Want To Know What It Takes To Be A Successful Entrepreneur? Try These 5 Proven Habits
Just as it is with most other human undertakings, for entrepreneurship, it often comes down to who’s holding the reins. In as much as a premium is placed on other equally important elements such as finance and infrastructure, there’s only so much that can be achieved without the right fit in the driver’s seat.
That is to say, even the most sufficient resources will count for very little if it isn’t properly managed by someone with the skills. More often not, that proves the difference between success and failure in any venture.
So, how does one become that entrepreneur with the know-how? How does one become that individual with the skills to make the most even in the midst of less? For starters, it doesn’t exactly happen like something off a Marvel comic.
Most people would make reference to a certain X-factor that tells apart the high-achieving entrepreneurs from the struggling ones. But reality has it that there is no measurable metric by which the amount of ‘stardust’ contained in each individual can be ascertained. And that’s if there’s anything like that.
In truth, it’s not about some individuals naturally having the edge because of a certain ‘substance’ deposited in them – that’s just silly. It all comes down to the way we have chosen to live our lives as individuals. And a critical component of the way we live our lives is founded on the habits we have formed.
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Narrowing it down to entrepreneurship, there are certain habits that put one on track to doing successfully. Make no mistake; it’s not a ‘set-in-stone’ guarantee of success, it’s more like a catalyst – something that makes success the most likely outcome. Now, here are five habits that have made the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.
- Becoming Early An Early Riser
Yes, it does sound like a pretty basic detail, but that’s also what makes it a good place to start. It’s a habit that is common to some of the world’s most successful CEOs, including Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, who is known to begin his day in the wee hours of the morning, as well as Disney CEO, Robert Iger, and Starbucks Chief, Howard Schultz, who does as much as hit the gym before turning up for work at 6 a.m.
These individuals are A-list entrepreneurs and even though they are at the peak of their powers, it is remarkable that they still do that much. Such is the power of habit; one they formed since they stepped on the first rung of the entrepreneurial ladder.
That said, there must be something more about getting up early than mere ideal living. Early morning hours are known for a certain stillness and quiet, one that creates the ideal environment for us to concentrate our best efforts and form the best thoughts.
We are able to focus, see things through, and push towards our long-term goals. And that’s why so many practical examples of successful entrepreneurs who were formed on the backs of the early morning wake up habit abound.
If you’re looking for a little more incentive, you might just be giving yourself a couple of extra hours with which you can get more done if you start your day early.
- Managing Time Effectively
It doesn’t matter who or where are we are, nobody gets more than 24 hours a day. That’s 86,400 seconds that is ticking down even as I tap my keyboard, and not a second more.
It all comes down to what we do with it, and that’s where masterfully managing time comes in. Like everything else, businesses run on time and some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs are individuals who are skilled at managing it. If long-term business success is your target, time management is what you need to pay most attention to.
The only thing more important than getting stuff done is getting it done at the right time. It’s okay to set targets but they won’t mean much if they are not accompanied by timelines. Allocate specific amounts of time to different tasks and pursue it relentlessly. Then, watch things fall into place.
- Setting Small Goals Daily And Achieving Them
Long-terms goals paint a picture of the future prospects of a business but successful entrepreneurs also recognise that those long-term goals are a sum-total of smaller, daily goals.
Following from that, it is important that you set daily targets that are in sync with the long-term goals and work towards achieving them. That’s about the only way those long-term goals can come to fruition.
More so, those smaller, daily goals offer clarity of purpose at a smaller scale that would be otherwise lacking in pursuit of a broader, complex goal. That way, rather than being overwhelmed by the monumental goals that lie ahead, one can get a step closer to achieving those without even knowing it one daily goal at a time.
- Taking The Time To Plan Meticulously
Just about anyone can set great goals, but it is in putting together a foolproof plan to achieve those goals that most people falter. But it is in planning meticulously that you can set yourself apart from the rest of the pack – successful entrepreneurs excel at this.
Basically, every goal cam be narrowed down to an attempt to move from Point A to Point B and the onus is on the individual in question to determine the best way to bring about that change in position. This will not only help you reach the present goals, it’ll also give you an idea how to approach other future milestones.
Take an airplane for instance, the goal is always to move from one city and arrive at another. For that to happen, details like time and date of departure/time and date of arrival are probably the most important. But yet, tremedous amount of planning goes into the operation – routes have to be planned, air speed and altitude have to be decided from time to time, and so on.
In much the same manner as the airplane, becoming successful at entrepreneurship entails planning the route to your goals, tracking your progress on a daily basis, and changing course from time to time as external factors dictate.
Some would like to play up the saying that the best-laid plans of man and mice often go awry, but disaster is the most likely outcome of failing to plan altogether.
- Taking Persistent And Deliberate Action
As much as effort is required to make things happen, it is not untrue that we all need a slice of luck from time to time – some serendipity to see us through to the finish line at times. But chances are such luck will be rarely avaiable and all we’ll have most of the time is the effort we put in.
Much have been said about the importance of taking action, so much so that it probably now has all the makings of worn-out cliche, but the reality is that if only half of what’s said actually sees some doing, perhaps the world would be a much better place.
We’re all guilty of it – often talking a big game when it comes to what needs doing, only to be cowered, sidetracked, or derailed when it’s time to actually roll up sleeves and put in the work. Things come up and we lose sight of the our goals, or chronic procrastination just tends to kick in.
Well, here’s the thing; taking action is probably the most important of the habits you need to inculcate to do entrepreneurship successfully. Nobody ever became a hit by just talking up all the big things they wanted to do and never getting around to actually doing them. That sounds like a one-way ticket to “Failville.”
It usually begins with you puting things off for later, and then it becomes full-blown procrastination, which itself has snuffed the life out of so many dreams. You know what successful entrepreneurs have in common? They know enough to quit talking and start doing.
Here’s a simple exercise that could help you beat procrastination: That one thing you’ve been putting off for as long as you can remember; yes, that thing! Set a timer and ‘really do it’ for a quarter of an hour. Yes, just 15 minutes.
That’s all it takes. By the time those 15 minutes are up, chances are you’d have built up some momentum to send you further, and maybe even keep you going. What if it doesn’t work? Well, guess what, with that little action, you’ve actually cracked that engulfing shell of procrastination. And that’s a win in my book.
So, go be successful!
Featured Image Courtesy: developgoodhabits.com
