You don’t need to be super smart or lucky to become a successful entrepreneur. You just have to have the right entrepreneurial habits. Read this to learn more.
Entrepreneurship can be a rollercoaster ride of experiences and even emotions, which is why it’s not just all about selling (contrary to what most people think). In reality, entrepreneurship is more than that – it’s an attitude you have to adapt to succeed.
The truth is, everyone has to start somewhere, and often, those first steps are the most difficult ones to take. True, they could become challenging, but you’ll eventually see results if you’re willing to work hard enough. Once you do, you’ll find yourself on your way to becoming successful.
But how do you build yourself up to overcome these challenges without giving up? The answer lies with our entrepreneurial habits.
Consistent habits are an essential skill that entrepreneurs should cultivate. And yes, habits may seem small, but they can make a difference when combined.
That’s why, in today’s blog post, we’re going to dive into the nine proven entrepreneurial habits you may want to test so you can reach your goals and success even faster.
The Three Areas You Need to Focus Your Entrepreneurial Habits On
If there’s one thing that I noticed among the most successful entrepreneurs, it’s their focus on three specific areas, namely:
1. Focus
Let me ask you a question: if you have a specific health ailment, like brain cancer, where would you go? To a General Practitioner or a Specialist?
Most likely, you’d choose the latter. Your GP may have studied a wide array of different ailments, but the specialist has spent more focus, time, and attention on learning whatever that specific ailment is in order to be able to cure you.
And guess what? Running a business is no different. Let me explain.
As entrepreneurs, we are all well aware that time equals money. To generate more revenue for the business, you need to learn how to manage your time well. In other words, doing more in less time can get you faster where you need to be – and one of the ways you can do so is by focusing on working on the most important and impactful tasks at hand.
Because here’s the thing: the more focused you are in your chosen field or niche, the faster you’ll be able to accomplish your tasks. Results come in faster, too, which means that you’ll get the most out of your time, and therefore, you’ll be able to generate revenue more quickly than if you were spreading yourself thin across multiple niches.
Not only that, though. Focus allows you to become the established expert in your area, which will let you charge higher prices and attract more customers to your products and services.
So, if you want to be successful, you should learn how to focus. A great example of an entrepreneur who is known for being very focused would be…
Jeff Bezos, Founder and Executive Chairman of Amazon
We all know Amazon and how a juggernaut it became to be, but did you know about Amazon’s humble roots?
Back in the nineties, Jeff focused on one problem he wanted to solve: he wanted to make buying books easier. So he built Amazon.
In the very beginning, Amazon was just a book reseller. But Jeff created a system to make it easy for folks to leave reviews, comment, and share on books they liked. It also allowed users to share what people should be reading.
He essentially took the idea of “recommendations” and made it much simpler.
Ultimately, that system Jeff built played well into other things we could buy online, which eventually turned Amazon into the giant company it is today. But it is all grounded in the fact that Bezos was hyperfocused on solving a problem in his chosen industry.
2. Clarity
Did you know? The number one cause of overwhelm and inaction is the lack of clarity?
Because here’s the truth: if you’re not clear on the steps you should take, you won’t be able to take action. And even when you do take action, you’ll just end up spinning your wheels and wasting valuable time. Above all, you won’t be able to make effective decisions.
If you’re looking to succeed in any given area, you must first determine what exactly it is you want to achieve.
The most successful entrepreneurs all have clarity around their goals. They understand exactly what they want to do with their lives and know what they want to accomplish in the next day, week, month, or even years! That’s because they’ve taken the time to define their vision.
One of the best examples of this is…
Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft
One of Bill Gates’ habits that many people may find peculiar is his regular practice of going on a reading sabbatical, where he goes somewhere remote and takes a week to do nothing but read.
Why? Because this allows him the space he needs to be able to think and ponder all of the things on his plate so that he can then make effective decisions moving forward. Ultimately, this “unusual” practice of going into a reading sabbatical gives Bill Gates the clarity he needs to make effective decisions for his businesses – and even more.
3. Consistency
You might find it hard to believe, but many entrepreneurs, especially the most successful ones, thrive on failure.
The thing is, failure allows us to see our mistakes and learn from them. This is something that I’m sure you’ve already experienced yourself. Whether in school, at work, or even in relationships, we’ve all had those moments where we’ve failed, and most of the time, we’ve learned from them.
But the key difference between someone who succeeds and someone who doesn’t is consistency. Why?
It can be extremely difficult to fail several times if you don’t try again and again. And that only means that even failing takes a lot of consistency.
Consistency, after all, is a result of consistent action. Ultimately, consistency will help you build momentum and get more done than you ever thought possible.
One great example of a successful entrepreneur whose consistency has helped him become an industry leader is…
Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company
Most people didn’t know that the giant, Ford Motor Company, was Henry’s third attempt at establishing an automobile company. Before then, he failed at two different motor companies.
And guess what? Ford Motor Company’s success wouldn’t have been possible without Henry’s persistence and consistency. For years, he developed tons of automobile products and tested them out in different markets. But a lot of them were failures. Nonetheless, he kept going until he hit it through the mass market during the industrial revolution.
Because of Henry Ford’s consistency, it’s now possible for everybody (and not just the elite) to own a vehicle, and that’s one of the many reasons why Ford Motor Company still exists today.
The 9 Entrepreneurial Habits You Could Add Into Your Life, Starting Today
There are tons of entrepreneurial habits you could incorporate into your life, but for now, we will focus on three habits in each of those three areas I discussed above.
Habits that will help you develop your focus
1. Setting Goals
Goals are essential for any entrepreneur because they allow you to set clear expectations and objectives for yourself. They also help you stay focused on what matters most. After all, if you’re not setting goals, how would you know whether or not you’re making progress towards achieving them?
If you’ve never learned how to set goals, now is the time to learn to do it. Goals don’t have to be super complex. They don’t have to be black and white either.
You can start by setting an intention. Doing so will allow you to check if your actions align with your goals, enabling you to hyper-focus your efforts on those things that matter most.
2. Prioritization.
At this point, I want to emphasize that prioritization would be useless if you don’t have a goal in mind. Before you can start prioritizing, you have to be clear on the following first:
– What you want to achieve
– Your timeframe
– What you need to do to get to where you need to be
The concept behind prioritization is simple. It’s about building habits around the things you need to take action on to achieve your goals.
3. Build a time-tracking habit.
Time tracking is one of the most effective ways you can get things done, and the good news is that it doesn’t have to be difficult either.
Time tracking can be as simple as using the Pomodoro Method, wherein you do focused work for 50 minutes or so, use the remaining 10 minutes to take a break, and do the entire thing over and over until your task is completed.
Another time-tracking habit you might find helpful is tracking your time spent on different activities. I personally love using Toggl, but there are other time tracking apps you may want to try, too.
So, time tracking using apps is as easy as punching in the time when you’re starting on a task and punching out when you’ve finished. By doing so, it will be much easier for you to see and visualize where your time goes. It will also be easier for you to spot and reduce or eliminate activities that are not helping you reach your goals.
Habits that will give you clarity
4. Meditation
I like to think of meditation as fitness for your brain. Just like fitness helps you build muscle mass, meditation enables you to build mental strength.
There are many ways meditation can benefit you, but one of the most important things to keep in mind is that meditation helps you gain clarity. Meditation gives your brain some space so you can think things through and focus on what matters.
5. Journaling
Journaling is another excellent way to get clarity. When you journal, you’re essentially writing down everything that comes into your head. Basically, you’re just getting things out of your brain and onto paper. Because the thing is, if your mind is so cluttered with all kinds of thoughts, it’s going to be hard for you to know what’s worth focusing on.
By taking the time to write down your thoughts, you’ll be able to identify patterns and trends that could help you better understand yourself and the way you’re running your business.
So journaling can be a beneficial and cathartic process that will allow you to see through the clutter and figure out what you should be working on next.
6. Adopt a practice of solitude.
Solitude can come in many different ways. Meditation and journaling are just two examples. But a practice of solitude can also be as simple as taking a stroll outside or making time for you to exercise. Or, you could spend an entire week reading, the same way Bill Gates does on a regular basis.
Basically, a practice of solitude is just spending time alone so you can unwind and de-stress – so you can think and process everything with a much higher level of clarity than before you spent time alone.
So, go ahead and schedule a few hours for yourself each week so you can clear your mind and figure out what you need to do next.
Habits that will help you build consistency
7. Make it a practice to verbalize your intentions and goals to people around you.
Accountability is huge when it comes to building habits. And this is why it’s so important to have someone else hold you accountable. Without anybody to hold you accountable, it can be extremely difficult for you to stick to any new habit.
So how are you going to do this? Simple.
Just tell the people around you what you want to accomplish. Tell them what you hope to achieve, and ask them to support you along the way. It could be your family, friends, colleagues, or even employees!
By putting out your goals and intentions in the world, you are inviting others to hold you accountable for those goals. This means they’ll be more likely to push you to make sure you stay consistent with your plans.
8. Consistently track your results.
Tracking results is yet another way to ensure you’re staying on track with your goals. Tracking your results lets you see where you stand and lets you know whether or not your actions are generating the results you’re expecting. So, by monitoring your progress regularly, you’ll be able to give yourself feedback on whether or not you’re doing things the right way.
When tracking your successes, you can use spreadsheets, online tools, or handwritten notes. But what I personally like to do is schedule a weekly appointment with myself, so I can look at how far I came over the previous week. I also do a quarterly or annual review just to see my overall progress – and I highly recommend doing something similar for your business.
Tracking your progress over a set period will give you enough visibility on how well you’re doing. And if you find that you aren’t meeting your expectations, you can adjust accordingly.
9. Schedule time for different things.
Many people get overwhelmed because they try to fit too much into their day. They end up feeling stressed, frustrated and exhausted. But having a calendar system in place will allow you to plan out your days in advance, so you don’t have to cram everything in a day. By scheduling specific times for certain activities, you’ll be able to avoid distractions and time-wasters.
And no, your calendar system doesn’t have to be digital. You can do things old-school as well. Just write down all of the things you need to do (including the habits you want to make!) on paper and put it somewhere you won’t forget.
Final Thoughts on the 9 Entrepreneurial Habits You Can Start Today
Now that you know the nine entrepreneurial habits that you can test out, are you interested in learning whether or not your mindset is cut out for entrepreneurship?
If so, I’m inviting you to check out my Entrepreneurial Mindset Quiz. It’s a short quiz that will allow you to see the skills you have and the skills you need to build so you can find the freedom and flexibility as an entrepreneur.
Don’t worry; my Entrepreneurial Mindset Quiz is 100% free. Get started today by clicking this link.
Thanks for reading! Until next time.
