. As I travel to speak and consult, I run into businesspeople of every description, but I also run in to people who believe that business success requires a certain leadership style, background and set of skills.

Some business leaders who have not achieved the success they want reason that they just don’t possess the right style or set of characteristics. If only they were more outgoing, or more aggressive, or more something.

My friend and fellow recycler DL is as different from me in management style, background, and skills as any two people could be. He is quiet, conservative, pragmatic. I am bold, brash, and a risk-taker. We have both succeeded. We have both innovated and we have both been leaders in the recycling industry.

He did not waste time worrying that he lacked some ingredient to be successful. Instead, he only asked how he could get there with what he had. You don’t have to be an intense workaholic to find significant success. Neither do you have to be a structured pragmatist. The common thread in character is that both DL and I share strong habits that support our work ethic and back up our decision-making. This same characteristic is part of what makes the fictional entrepreneur from last month’s article so successful.

Admire another business leader for an attribute you lack, but do not believe for a moment that success is unattainable. You can be any kind of person having any kind of personality found in the business world. It’s not so much what kind of person you are as it is what you do with what you are. That’s what really counts.

Most of your customers care about only one thing: can you solve the problem that brought them through your front door? They don’t care about leadership style, background, resume. And the beautiful thing about our capitalistic system is that you have the opportunity to compete freely and win no matter who you are, where you came from, or how educated you are. Focus on how to win, not why you can’t.

Don’t forget to go the website for my new book, www.greenweenies.com, to learn all the backroom business terms. There are 1,200+ terms in over 300 pages, with hilarious illustrations by world famous Gahan Wilson. You can register there for your free weekly “green weenie.” If you want to know what a three fingered booger is, or what’s in a train wreck envelope, it’s the only place to go!

Remember, only you can make BUSINESS GREAT! Next month, more from Chapter Six of How to Salvage Millions from Your Small Business.

Please email if you would like me to send previous articles.

AutoSalvageconsultant.com was formed in 2001 to help recyclers improve their businesses. With over fifty years of experience in three staff members, the group is THE definitive source for recyclers’ management and training needs. The founder, Ron Sturgeon, is past owner of AAA Small Car World.  You can review his resume, with skills and experience, at our website. In 2002, his book How to Salvage Millions From Your Small Business was published to help small business owners achieve significant success. It was recently reprinted in the U.S. and published in China, Korea and the Czech Republic.  You can learn more about how to help your business at www.autosalvageconsultant.com. You can reach us at 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117, or by calling or emailing Mike Gibson or Tammy Sturgeon. Mike can be reached at 817-925-0061 or mikeg@autosalvageconsultant.com, and Tammy can be reached at 817-999-1224 or tammysturgeon@all-import.com

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