Every single person is different, and even amongst the most successful elite around the world, there are a multitude of differences between people and the mantras they’ve adhered to in order to reach their success.
Having said that, there are definitely some common threads. Let’s unravel a couple of them here and look at the 4 habits of highly successful entrepreneurs.
1. They bootstrap.
The game for the past few years has been fundraising…Raising rounds…
Everyone spends more time trying to get from seed round to series A, then to series B, etc. than they do about building an actual money making business.
While there are several outliers (mainly a couple social networks) who were able to hold off on turning a profit for years on end just with investor money, the majority of successful business and entrepreneurs have pulled themselves up and worked hard to make the money they need to survive, rather than asking someone or a bank for it.
For example, someone wanting to start a social media consultancy shouldn’t be asking for funding, they should be landing their first darn clients!”
2. They’re building, not ending.
Maybe it’s part of the ambitious mind that fuels an entrepreneurial spirit, but
those who aim higher than a goal, tend to meet it more often than those who aim at the goal itself. Click To TweetMany entrepreneurs have an “empire” mentality in which they are building things so that they in turn, down the road, can build more things, or build that first thing into something bigger.
A great way to apply this to your own worklife is to decide where you would be comfortable and where you would be happy, and then push the envelope – would you be happy working from home and making 80k per year? Why not aim to just get into six digits? Aim high, then aim higher.
3. They can sell, and they practice it, too.
Entrepreneurs know that building a brand and effective marketing is a key to long-term success, but at their core they are salespeople. Entrepreneurship in the beginning will boil down to how well you can sell yourself, your service, or your product to someone.
Being able to foster these skills in an organization also helps with scaling later on – if that’s where your ambition takes you.
While some people are more naturally gifted in charisma and persuasion, you can absolutely practice selling every day in order to improve your prowess.
Studying copywriting and psychology triggers can be a great way to help gain an edge in this department as well.
4. They focus on strengths.
Even though we just touched on improving skills that might not come naturally to you, it’s also true that most entrepreneurs focus disproportionately on the things they do best.
If you’re a killer developer, make an awesome product and find someone who will work with you that is more gifted in the selling department.
If your talent lies in selling but you aren’t very good at organizing the day to day, your first hire might help with marketing skills to help you keep activities aligned and consistent.
Of course, no matter what you do – you’ll want to take into consideration your own propensities and apply these in a way that makes sense for both your skillset and for your goals.
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