1. Vision
“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others” – Jonathan Swift
Entrepreneurship is all about solving a persistent and critical problem for which people will be willing to pay for. The most crucial step of starting your entrepreneurial journey is to have a vision of seeing yourself provide a service of true value to people.
It may be hazy at first but if your vision really moves you from within and pushes you to take the first step then know that you are on your way to live your purpose. Not everyone will see what you see and that is absolutely normal. Thomas Edison would not have invented the light bulb if he would’ve waited for crowd funding.
“Entrepreneurs must be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time.” – Jeff Bezos
2. Patience
“Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting” – Joyce Meyer
Great things take time. Knowing that it will take time is preparing yourself for unnecessary worry and frustration. Preparing yourself to be patient also has the innate ability of raising your level of maturity and your keen sense of working for a higher cause. Impatience creates an environment of anxiety, stress and is also perceived as sign of a cluttered mind.
3. Persistence
“Persistence is a great substitute for talent” – Steve Martin
Talent is overrated. It is a fact proven over time.
Persistence to achieve your goal amplifies your belief in your product or service, your self-belief transfers to your audience and your audience then responds to your belief. People don’t buy a product or a service; they buy the belief that exudes from you and your enterprise.
4. Humility
“Pride is concerned with Who is right. Humility is concerned with What is right” – Ezra Teft Benson
Ego is the biggest hurdle to growth, learning and success. It’s only when you drop the ego that you can open up your mind to learn from experts, your customers, your staff and the people around you. Entrepreneurship is not a race to show how much you know, it’s actually quite the opposite. The more open you are to learn, the more your business will grow. The greatest founders have mastered the art of humility because they have realized that the goal is not to look rich but to be rich. Starting and running a business is not a one-man job, so be prepared to ask for help, learn from mentors, hire a coach, listen to ideas and most importantly be unattached to the title. People crave to be a part of a solution, your role as the “Founder” is to give them the stage.
5. Focus on the Small Tasks
“You don’t get results by focusing on results. You get results by focusing on the actions that produce results.” – Mike Hawkins
The process of goal setting teaches us to have a clearly written down, time-bound and realistic goal. What makes the goal setting process more effective is when you break the big goal into smaller goals and even smaller daily tasks. The human brain resists anything that will create any kind of discomfort, our reptilian brain is built that way. Don’t waste time in changing it; rather work around it. Breaking down your big goal into smaller tasks will help you convince your reptilian brain to only do this small thing easily and effortlessly.
Do one task every day that serves your big goal, which feeds into your larger vision. This is the only secret. I failed to see this until I was a year into my business standing on the other end, feeling exhausted and stressed where my personal goals seemed too big to achieve which inevitably led to procrastination.
I built the “One Win Today” Formula to overcome the fear of the big goal. It is simple; begin your day with writing down the one task you want to complete that day, diarize it. Work through your day to complete it and finally before you end your day return back to your diary to mark it complete. This simple yet effective practice helped me keep my attitude in check and also overtime gave me a sense of achievement. This is priceless if you are working by yourself.
Doing the small tasks daily keeps up the momentum.
6. Planning
“Failing to plan is planning to fail” – Allen Lakein
Coming from a corporate background where planning was at the core of everything, my world was filled with excel sheets and PowerPoint presentations with 1-year, 3-years and 5-year plans. It all changed when I began my own journey. There was no big set up, no support functions, no large teams, no direct reports to delegate tasks to, but there had to be a plan. There had to be a document that talks to me every day of where I am heading and how I am going to get there.
Over time, the plans changed, the strategies changed but it is only because of that one document, I know how close or far away I am from my goal. This simple planning document also helped me articulate my goal and vision to the right people at the right time.
Plan! Spend at least 45 to 60 mins daily on your plan, it doesn’t have to be a perfect plan but there has to be one.
7. Decision Making
“A Wise man makes his own decisions. An ignorant man follows public opinion.” – Chinese Proverb
Being an entrepreneur is being able to find answers to a new question on a daily basis. It is not easy but it is worth it. Coming from a non-business background and zero experience of handling a business myself, I realized that there is no right or wrong decision, there are no templates or guides to tell you what you should or should not do; but there will always be a skeptic who will question your decisions no matter which path you chose.
Here is where this quote, “Version one is better than version none” by David Nour, author of ‘Co-create’, helped me overcome the extremely tempting urge to be perfect.
When I began to take decisions, the answers automatically revealed themselves.
8. Money Matters
“If you buy things you don’t need, you will soon sell things you need.” – Warren Buffet
Managing money is one of the TOP TEN 21st century skills that millennials and Generation Z must acquire if they want to be prepared for a very different and unpredictable future which is about to unfold.
If you need to take a course or read a book or take advice from a professional, then do it, don’t hesitate. You’d rather learn the craft of building a strong money mindset today than regretting it later.
Warren Buffet is the greatest example you can follow to learn how being disciplined with money helps you achieve financial freedom even if you are not the most talented person in the room.
It’s all about awareness and discipline when it comes to managing money.
9. Speak your Mind
“If you can speak, you can influence, if you can influence, you can change lives.” – Anonymous
According to studies, public speaking is the most feared skill amongst people, followed by death. Which means most people rather die than address an audience! There are no surprises why good public speakers find their way to fame and fortune with little and consistent effort.
People want to be influenced, they want to be assured that what they are thinking is correct, they want to know that they are not the only ones experiencing that emotion or set back, they want to hear someone else say it, because they fear being judged and put under the limelight. Look around you, the achievers whom you idolize either have mastered this skill or are consciously practicing it.
If you can put your ideas into words, say the words with emotion and express that emotion with passion…… You will be unstoppable. Public speaking is not rocket science, but it takes practice just like everything else.
“All the great speakers were bad speakers at first”. – Ralph Waldo Emmerson
Master this skill and you will open a new world of opportunities.
10. Emotional Stability
“You are in charge of how you feel. Don’t let anyone kill your vibe.” – Unknown
In your entrepreneurship journey you will come across rejection, nay-sayers and skeptics. You should always try your best to keep them out of your inner circle but be rest assured that they will find their way back in; that is just the way the world works.
I have found that the best way to handle negativity is to be aware of where it exists and then consciously stay away from it or best ignore it.
Your emotional balance is the most critical part of your entrepreneurial journey. It can get overwhelming at times and if you let it get to you, your emotions will take you into a negative spiral in a matter of seconds.
The best way to keep your emotional health in check is by shifting focus by working on your physical health. Scientific studies have proven that 45 to 60 mins of daily physical activity will help you release negativity and improve your emotional state. Walk, jog, run, lift weights... it doesn’t matter… just start.
Entrepreneurship is a journey of self-discovery; it is a process of becoming a better version of yourself and this involves taking care of both, your physical and mental state. This is a marathon not a sprint, so make sure that you optimize yourself for the long-term.
The better you get at managing your emotional state, the easier it will be to walk the untrodden path with bold confidence.
“Everyone can tell you the risk. An Entrepreneur can see the reward”. – Robert Kiyosaki
About the Author
Dharmesh Suryavanshi is the Founder & CEO of Mind Map Factory, a Training & Counselling company with a mission to help students & professionals find their best-fit career options and build the most relevant career building skills.