The thought of becoming an entrepreneur is quite inspiring, and we often find ourselves asking “wow how did that person get to where they are today?” The truth is that becoming an entrepreneur does not happen overnight, and the journey to entrepreneurship involves a few lifestyle changes. Some of the greatest entrepreneurs had to develop new habits, and they had to step out of their comfort zone in order to get to where they are today. Here are a few habits that you should develop before taking your first steps into entrepreneurship.
Confidence is Key
In the world of entrepreneurship, the key to success is confidence. While you begin making your plans towards your first steps of this amazing journey, you’ll need to work on your confidence. You cannot go into this world thinking that you may fail at what you do, the truth is that many people will tell you “no” when you pitch your ideas to possible investors or prospective clients. What you do with that “no” depends entirely on you; you can either shut down, or run with it and use it as a learning experience.
Take this time to put yourself out there and step out of your comfort zone. You do not need to do anything drastic to boost your confidence. You can start small like singing at a karaoke bar, or maybe doing more interviews even if the position doesn’t interest you, use this time to work on your presence.
The Learning Never Stops
The need for learning should never stop. Take time to do research on an entrepreneur that you look up to or has inspired you to make this first step. By taking time out every day to learn about business and industry related topics, you will be able to comfortably transition into entrepreneurship. While you are learning, take some time to catch up on some reading as well. Check out this amazing reading list made for aspiring entrepreneurs here.
By taking out at least an hour a day to read up on business tactics, or industry trends you will be on the right path to success. A mistake that some aspiring entrepreneurs make is that they do not take the time to learn about their industry and conduct research, this can ultimately result in poor decision making when running your business. Knowledge is power!
Surround Yourself with the Right People
This may seem obvious to some, but it is often overseen. Our friends and family are great to be around, they care about us, they’re fun to be around, but when it comes to business they may or may not have the best advice for you, or they may give you a sense of doubt. If this is something that you are personally struggling with do not worry about it, it’s more common than you think. Becoming an entrepreneur takes a lot of guts, and most people do not have an understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, especially our friends and family.
In cases like this you want to surround yourself with the right people, whether they are business owners or aspiring entrepreneurs. By attending networking events and acquainting yourself with like minded individuals, you will have that support system that you need. While working on your business goals, try to leave your family and friends out of the key components of your business, and only share the small stuff with them. It will be difficult to leave them out, but you’ll have a great support system with your entrepreneur friends.
Take Risks
The thought of having to take a risk may be scary to some, especially if you are someone who has worked the standard 9 to 5 job receiving consistent paychecks. Entrepreneurship comes with many risks and you have to be okay with the fact that everything may not go as you initially planned out. You’ll need to go into this journey knowing that it is a risk and that there will be moments when your business is not performing well, and moments when business is booming.
Wake Up Early
This is a tough one, but it’s actually quite helpful. Research shows that by waking up earlier you will have increased productivity throughout your day, and will have more time to generate new ideas. It’s no wonder that some of the most powerful people in the world have early wake up times. As Steve Harvey once said on his show “ rich people do not sleep 8 hours a day,” and there’s actually some truth to this. Take a look at Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi who told Fortune that she sometimes starts her day at 4:00 a.m., and wakes up no later than 7 a.m.
If the thought of waking up early is still scary to you, don’t worry. You do not have to wake up at 4 a.m. right away, try gradually waking up earlier every day until you find a time that works best for you. As you begin making use of your early days, you will notice your productivity increasing.
It’s Time to Seize the Day!
The thought of having to change your lifestyle and adapt new habits may feel like quite the inconvenience. The fact of the matter is that some of the habits listed in this article may be a bit out of your comfort zone. You’ll need to go into this journey saying to yourself that change is a good thing and that these new habits will allow you to bring on great success.
By reading this article, you will be ahead of many aspiring entrepreneurs, because you already have some of the keys to success in the palm of your hands. This will be quite the adjustment for you, and chances are this was also a big adjustment for some of the most successful CEOs around the world. Change is a good thing, developing new habits is great; do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Your success will thank you later!