Today, it seems like everyone is an entrepreneur – and for good reason. An entrepreneurial life promises days of creativity, adventure, and self-ownership. But, sometimes, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. What most people forget about being a successful entrepreneur is that it’s incredibly difficult, and that the grand majority of people don’t ever make it to a point where they can honestly claim the title.
As if those things weren’t enough, there’s also the excuses and mistakes that people make on their journey to becoming entrepreneurs. This is what we want to talk about today.
The 11 Top Factors That Get In The Way Of Being A Successful Entrepreneur
Here are the top 11 habits that will stop you short in your tracks on the success train.
1. Waiting Until You Have Enough Experience
One of the most common things entrepreneurs do to sell themselves short is to convince themselves that they don’t have enough experience to begin. The thing to remember is that the best businesses are started before the founder had enough experience to do so.
Need an example? Consider Mark Zuckerberg, who started Facebook as a Harvard dropout without any experience in building social networks.
Believe in yourself, your skills, and what you have to offer. While it’s frightening to start before you feel “ready”, this is what all great founders do. At some point, you just need to jump and build your wings on the way down.
2. Waiting Until Your Funding Is Just Right
Starting a company requires money, and most people don’t have it. While it’s smart to leverage your personal funds, investments from friends and family, and (potentially) seed or angel investing, it’s going to cost you time to insist on waiting until you’ve got a million in the bank.
The reason is simple: most startups are developed without adequate financial backing. Do what you can with the capital you have and find creative ways to raise what you need. It will build your character and help you succeed in the long run.
3. Waiting Until It’s A “Good Time”
In the words of Tim Ferriss, “for all of the most important things in life, the timing always sucks.” What does this mean? It means that you can’t afford to wait until all of the lights are green at once to start. Instead of waiting until it’s the “perfect time” to start a business, you just have to jump in. Understand that the timing is never going to be ideal, and just be smart about your decisions along the way.
4. Not Believing In Yourself
Instead of beating yourself up over whether your ideas are good enough, get small. Define your niche and stick to it. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. The best companies are the ones that bring passion and innovation to what they do. Think about it – Apple didn’t build the first computer and Facebook wasn’t the first social network.
5. Being Afraid Of The Risk
There is an incredible amount of risk involved with being a successful entrepreneur. The majority of startups fail and, if we’re honest and statistically accurate, it’s somewhat likely that yours will, too. That doesn’t mean you can’t try though. Today, decide that you want it more than you’re afraid of it, and then go get it.
6. Being Lazy
The truth is, most struggling entrepreneurs think they’re working really hard, when in fact they are not. We hate to break it to you, but you don’t need 9-10 hours of sleep every night. And if you are going to succeed you’re probably not going to get it. Instead, you have to make sacrifices. You have to show up and be willing to outwork everyone around you, every day. This means that you cannot sleep in, you cannot get lazy, and you cannot forget how important it is to hustle every single minute like there is someone trying to take it from you – because there is.
7. Not Taking Care Of Yourself
We’ve all heard the saying that, before you can care for others, you must care for yourself. Put your own oxygen mask on first… and all of that. Well, this is as true for business as it is for your personal life. If you’re eating poorly, partying, not sleeping, and drinking black coffee all day, you’re going to crash and your fledgling company will be the first casualty. Instead, take care of yourself first for ultimate success.
8. Never Reading
Have you ever heard the saying, “You are what you read“? The world’s most successful entrepreneurs are huge bookworms. (Mark Zuckerberg even has his own book club!) You need to make sure your knowledge is current in your industry, and that you understand business in general. Further, reading fosters creativity, expands your mind, develops your vocabulary, and makes you smarter – all of which are traits of successful people.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a small list of the top books for the successful entrepreneurs. Beyond that, read what interests and inspires you.
9. Quitting Your Day Job Too Quickly
If you jump out of your day job and put all of your hopes into your new startup, you might succeed. Or you might crash and burn. To safeguard yourself and continue paying the bills, wait to quit your day job until your company is off and rolling.
10. Not Paying Attention To Expenses
If you’re like most founders, funds are limited, and you need to pay attention to where they go. By being cautious and spending intentionally, you can stretch your budget to the max and get the most bang for your buck. So do some research, plan ahead, and cut back on the shopping.
11. Slumming It Up
You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so average up. If you’re not surrounding yourself with individuals who challenge you, push you and support you, how can you expect to grow and change? Enough said.
The Recipe for Entrepreneurial Success:
These eleven things are what keep most people from obtaining their dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur. From making excuses, to sleeping in, to being silly with your cash flow, there are dozens of things that can make you go off the rails. Fortunately, you can achieve entrepreneurial success by avoiding these things and instead focusing on whatever you have to do to reach your goals.
To give yourself the competitive success and become the entrepreneur you’ve always dreamed of being, contact Thrive Internet Marketing. We are your one-stop-shop for all of your internet marketing needs. We’ll help you build your digital empire!
