Most people who go in to business for the first time have little idea of what it really means to be a business owner. This is irrespective of their prior professional or managerial experiences, and/or courses undertaken. Once you have your business up and running, you soon learn things for which there are no rule books to help you. Sometimes you just have to work through the issues yourself and learn from them. My own experiences were no different when I first went in to business.

As a further illustration of how hard it is to be a business owner, my sister's partner was a good manager of somebody else's business. Unfortunately he was hopeless when it came to running their business. He lasted barely two years before the business become insolvent. Worse still, he and my sister were also made bankrupt as a result.

If there is one aspect of business which I see is crucial for success, is the ability to learn from your mistakes and understand the actions of your employees, suppliers and customers when money is involved. To be successful in business, you need to think of yourself as a "Learning Business Owner." Unfortunately many new businesspeople do not learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately as consequence, they often go out of business with a great loss to their emotional and financial well-being.

The most important aspect I have learnt, and am still learning about in business, is that most people will steal from you, IF you give them a chance. You may think this is a terrible way to think about people and not a good beginning for your business. This unpalatable truth can be confirmed by asking people why there are longer in business. I believe amongst the main causes for giving up their business you will hear is that they were sick and tired of untrustworthy people who stole from them or did not pay their accounts.

Therefore one of the most important aspects of running a successful business is to learn how NOT to give people a chance to steal from you. You can achieve this objective over time if you review how and why you lost money. Once you have identified the issues, it is up to you to solve this problem yourself or ask trusted specialists to assist you learn how to stop people stealing from you. Either way, you are fulfilling your role of "the Learning Business Owner" which is a core requirement if you wish to stay in business for the long-term.

If you would like to know more, either visit www.creditmatters.com.au or contact Kim Radok at kim@creditmatters.com.au