7 Habits of Effective
Small Business Owners
(loosely based on The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People by Stephen Covey)
Tyrone Tonkinson; MBA, PE,
President, Simple Approach, Inc.
In 1990, Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People provided simple ideas for interpersonal skills
that have influenced millions. The 7 Habits are sug-
gestions that anyone can use to take control of their
lives and make positive changes. This article follows
the 7 habits, but with a small business owner twist.
Habit 1 – Be Proactive: Do you wait for business to
improve on its own? Are you waiting for “good
luck?” Habit 1 is about taking actions that are within
your span of control to improve your business. What
can you do today that will make tomorrow better?
Whether it’s planning, setting goals, marketing, clean-
ing, creating, making new contacts, or taking a class;
do something (however small) to make things better.
What is the best way to predict the future? Create it!
Habit 2 – Begin with End in Mind: What are your
short and long-term goals? Habit 2 is about having a
clear strategy for your company. You should under-
stand where your business is today, and where you
want it to be in the next 1, 3, and 5 years. What is our
core business? Do we understand our internal
strengths and weaknesses? What actions are required
to support the core business? What actions are needed
to meet our growth goals? Develop goals for closing
the gaps between where you are and where you want
to be. The goals should be reasonable, achievable, and
within your span of control to implement. Find ways
to keep your goals visible, meaningful, and keep
them in front of you and your employees. Do you
have a Strategic Business Plan? This is the typical
vehicle for capturing the essence of habit 2 (it will
also help you get financing, if needed).
Habit 3 – Put First Things First: Once you have
established improvement goals (Habit 2), Habit 3 says
work on your highest priority goals first. Each and
every day, deliberately work on things that are help-
i