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10 Secrets of
Successful Entrepreneurs
by:
Jenny Fulbright
Running a one-person business is a creative, flexible and
challenging way to become your own boss and chart your own future.
It is about creating a life, as it is about making a living. It
takes courage, determination and foresight to decide to become an
entrepreneur. From the relatively safe cocoon of the corporate
world, where paychecks arrive regularly, you will be venturing into
the unchartered territories of business.
Is there a way to determine whether you can be a successful
entrepreneur, or you are better off to work for somebody else? Alas,
there is no formula for success. However, most successful
entrepreneurs share these ten characteristics. Check if you possess
any one of them:
1. Think success. To attain the kind of success that you want,
you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big dreams.
You need to have big dreams for yourself - which you want to be
somebody rich, famous or fulfilled. You need to have a clear vision
of what you want to achieve. But it doesn't stop in dreaming alone.
You should actively visualize success in your mind that you can
almost feel it, touch it or it is within your reach. Play this image
back at every opportunity. What does it feel to triple your current
income? How will your life change? What will your business look like
if you achieved the million-dollar mark?
Successful entrepreneurs possess an attitude of openness and
faith that you can have what you want if you can simply envision it
as the first step on the path of action to acquiring it. Management
gurus have taught us the power of visualization - seeing yourself in
your mind as having accomplished your dreams. If you want to be a
successful writer, envision yourself signing books for a throng of
people who have lined up to have your autograph. If you want to be
rich, picture yourself in luxurious surroundings holding a fat bank
account. And the process of envisioning success for you should be a
constant activity! You need to think that you are successful (or
will be one) every single waking hour. A personal development coach
shared me her secret to help her continuously visualize her goals
for the moment: when climbing stairs, recite your goal with every
step you take. So if you want more money, say "I will have money" in
every step of the stairs. This technique will reinforce your goal
and keep it fresh in your consciousness.
2. Be passionate with what you do. You start a business to change
any or all part of your life. To attain this change, you need to
develop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the way
things are and to live life to the fullest. Success comes easily if
you love what you do. Why? Because we are more relentless in our
pursuit of goals about things that we love. If you hate your job
right now, do you think you will ever be successful at it? Not in a
million years! You may plod along, even become competent at the
tasks, but you will never be a great success at it. You will achieve
peak performance and do what you have to do to succeed only if you
are doing something that interests you or something that you care
about. Entrepreneurs who succeed do not mind the fact that they are
putting in 15 or 18 hours a day to their business because they
absolutely love what they do. Success in business is all about
patience and hard work, which can only be attained if you are
passionate and crazy with your tasks and activities.
3. Focus on your strengths. Let's face it; you cannot be
everything to everybody. Each of us has our own strengths and
weaknesses. To be effective, you need to identify your strengths and
concentrate on it. You will become more successful if you are able
to channel your efforts to areas that you do best. In business, for
example, if you know you have good marketing instincts, then harness
this strength and make full use of it. Seek help or assistance in
areas that you may be poor at, such as accounting or bookkeeping. To
transform your weakness to strength, consider taking hands-on
learning or formal training.
4. Never consider the possibility of failure. Ayn Rand, in her
novel The Fountainhead, wrote, "It is not in the nature of man - nor
of any living entity, to start out by giving up." As an
entrepreneur, you need to fully believe in your goals, and that you
can do it. Think that what you are doing will contribute to the
betterment of your environment and your personal self. You should
have a strong faith in your idea, your capabilities and yourself.
You must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the
ability to recognize and fulfill them. The more you can develop
faith in your ability to achieve your goals, the more rapidly you
can attain it. However, your confidence should be balanced with
calculated risks that you need to take to achieve greater rewards.
Successful entrepreneurs are those who analyze and minimize risk in
the pursuit of profit. As they always say, "no guts, no glory."
5. Plan accordingly. You have a vision, and you have enough faith
in yourself to believe that you can achieve your vision. But do you
know how to get to your vision? To achieve your vision, you need to
have concrete goals that will provide the stepping-stone towards
your ultimate vision. Put your goals in writing; not doing so just
makes them as intangible fantasies. You need to plan each day in
such a way that your every action contributes to the attainment of
your vision. Do you foresee yourself as the next Martha Stewart of
hand-made home furnishings? Perhaps today, you need to see an artist
to help you conceptualize the new line of hand-made linens that you
hope to launch. Intense goal orientation is the characteristic of
every successful entrepreneur. They have a vision, and they know how
to get there. Your ability to set goals and make plans for your
accomplishment is the skill required to succeed. Plan, plan and plan
- because without which failure is guaranteed.
6. Work hard! Every successful entrepreneur works hard, hard and
hard. No one achieves success just by sitting and staring at the
wall every single day. Brian Tracy puts it out this way, "You work
eight hours per day for survival; everything over eight hours per
day is for success." Ask any successful businessperson and they will
tell you immediately that they had to work more than 60 hours per
week at the start of their businesses. Be prepared to say goodbye to
after-office drinks every day, or a regular weekend get-away trip.
If you are in a start-up phase, you will have to breathe, eat and
drink your business until it can stand on its own. Working hard will
be easy if you have a vision, clear goals, and are passionate with
what you do.
7. Constantly Look for Ways to Network. In business, you are
judged by the company you keep - from your management team, board of
directors, and strategic partners. Businesses always need
assistance, more so small businesses. Maybe the lady you met in a
trade association meeting can help you secure funding, or the
gentleman at a conference can provide you with management advise. It
is important to form alliances with people who can help you, and
whom you can help in return. To succeed in business, you need to
possess good networking skills and always be alert to opportunities
to expand your contacts.
8. Willingness to Learn. You do not need to be a MBA degree
holder or PhD graduate to succeed in your own business. In fact,
there are a lot of entrepreneurs who did not even finish secondary
education. Studies show that most self-made millionaires have
average intelligence. Nonetheless, these people reached their full
potentials achieved their financial and personal goals in business
because they are willing to learn. To succeed, you must be willing
to ask questions, remain curious, interested and open to new
knowledge. This willingness to learn becomes more crucial given the
rapid changes in technologies and ways of doing business.
9. Persevere and have faith. No one said that the road to success
is easy. Despite your good intentions and hard work, sometimes you
will fail. Some successful entrepreneurs suffered setbacks and
resounding defeats, even bankruptcy, yet managed to quickly stand up
to make it big in their fields. Your courage to persist in the face
of adversity and ability to bounce back after a temporary
disappointment will assure your success. You must learn to pick
yourself up and start all over again. Your persistence is the
measure of the belief in yourself. Remember, if you persevere,
nothing can stop you.
10. Discipline yourself. Thomas Huxley once said, "Do what you
should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not."
Self-discipline is the key to success. The strength of will to force
yourself to pay the price of success - doing what others don't like
to do, going the extra mile, fighting and winning the lonely battle
with yourself.
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About The Author
Jenny Fulbright is a Staff Writer for PowerHomeBiz.com. For
information on starting a small and home-based business, visit
PowerHomeBiz.com at http://www.powerhomebiz.com
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