If you are an entrepreneur, you likely have big goals! While it is important to pursue your dreams and realize your vision, it is also important to take stock of the tools you have and understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Of course, we celebrate icons of innovation and success like Steve Jobs and Richard Branson. However, there are countless smaller successes, failures, years of work, un-glamorous minutia, and whole teams of people working with them in all kinds of ways. We talk about those aspects of success a lot less.
This can make things difficult, especially for entrepreneurs at the beginning of their ventures. After all, if you only see the story of the glitz and glamor, it can make you wonder if you are missing something when you slog through all of the hard work.
Here are some helpful tips to keep you motivated, growing, and on track as an entrepreneur!
1. You Don’t Have To Go It Alone
We often celebrate successful figures as if they have done it all alone. This puts unrealistic pressure on us to succeed entirely on our own as individuals. You may have heard people often use the phrase “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” as if it is motivational, aspirational, or the only right way to do things.
However, when it comes to creating and running a successful business of any kind, this mentality is impractical at best and may tank your entire venture at worst. Let’s take a look at why this is.
Success Is Built On Relationships
Ultimately, in order to succeed, you need to make 3 important types of connections. You must connect with:
- Your employees
- Others in your field
- Your target audience
This is a complex web of relationships that you need to embrace and leverage in order to succeed. While at the start, it may just be you in a room, as your company grows you will need to hire others to take on important tasks.
Ultimately, you will need to foster a productive and supportive relationship with this team so you can work with other businesses and reach your audience appropriately.
Never Stop Networking
Networking isn’t just for newbie entrepreneurs trying to get their companies off the ground. Whether you are at the stage where your office is also your bedroom, or you have a multi-million dollar venture with numerous departments at your disposal, you can always benefit from making new connections.
“Make connections and keep a record on each person you meet,” Clare Dreyer, career expert, explained to Forbes. “Ask for their advice and help. Keep in touch with them along the way and build your network before you need it! Quality relationships are the keys to the kingdom.”
SEE ALSO: How To Not Waste Time At Networking Events
2. Stay Flexible
Just because you nail down an ideal niche this year, doesn’t mean that it will still be a viable market one or two years from now. While it is important to believe in yourself and realize your goals, it is important that this confidence and your goals are shaped by a realistic understanding of your market.
Don’t fall in love with just one idea, and resist any change to it or in the world at large. While it is unpredictable and can be confusing, change is the only constant when it comes to business. You have to not only be attuned to these changes but know how to leverage them for success.
SEE ALSO: Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur
Know What The Market Wants
Ultimately, it is not as much about you as it is about what the market wants and is happy to pay for. If you can determine what is in demand and sell it, you will be successful.
Again, this comes down to your relationship with your target audience. Can you listen to them, understand them, and provide something of value to them based on that understanding?
If you can, success awaits you.
3. Take Care Of Yourself
It might seem elementary or silly, but we have yet to talk about the most important relationship in this whole equation.
That is: your relationship with yourself.
While the notion of “burning the midnight oil” and always working late into the night, working as much as possible, and working as hard as possible, is very romanticized, in practice it can be quite damaging.
Ultimately, your body can be a tool that helps you on the path to success. However, if you do not rest, eat well, or take any time to care for yourself, that neglect will pile up physically. It can even damage your health longterm.
Easy Ways To Stay Healthy As An Entrepreneur
Many people take an all-or-nothing approach to health, fitness, and healthy lifestyle. However, most people are too busy to hit the gym every day and radically change their diet on a dime, regardless of their job. Here are some quick things you can do as an entrepreneur to inject some health into your day.
- Take vitamins
- Have an in-person meeting? Suggest making it a walk-and-talk meeting.
- Cooking one meal? Meal prep instead. Make a few meals worth of servings but only cook once.
- Get a standing desk
- Stay hydrated
You don’t expect a car to run well without gasoline or regular maintenance. If you drop your phone, the screen might crack. Just like any other tool you have, do your best to treat your body and your mind with care.
As an entrepreneur, the success or failure of your venture depends largely on you. You need to be at your best to truly tackle your dreams.
Final Thoughts
As an entrepreneur, you will face a lot of unique challenges, regardless of what stage of the process you are currently at. With a lot of hard work, determination, and the ability to cultivate and maintain relationships with yourself, collaborators, employees, others in your field, and your target audience, you will be primed for success!
Remember, there is not one path to achievement, and one of the only things that most “overnight successes” have in common is that they put in years and years of work. As famously said by Steve Jobs:
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.”
As an entrepreneur, what helps keep you efficient and cool under pressure? Comment below…
