Why Personal Development Is Critical for Entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, profitability is often the only indicator you use to assess whether you’re succeeding or failing.

- Melody Tomlinson

While doing a performance appraisal (so common to the corporate world and perhaps the very thing you hoped to escape once becoming an entrepreneur) may seem silly, there is much to be learnt from a simple honest interview with yourself. Being a business owner – even a one-man show – doesn’t mean you’re isolated; you have clients, colleagues and suppliers who can assist in providing invaluable feedback that can be put into practical use. Here are some pointers for a self-evaluation:

PAUSE FOR REFLECTION

Think about yourself as an employee. What would you want to ask the person heading up your position? A few valuable questions could be:

What were my highlights for the past year? Why? How can I repeat and improve on them?

What did I not handle well? How would I do it differently should the situation arise again? What did I learn from the experience?

What were my top three goals and how do the results compare? What could I have done differently?