Lessons one through nine of my entrepreneur series were lessons extracted from my own business and other business owners across the country over the past 20 years. Undoubtedly, in your first year of business you will make your fair share of mistakes, just like anyone starting a new venture. There are so many valuable pieces of wisdom to learn as an entrepreneur, but here are my big three traits you must have to truly succeed in your business.
- Passion. Many business ventures people conjure up in their heads revolve around the dream of making a lot of money. While building your wealth can be an outcome of a successful entrepreneurial pursuit, passion around your dreams is what will get you through the good times and the bad times. When you get out of bed every day with emotions that are so compelling around what you are doing, it becomes easy to motivate others to get excited around that dream. Imagine if your business made you no money at all. Would you still have the passion to get up every day and do what you do?
- Persistence. You ask 10 people to invest money in your new business and they all say no. You go on a week’s worth of sales and marketing calls and everyone doesn’t want to buy your product or service. You have two employees quit in the same week and now have to answer the phones yourself. These are all just examples of things that will make you feel like you got kicked in the stomach. Your ambition, drive, and persistence to stay focused on the key tasks you need to do as the CEO of your business when adversity hits you will keep you on track to reach your goals.
- Perseverance. The legend goes that Colonel Sanders was reduced to living off of just $105 of his Social Security check as he began his venture on making the best fried chicken the world. He supposedly made over 1,000 calls to different restaurants and bars having people try his fried chicken until he perfected the recipe. Just remember that as a new entrepreneur (especially if you have a college degree) most people will tell you that you are crazy, stupid, and out of your mind. No matter what anyone tells you, if you persevere through all the criticism you will find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
This is the final installment of my entrepreneur series. I think our future lies in the dreams of those of you that start your careers as entrepreneurs and take the road less traveled. Enjoy the journey and dream big!
Published: July 11, 2013
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