Running a successful business

People tend to say vision or courage, but from what I've seen the less glamorous qualities matter more. A good owner watches cash flow obsessively, because plenty of profitable companies have gone under simply because customers paid late and the rent was due. Stubbornness helps too, as long as it's paired with a willingness to listen: the café owners who last are the ones who quietly drop the dishes nobody orders rather than defending them out of pride. As to whether it's better to work for yourself, I honestly think it depends on temperament rather than talent. Running your own business gives you freedom on paper, yet in practice you answer to every customer and you never really clock off. A salaried job in a large firm offers training, paid leave and the luxury of switching off at six. So for someone who needs security to sleep at night, employment is the wiser choice, and there's no shame in that. That said, people who hate being told what to do are often miserable in a corporation however well it pays. In the future I do expect more young founders, mainly because the entry costs have fallen so sharply. You can now sell through a social media page without renting a shop at all. I'd add one warning, though: starting has become easy, but surviving the first three years hasn't, so I'd expect more start-ups and just as many closures.