Can Your Behavioral Style Impact the Success or
Failure of Your Home Based Business?

by Dr. Devona Williams and Kenny Anderson

Published on this site: May 11th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

Are you a risk taker? Do you like to interact with customers? Are you the type of entrepreneur who likes to work on group projects in collaboration with others? Or do you prefer to work alone analyzing detailed work?

A lot of questions, but if you are going to be successful in your home based business, the answers could be critical to your success!

Understanding your behavioral style can help you succeed in your home based business, whether your work requires you to talk on the telephone with vendors, meet in person with customers, work with others to deliver your products or communicate over the Internet. Every style has strengths and limitations. And strengths if overused, can be weaknesses.

Most people have a primary behavioral style that is their natural approach to how they tend to respond or behave in certain situations. The DISC® model provides a quick and easy way for determining your behavioral style. Most people are unaware of their behavioral style, yet their close friends, family members and even co-workers can often tell what motivates them. Getting in touch with what motivates you as an entrepreneur and what motivates your customers is an important tool for a home-based business. It can impact your bottom line and provide direction in all that you do!

Here are the four behavioral styles: "D"- is the dominant or the risk taking style. If you are a "D" you are likely to prefer entrepreneurial pursuits where you can lead projects and present new ideas. You will have no trouble contacting the CEO of a major company and scheduling an appointment. You might have a tendency to be a bit heavy handed and if you're not careful, you could chase some customers away. The "I" style is the people oriented style, motivated by recognition and interaction with others. If you are an "I" you will be great at marketing your business and persuading customers to buy your products. You may even get your foot in to door with a customer when your product or idea is not well thought out and this could cause you to lose a sale. The "S" is the Steadiness or team player style that tends to be cooperative and prefers to work in settings with others.

If you are an "S" style you will excel in projects that provide clear steps and processes that are sequential. You will do well with customers who like your dependability and you calming reassuring nature. You may be challenged with changes to your processes or your projects and you may have to work harder when responding to changes. If you are a "C", you are analytical and logical. You are reserved and business like in your demeanor and are quite comfortable working alone. Your customers will appreciate your attention to detail and the high quality of your work. You may be challenged with in person meetings or criticism of your work and you will need to take care to meet customer deadlines.

Because most home based businesses are operated by sole proprietors or micro businesses, understanding your behavioral style is a quick and easy way to get real feedback that will forever change your business life! When you are in touch with your behavioral style you will learn what motivates you, become more aware of your own style preferences and biases, and understand how you react when you are frustrated or under stress. Moreover, you will be able to learn how to communicate more effectively to meet the style preferences of your customers, your business partners and your vendors.

So what style are you? What about your customers? If you have a home based business and or have a business that is operated primarily on the internet, it will be critical for you to adapt your ads and even your website, to appeal to the several behavioral styles mostly likely to be reflected in that environment.

Because most of us have a combination of styles, to determine your overall behavioral profile, you should take an online assessment. Once you learn your real style, you are in a much better position to gauge others and align your business accordingly.

Knowing your behavioral style and how your tendencies impact the way you conduct your home based business will be critical to your success or failure.

Dr. Devona Williams
Kenny Anderson

Dr. Devona Williams is the President/CEO of Goeins-Williams Associates, Inc. of Wilmington, DE and Aurora, CO. Kenny Anderson is Principal fo the firms subsidiary, Tiger Trade, LLC , specializes in marketing Home Based Businesses at: http://www.TigerTradeLLC.com