The 3 Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

by

Spencer Dulal-Whiteway

Entrepreneurs have been referred to as “the only people who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” Building a company from scratch requires dedication, persistence and tenacity, and it takes time to complete the process properly. If you’re considering starting your own business, but know that your current lifestyle will not be able to accommodate this massive undertaking, it is important to work on developing habits that will serve you well in your new role as the founder and CEO of your own company. Here are the top 3 habits of successful entrepreneurs – try to adopt some, if not all, of these habits in your own life, and watch how much of a difference they make.

1) Successful Entrepreneurs Wake Up Early. As an entrepreneur, you control your own schedule, and it can be tempting to stay in bed and relish the fact that you no longer have to wake up to commute to your 9-5 job. With that said, ask any successful entrepreneur, and he will tell you that without fail, he starts his day earlier than he did when he worked for someone else. There are only 24 hours in a day, and the more of them you can spend working on building your business, the better. Furthermore, many successful entrepreneurs develop morning rituals to aid them in staying focused and concentrated for the rest of the day. Try using the first half an hour of your day to practice mindfulness, and make a regular practice of outlining your to-do list for the day before you start working.

2) Successful Entrepreneurs Push Themselves. If you’ve decided to start your own business, it’s safe to say that you’re not one of the many people in this world who deliberately stay in their comfort zone because doing so is just easier. Entrepreneurs who create lasting and successful companies understand that in order to succeed, one must dispense with his fear of failure and be willing to push himself, even if it makes him uncomfortable. Sometimes, this means not being afraid to ask for financing – other times, it can mean negotiating on your own behalf without worrying that doing so will damage your business relationships. Identify the areas of your entrepreneurial endeavors that make you uncomfortable, and work extra hard on building those skills. Resting on your laurels will only get you so far, and you can’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves if you really want to build a business that makes a splash.

3) Successful Entrepreneurs Are Willing to Pivot. If you’ve invested a significant amount of time and energy into your business, but you still aren’t seeing real results, it can be tempting to continue biding your time in the hope that your situation will improve or people will suddenly come to see the value of your business. In business, this time and energy is referred to as your “sunk costs” – that is, the resources you’ve already devoted to your business that you don’t want to see go to waste. That said, sometimes, it is necessary to pivot and change directions in order to succeed. Do not shy away from candidly and objectively analyzing how your business is doing; taking stock of where you are versus where you want to be is the only way you will be able to polish your product until it is truly irresistible to your target audience.

If you’d like to read more of my advice for entrepreneurs, please continue checking this space for regular updates. Good luck in your business endeavors, and remember: no pain, no gain. 

What Epitomizes a Strong Leader?

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What makes someone an effective leader? Does their tenure at a company classify them for leadership? What about their title?

As simple as this question may be, the variations of the answers continue to vex some of the best thinkers and business leaders within both the private and nonprofit sector. The reason why so many people have trouble describing leadership is because the answer is both simple and complex at the same time. Leadership itself does not have that one size fits all definition like other descriptions do. Instead, it encompasses a variety of characteristics, examples, and knowledge that make up this star individual. While instances of leadership can vary between situations to situation, the underlying impact that a leader can have on a group is something that is noteworthy, especially within the field of business.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.

When it comes to identifying leadership, you can start off by what you already know. In this case, you can begin by understanding examples and reasons of what doesn’t make a leader. First and foremost, a leader is not based on the seniority and hierarchy of their position. While personal titles do exemplify your overall professional success of an individual, it does not automatically solidify you as a leader or game changer in your organization. Nor do personal wealth or management styles provide that title for leadership. Instead, a leader is an influencer. They are visionaries who spark action amongst their employees and inspire others to challenge the antiquated system in order to reach their objectives and goals.

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While this may sound demanding, today’s business professionals are looking for those individuals who can drive that high level of success. They want committed lifelong learners that are willing to foster and cultivate that efficient and consistent work environment with the utmost confidence. For this to happen, a leader needs to have these following professional skills perfected:

  • Communication: Having strong communication, especially across a variety of different networks, can aid the overall logistics and operations of a business. A good leader must possess outstanding communication skills and communicate the company’s vision, goals, and products in the simplest ways possible.
  • Build Teams: Putting together a strong team that can work effectively and efficiently is a strong sign of a good leader. To optimize this, a leader must understand each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. From there, the leader needs to know how to leverage and optimize the best from their works each and every day.
  • Risk Taking: While this may not necessarily be one of the biggest concepts people talk about when they discuss leadership, risk taking is something that is absolutely necessary if you want to develop as a leader. The act of inspiring your employees to go above and beyond their job description will show how influential you are to your team.
  • Vision and Goals: No matter what field you are specializing in, a great team depends on its leader’s vision and goals for the future. Even if they are short-term objectives, goals are what motivate people to go above and beyond the standard. In order for you to be a great leader, you need to be able to articulate your goals in the most inspiring way. This will in turn impact your workers to perform at the highest level.

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At the end of the day, a leader provides an inner sense of drive and commitment for their company. They are the ones who know how to optimize their strengths of their workers and leverage the weaknesses of their organizations. They are the people that, no matter what the situation, you can count on.

While the definition of a strong and transformative leader may vary, these individuals encompass similar traits that make them stand out amongst the crowd. These are candidates who have integrity and honesty. They see people as human beings and try to inspire and encourage them to move to the next level. These are individuals who are confident. They know how to make those hard-hitting decisions, but are methodical in their thinking. Last but not least, these are individuals who are positive. They understand the high moments and the low moments and the necessary steps to improve morale.

In any type of business, regardless of the field, having numerous leaders will be the huge factor in the overall success of your company’s future. To ensure you have the right people, take a look at three additional qualities and traits that go beyond the standard list of what we already know about great leaders.

  • They Know Your Organization, Inside-and-Out: Effective leaders know the business’s overall purpose and goals. They understand the agreed-upon strategies and know their role in the overall big picture. Having this level of understanding will play a bigger role, especially when moving forward with the company.
  • They Reflect: An important role in being an effective leader is periodically looking back at their own personal strengths and shortcomings. This type of internal reflection is something that forces them to dichotomize their strengths and weaknesses as an individual. Knowing these types of abilities will allow them to delegate, improve, or leverage their skills in the most optimal way.
  • They are Responsive to the Group: Being perceptive and astute can help a leader be more effective in knowing the strengths and weaknesses their teams. This ability to hear, see, and comprehend their workers daily operations gives them strategic and effective ways to perfect any misaligned notions that can compromise the momentum of the group’s goals.