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How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur

Table of contents, innovative thinking: spotting opportunities, resilience: overcoming challenges, risk management: calculated ventures, networking: building meaningful connections, continuous learning: adapting and growing, references:.

  • Blank, S. G., & Dorf, B. (2012). The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company. K&S Ranch.
  • Drucker, P. F. (2014). Innovation and entrepreneurship: Practice and principles. Harper Business.
  • McGrath, R. G., & MacMillan, I. C. (2000). The entrepreneurial mindset: Strategies for continuously creating opportunity in an age of uncertainty. Harvard Business Press.
  • Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Timmons, J. A., & Spinelli Jr, S. (2012). New venture creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st century. McGraw-Hill Education.

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Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

What makes a successful entrepreneurial leader?

Is it the technical brilliance of Bill Gates? The obsessive focus on user experience of Steve Jobs? The vision, passion, and strong execution of Care.com’s Sheila Lirio Marcelo? Or maybe it’s about previous experience, education, or life circumstances that increase confidence in a person’s entrepreneurial abilities.

Like the conviction of Marla Malcolm Beck and husband Barry Beck that high-end beauty retail stores and spas, tightly coupled with online stores, was the business model of the future, while other entrepreneurs—and the investors who financed them—declared such brick-and-mortar businesses were dinosaurs on their way to extinction. The success of Bluemercury proved the critics wrong.

“We’ve always had a hard time being able to identify the skills and behaviors of entrepreneurial leaders”

Despite much research into explaining what makes entrepreneurial leaders tick, the answers are far from clear. In fact, most studies present conflicting findings. Entrepreneurs, it seems, are still very much a black box waiting to be opened.

A Harvard Business School research team is hoping that a new approach will enable better understanding of the entrepreneurial leader. The program combines self-assessments of their skills and behaviors by entrepreneurs themselves with evaluations of them by peers, friends, and employees.

Along the way the data is also allowing scholars to study attributes of entrepreneurs by gender, as well compare serial entrepreneurs versus first-time founders.

“We’ve always had a hard time being able to identify the skills and behaviors of entrepreneurial leaders,” says HBS Professor Lynda Applegate, who has spent 20 years studying leadership approaches and behaviors of successful entrepreneurs. “Part of the problem is that people usually focus on an entrepreneurial ‘personality’ rather than identifying the unique skills and behaviors of entrepreneurs who launch and grow their own firms.”

Complicating this understanding are the many types of entrepreneurial ventures that exist, says Applegate. These can include small “lifestyle” businesses, multi-generational family businesses, high-growth, venture funded technology businesses, and new ventures designed to commercialize breakthrough discoveries in life sciences, clean tech, and other scientific fields.

“These types of ventures seem to both appeal to and require different types of entrepreneurial leaders and we are hoping that our research will help us understand those differences—if they exist,” says Applegate, the Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration at HBS and Chair of the HBS Executive Education Portfolio for Business Owners & Entrepreneurs.

The answers are already starting to come in, thanks to initial results from a pilot test of “The Entrepreneurial Leader: Self Assessment” survey taken by 1,300 HBS alumni. Results allowed the researchers to refine the self-assessment and to create a second survey, “The Entrepreneurial Leader: Peer Assessment.” Both are being prepared for launch in summer 2016.

The team included Applegate; Janet Kraus , entrepreneur-in-residence; and Tim Butler, Senior Fellow and Senior Advisor to Career and Professional Development at HBS and Chief Scientist and co-founder of Career Leader.

Dimensions of entrepreneurial leadership

A literature review combined with interviews of successful entrepreneurs helped the team define key factors that formed the foundation for the self-assessment. These dimensions were further refined based on statistical analysis of the pilot test responses to create a new survey instrument that defines 11 factors and associated survey questions that will be used to understand the level of comfort and self-confidence that founders and non-founders have with various dimensions of entrepreneurial leadership.

These 11 dimensions are:

  • Identification of Opportunities. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to identify and seek out high-potential business opportunities.
  • Vision and Influence. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to influence all internal and external stakeholders that must work together to execute a business vision and strategy.
  • Comfort with Uncertainty. Measures skills and behaviors associated with being able to move a business agenda forward in the face of uncertain and ambiguous circumstances.
  • Assembling and Motivating a Business Team. Measures skills and behaviors required to select the right members of a team and motivate that team to accomplish business goals.
  • Efficient Decision Making. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to make effective and efficient business decisions, even in the face of insufficient information.
  • Building Networks. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to assemble necessary resources and to create the professional and business networks necessary for establishing and growing a business venture.
  • Collaboration and Team Orientation. Measures skills and behaviors associated with being a strong team player who is able to subordinate a personal agenda to ensure the success of the business.
  • Management of Operations. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to successfully manage the ongoing operations of a business.
  • Finance and Financial Management. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the successful management of all financial aspects of a business venture.
  • Sales. Measures skills and behaviors needed to build an effective sales organization and sales channel that can successfully acquire, retain, and serve customers, while promoting strong customer relationships and engagement.
  • Preference for Established Structure. Measures preference for operating in more established and structured business environments rather than a preference for building new ventures where the structure must adapt to an uncertain and rapidly changing business context and strategy.

While the 11 factors provided some level of discrimination between founders and non-founders, five factors showed statistically significant differences. For example, founders scored significantly higher than non-founders on “comfort with uncertainty,” “identification of opportunities,” “vision and influence,” “building networks,” and “finance and financial management.” Founders also had significantly lower ratings on their “preference for established structure” dimension.

Entrepreneurial leadership differences between founders and non-founders

Founders Non-founder
Identification of opportunities Significantly higher
Vision and influence Significantly higher
Comfort with uncertainty Significantly higher
Assembling and motivating a team No significant difference No significant difference
Efficient decision making No significant difference No significant difference
Building networks Significantly higher
Collaboration and team orientation No significant difference No significant difference
Management of operations No significant difference No significant difference
Finance and financial management Significantly higher
Sales No significant difference No significant difference
Preference for established structure Significantly lower

Although some of the factors—like comfort with uncertainty and the ability to identify opportunities—seemed like obvious markers for entrepreneurial success, the study built a statistically reliable and valid tool that can be used to deepen understanding, not only of founders versus non-founders, but also of differences and similarities among founders who start and grow different types of businesses, between male and female founders, serial founders and first-time founders and founders from different countries.

In addition, a deeper examination of the individual questions that make up each factor provides richer descriptions of specific behaviors and skills that account for the differences in the profile of entrepreneurs who are launching different types of ventures and from many different backgrounds.

Take vision and influence, for example. Although it is a long-standing belief that great leaders have vision and influence, the researchers found that entrepreneurial leaders have more confidence of their abilities than the average leader on this dimension—and that leaders working within established firms actually rated themselves much lower.

Financial management and governance turned out to be another non-obvious differentiator.

“Financial management is a skill that all of our HBS alumni should feel confident in applying,” Kraus says. “Yet among the alumni surveyed in the pilot, those who had chosen to be founders rated themselves as much more confident in their financial management skills—especially those related to managing cash flow, raising capital, and board governance—than did non-founder alumni.”

Self-confidence in financial management and raising capital was especially strong for male entrepreneurs, she says. “Our future research will broaden our sample beyond HBS alumni to enable us to differentiate between those who graduated with and without an MBA, and to assess confidence in raising capital and financial management and a wide variety of other skills by different types of founders and non-founders.”

Efficient management of operations was another crucial, yet less obvious, factor. “While we often think that employees within established organizations would be more confident in their ability to efficiently manage operations, we were surprised to see that it is a distinguishing and differentiating attribute of entrepreneurs,” says Kraus. “All entrepreneurs know that they must do more with less—which means that they must work faster and with fewer resources.”

Differentiating male and female entrepreneurs

The pilot study allowed researchers to examine gender differences. While men and women rated themselves similarly on many dimensions, women were more confident in their ability to “efficiently manage operations” and in their “vision and influence,” while men expressed greater confidence in their “comfort with uncertainty” and “finance and financial management."

Entrepreneurial leadership differences between male and female founders

Female Male
Identification of opportunities No significant difference No significant difference
Vision and influence Significantly higher
Comfort with uncertainty Significantly higher
Assembling and motivating a team No significant difference No significant difference
Efficient decision making No significant difference No significant difference
Building networks No significant difference No significant difference
Collaboration and team orientation No significant difference No significant difference
Management of operations Significantly higher
Finance and financial management Significantly higher
Sales No significant difference No significant difference
Preference for established structure No significant difference No significant difference

These differences rang true for Kraus, herself a serial entrepreneur who founded and grew three successful entrepreneurial ventures.

“Successful women entrepreneurs that I know have lots of great ideas, and are super skilled at creating a compelling vision that moves people to action,” she says. “They are also extremely capable of getting lots done with very little resources so are great at efficient management of operations. That said, these same women are often more conservative when forecasting financial goals and with raising significant rounds of capital. And, even if they have a big vision, they are less confident in declaring at the outset that their goal is to become a billion-dollar business.”

Indeed, research confirms observations that women start more companies than men, but rarely grow them as large.

Based on his earlier research, these results also resonated with Tim Butler: “When it comes to self-rating on finance skills, women are more likely than men to rate themselves lower than ratings given them by objective observers. There are definitely implications for educators when lower self-confidence in skills associated with entrepreneurial careers becomes a significant obstacle for talented would-be entrepreneurs.”

The researchers hope to deepen their understanding of male and female entrepreneurial leaders as they collect more data.

Differentiating serial founders and first-time founders

Not all founders are cut from the same cloth, the study underscores. Analysis of the pilot data also revealed important differences between first-time founders and serial founders—those who launch and grow a number of new ventures, such as Elon Musk (PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX) and research team member Kraus (Circles, Spire; peach).

One key difference the research team discovered: serial founders appear more comfortable with managing uncertainty and risk. That doesn’t mean they enjoy taking risks, Kraus says, “but they appear to be confident that they are adept and capable of knowing how to ‘de-risk’ their venture and manage uncertainty from the very beginning."

Entrepreneurial leadership differences between serial founders and non-serial founders

Serial founders Non-serial founders
Identification of opportunities Significantly higher on all items
Vision and influence No significant difference No significant difference
Comfort with uncertainty Significantly higher on all items
Assembling and motivating a team Significantly higher on some items
Efficient decision making No significant difference No significant difference
Building networks Significantly higher on some items
Collaboration and team orientation No significant difference No significant difference
Management of operations No significant difference No significant difference
Finance and financial management Significantly higher on all items
Sales Significantly higher on some items
Preference for established structure No difference at all No difference at all

While the data are not yet robust enough to say so with certainty, Kraus believes that serial entrepreneurs often enjoy launching businesses where the risk is highest because of confidence in their ability to manage uncertainty, and perhaps because they enjoy the process of creating clarity from uncertainty.

Other factors that set serial entrepreneurs apart from one-timers include confidence in their skills at building networks, securing financing and financial management, and generating creative ways to identify and meet market opportunities.

FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

As more people take the assessment and HBS develops a richer data set, scholars, educators, entrepreneurs and those who support them will be able to develop insights that will have a number of payoffs.

“The entrepreneurial leaders we know are constantly searching for tools that can help them become more self-aware so they can be more effective,” Kraus explains. “This tool is going to be uniquely useful in that it was specifically developed to help entrepreneurs gain a deeper understanding of the skills and behaviors that they need to be successful.”

In addition, researchers will be able to examine the data by age, gender, country, industry, size of company, pace of growth, and type of venture “to understand the full range of entrepreneurial leadership skills and behaviors, and how different types of entrepreneurs are similar and different,” Applegate says. “These insights will enable us to do a better job of educating entrepreneurs, designing apprenticeships and providing the mentorship needed.”

The data will also be useful in identifying skills and behaviors needed to jumpstart entrepreneurial leadership in established firms, and in understanding how an entrepreneurial leader continues to lead innovation throughout the lifecycle of a business—from startup through scale-up.

“Today, I often see that the creativity and innovation that was so prevalent in the early days of an entrepreneurial venture gets squeezed out as the company grows and starts to scale,” says Applegate. “But, rather than replace entrepreneurs with professional managers, we need to ensure that we have entrepreneurial leadership and creativity in all organizations and at levels in organizations. We hope that our research will help clarify the behavior and skills needed and, over time, will help us track the entrepreneurial leadership behaviors and skills of companies of all size, in all industries, and around the world.”

Given the critical importance of entrepreneurial leaders in driving the economy and improving society, shockingly little is understood about them. The data and analysis emerging from HBS will provide important insights that can help answer the questions, “What makes a successful entrepreneurial leader and how can I become a successful entrepreneurial leader?”

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10 characteristics for becoming a successful entrepreneur

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What is an entrepreneur?

The 4 types of entrepreneurs, what are the qualities of a successful entrepreneur, 5 common mistakes to avoid as an entrepreneur, improve your entrepreneurial skills, are you ready to build the future.

It all starts with an idea. 

Starting a company can be intimidating. You may need to take out a loan, lease a commercial property, or hire staff. The details can feel overwhelming . 

But if you’ve been working a 9–5 for years, you might feel like you’ve stopped growing. You’re grateful for the people who helped you grow because now you’re ready to use your skills in your own business venture. You know have entrepreneur characteristics and want to know where to start. 

The right person will thrive in this environment. They have the entrepreneurial spirit necessary to make it happen and will feel more at peace running their own company than they ever would in an office job.

An entrepreneur is someone passionate and innovative who creates a new business. Their business doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel — your favorite neighborhood café is a business, too — but it takes an entrepreneurial mindset to bring their ideas to life. 

Entrepreneurship is all about pursuing opportunities. It’s about looking for areas to provide a service or a new product the public might need. It’s also about taking the initiative to bring your ideas to life. 

For example, in the 1970s, Steve Jobs noticed computers were popular among hobbyists but inaccessible to the average consumer.  He saw an untapped market with huge potential — he just needed to create user-friendly products. From the Apple 1 computer to the iPhone, he did exactly that. His company became one of the most profitable businesses in the world .

At their core, entrepreneurs are individuals who start a business. But on a deeper level, they’re people who innovate. Someone who starts a business is comfortable with discomfort and pushing the limits of their comfort zone. They see challenges and think of creative ways to overcome them . They fill society with new ideas and keep refreshing the old ones.

When we think of an entrepreneur, we might think of big names like Henry Ford or Bill Gates. But you don’t have to fund a Fortune 500 company to walk in their shoes. 

Entrepreneurs come in many forms, whether they yearn to be their own boss or disrupt the status quo. Here are some common types of self-starters you might run into:

1. The inventor

This person wants to create the next big thing. They see the big picture, imagine products or business ideas that don’t exist yet, and work to bring them into reality. 

2. The small business owner

Small business entrepreneurs employ less than 500 workers. These people operate everything from small consultancies to popular local restaurants. They understand the value of hard work and leading a talented team of employees. 

3. The online entrepreneur 

Whether it’s a side hustle  or a full-time job, these entrepreneurs make the Internet work for them. They might sell products on Etsy, maintain a popular financial blog, or develop software to distribute online. But no matter what, they have a direct relationship with clients through their online business. 

4. The home business owner

These people use their homes as their home base. A family plumbing business might use its home garage to store equipment. On the other hand, an artisan soap maker could use the basement as their production line. These people make their space work for them.

Female-Seamstresses-Working

Starting a new business comes with an inherent amount of risk . You can do everything right, but external events could lead to a negative outcome. While there’s no formula for entrepreneurship, there are good or bad entrepreneur characteristics. 

Here are some skills you need to become a successful entrepreneur:

1. Discipline

The number one quality of an entrepreneur is self-discipline . You need to do the work — even when you don’t feel like it. 

If you have a day job, this could mean working long hours . You'll need the self-motivation to wake up early or stay up late as you start your new venture. 

2. Curiosity

The best entrepreneurs always want to learn more . They ask good questions and look for opportunities to grow themselves and their business. These people don’t dwell on what they think they know but instead, change their opinions when presented with new information.

Curiosity to learn is just part of how they approach the world. 

Friends-Making-Art

3. Creativity 

This is the spark that drives many successful startups. Creativity isn't just for creatives , it's a skill that everyone can cultivate. Entrepreneurs always look for creative ways to solve problems or deliver a service, often with limited resources.

They look in many different places for inspiration, and their creativity helps fuel their love for what they do . Find what gives you ideas and use it as your fuel. To cultivate this skill, lean on habits that support creativity. It could be music, meditation , or meeting new people. 

4. Willingness to try things

As an entrepreneur, you’ll constantly be presented with new tasks that challenge your skillset. Resourcefulness goes hand-in-hand with experimentation and problem-solving. Be ready to get creative, think outside the box , and pull from your vast network, experiences, and skills to take on a challenge. 

Prepare to watch your solution fail, too. It’s inevitable, and every failure is an opportunity to learn and improve on your ideas. 

If you strategize well and outline metrics for tracking success, you can quickly make adjustments and find appropriate solutions. Show your product to a trusted group of friends, read market research to see if there’s adequate demand, and stay up-to-date on the latest industry news.

These strategies will help you take calculated risks while trying new things.

In the business world, you’re only as good as your word. Honesty and integrity are important traits of an entrepreneur. These personality traits will reap several benefits:

  • You will develop a reputation as a strong and honest communicator
  • Your employees will value your leadership
  • Clients will know you can deliver on your promises
  • People will be more willing to lend you money for your next idea
  • Your community will support you during tough times

6. Always have a plan

Successful businesses leave little up to chance. They look far into the future , with backup plans to adapt to unexpected events.

You should have a vision for your company 5–10 years from now . To bring that vision to life, you can use the SMART goal-setting method to set short and long-term business goals .

These are goals that are:

  • Specific: What is the exact outcome you’re hoping for?
  • Measurable: How will you know you achieved this outcome?
  • Achievable: Is it reasonable for you to expect to achieve this goal?
  • Realistic: Can you arrive at your goal with your current resources?
  • Time-Bound: Do you have a clear deadline for your goal?

Each goal should build on the last, bringing you closer to your vision and closer to reality. Also, remember that a lot can change over the years. You’re allowed to adjust your plan if needed.

Colleagues Working-On-Project-In-Office

7. Understanding the value of self-care

Great leaders understand that exhaustion and overwork are a recipe for disaster. They may have all the skills in the world. But, without proper wellness , they won’t be able to execute. Budgeting time for self-care will pay you back tenfold.

The same philosophy applies to your employees. Make sure they understand the value of their work and encourage them to rest when they need it. They will pay you back with a positive attitude and stronger work ethic.

8. Taking risks

Risk takers often do well as business leaders. But you should be clear on your approach, and have a backup plan ready to go should things go awry. 

This is a characteristic of a good entrepreneur because business owners often need to go off the beaten path. This can be scary but entrepreneurs must set aside their fears and take the leap needed to make their vision come to life.

9. Adaptability

The world is constantly changing — and so is how we do business. Entrepreneurs have no shortage of unexpected challenges and surprise opportunities, so they must act quickly and efficiently.

This adaptability is what makes a successful business, and it’s particularly true for entrepreneurs with a Millennial workforce . Rather than trying to force templates that worked in the past, entrepreneurs must be flexible to changing norms like hybrid work models and offering better employee work-life balance .

10. Persistence after failure

Successful entrepreneurs understand that failure isn’t the end of the world. Instead, failure is a rehearsal for success. Persisting despite any roadblocks increases your confidence, conviction, creativity, and innovation.

If you fail, you learn lessons to apply to the next challenge and teach yourself you’re grittier than you thought. All that radical thinking may lead to radical results. 

It’s easy to make mistakes if this is your first time launching a business, but maybe we can help you avoid a few. Here are some things to look out for:

1. Not sticking to your budget

It’s easy to get carried away when you’re starting out. Be careful not to blow your budget too quickly. Stick to the essentials for now, like hiring the right staff, investing in the right tools, and building out your client list. The rest will come later.

2. Making ill-advised hiring decisions

Your business will thrive or die based on who you hire. Choose your employees wisely. Look for people who share your entrepreneurial mindset and have experience working at a new business. 

It’s also useful to find people who have different expertise than you to cover any of your blind spots. If you think you're team could use assistance in getting up to speed, you might want to think about providing them with business coaching .

3. Setting unachievable goals

Don’t expect to make the NASDAQ in your first year. Set achievable goals when you’re starting out. Stick the to SMART method we outlined above.

4. Forgetting to delegate

You hired great people. Use them! Many entrepreneurs don't know how to delegate to others or they're afraid to. Consider whether you need to own a task. You can't control everything so only keep the most important ones.

Assign tasks based on others' strengths, set clear expectations, and check in with them regularly. They’re your team and they will deliver. 

5. Making decisions out of fear

Clear your head before making big decisions. Emotions like fear, anger, or frustration can cloud your judgment. 

When you encounter a stressful situation, take a step back, be mindful of your feelings , and approach the problem later with a clear mind .

Businesswomen-Meeting-In-A-Modern-Studio

Modern leaders need an increasingly long list of managerial skills . Here’s what you should work on as you develop your business:

  • Persuasiveness
  • Problem-solving
  • Communication skills
  • Flexibility
  • Self-motivation
  • Active listening

You might have the seed of an idea — but now it’s time to water it.  

With careful training, planning, and execution, you can watch your idea grow into a successful business. Before you know it, customers will be enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Understand Yourself Better:

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

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More From Forbes

10 tips for becoming a successful entrepreneur.

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Wilbert is the Founder and CEO of  Think Act Prosper , a global media and education company.

An entrepreneur is someone who comes up with ideas, products or services to solve problems for the world. The path of entrepreneurship is built differently for every individual, but all successful entrepreneurs need to be prepared for failure and criticism, and they should constantly be learning and improving themselves.

There is no secret recipe or holy grail to becoming a successful entrepreneur, but here are 10 tips to assist you on the journey ahead:

1. Develop a business plan.

A business plan materializes your ideas onto paper and helps you to envision how your business will be operated. In brief, your business plan should at least answer the following questions about your business:

• What is your product or service? What are your priorities?

• Where will you be operating your business? Where do you want to be in five years?

• When will your business operate?

• Why should people buy your product/service?

• Who is your target segment? Who is your competition?

• How will the day-to-day operations be run? How will you deal with unforeseen emergencies?

These are just a tiny sample of questions to start your brainstorming process. The more questions you can answer, the more clarity you have about running your business.

2. Be frugal.

Think twice before buying anything or signing a lease. To determine if the expenditure is a necessary and good investment, refer to your business plan and ask yourself how your purchase will contribute to the success of the business, as well as any additional costs you could be incurring, such as depreciation and maintenance costs. Always aim to do more with less , and look for ways to reduce costs, such as bartering with other companies.

3. Continuously educate yourself.

Be a voracious learner. You can attend live seminars or classes online. I also recommend reading books by a successful entrepreneur you admire. Even if they aren't in the same field as you, you could learn a lot from both their successes and failures. Observing how they solve problems can give you tips on resolving your quandaries.

4. Build a winning team.

Behind every successful business is a reliable and competent team. This can include engaging an online personal assistant or working with a skilled accountant. Considering sales are the lifeblood of every business, I recommend making your first hire someone who can facilitate revenue by either increasing sales or making the sales process more efficient. I also recommend recruiting people who can take charge of multiple things for greater efficiency.

The key is to recruit the best people to help you achieve your goals, but more importantly, people who share your vision. Every teammate might bring a different skill set to the table, but the entire team should always be on the same page about the company’s vision and values.

5. Find a mind-body-soul balance.

Make sure you eat healthily and find time to declutter your mind. Your personal wellness is as important as your company’s bottom line. Even if your office is at home, find ways to unplug from work and recharge by going for a walk or exercising to release some endorphins (your body’s natural feel-good chemical). Excessive stress is detrimental to your health. Remember that your business thrives only if you do.

6. Take advantage of free marketing tools.

Some free marketing tools such as Google My Business and social media can be used for marketing and promotion. Many businesses create Facebook peer groups to spread the word and interact with like-minded people.

A valuable lesson I learned was that having excellent marketing on a decent product or service is better than having little marketing on an excellent product or service. The more people who know of your company, the better. Moreover, this ties in with tip No. 2 about being frugal and doing more with less: If you can gain publicity for no cost, why not?

7. Find a mentor.

Having a mentor you can trust is a valuable asset. Whether you’re in a mastermind group or have stayed in touch with your former teachers or other business associates, guidance is always valuable. Work with someone who has climbed that very mountain you are trying to navigate to shorten your learning curve.

8. Don't be afraid of networking.

Don't be afraid to seek help. Most of us have contacts who can contribute to our success. I’m not saying you should call them up and immediately start pitching to them, but you can always meet them to catch up over coffee or a meal and see if there is any way that they’re able to help.

You could also start with LinkedIn, which was meant for business networking in the first place. A friendly greeting and introduction with no expectations of any outcome is all it takes to start a conversation with a stranger. It might seem unpleasant and awkward at first, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. I believe your network is your net worth.

9. Be financially prepared.

Starting a business always costs more than anticipated. You can allocate part of your revenue into an emergency fund to prepare against unexpected financial emergencies. As a last resort, you might have to take loans or inject your own money into the business. However, always pinpoint the root cause of the financial problems and resolve them if they are within your scope of control. 

10. Invest in insurance.

Risk management is a major part of an entrepreneur’s work. Every decision carries its own risk, some of which are completely unpredictable. No one will ever be able to predict what could happen tomorrow, so you should spare no expense to keep your business and property protected. I've observed many business owners who regret not purchasing insurance, only after misfortune strikes and their bill comes due. Consult an insurer to find out how to protect yourself and your business. Your future self will be thankful that you did.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

Wilbert Wynnberg

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