12 Tips For Entrepreneurs To Succeed In Business (And Life) | Entrepreneur

Success is every entrepreneur’s dream. To get there, effort should be done on oneself and on one’s people.

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Success is every entrepreneur’s dream. To get there, effort should be done on oneself and on one’s people. There is no magical key, but experience has shown that the entrepreneur should work both on the intellectual and organizational levels of the business. In fact, the two go together. Successful entrepreneurs are those who overcome both objective and subjective hurdles. Below, are twelve tips on how to conquer and succeed in a world that is changing so rapidly:

1. Success is in the mind. It is an attitude. A disposition. If you set your mind on earning a million dollars, you will most probably earn it. If once you earn it, you start being afraid of losing it, you will most certainly lose it. Adopt a success-driven attitude even when you reach your goals. Set up higher goals and challenge yourself.

2. Think big, act small. Small droplets will end up filling the bucket. There are no too small battles or small gains for you to wage. All victories lead to your success. Win them with pride.

3. Lead instead of playing the boss. Be a mentor, a model. You are the person with the ideas, the vision. You know where you want to go. Your collaborators should trust you and do their best to follow your trace, your footprints. Leadership is the most effective power. Use it to motivate and achieve.

4. Inverse your organizational chart. Those on top help those on the line do their job. Don’t be in the way, but be there when needed. If anything, recognizing what line managers do is a real task for you at the top.

5. Bring out the best in everyone. There is good in all of those working for you. But each one has something special about them. Tap into that to make them grow, stay motivated and be creative.

6. There is no such thing as a perfect plan. There are only imperfect -but good- plans. Waiting for perfection will cost you time and resources. Working with what is available, albeit imperfect, is not only timely, but smart.

7. The global complete approach wherein everything will fall into its place is a utopia. You don’t have time for that. Piece-meal progress, small wins are your way towards success.

8. Making mistakes is no problem. Not learning from them is the real problem. As you make your wins, you will also improve on your past errors. The more you do, the more you fall but the more you learn to avoid hurdles on the way.

9. Risk is a part of life. Be bold in your actions if you want to reach out where the others don’t go. Uncharted territories are opportunities for you to be creative and succeed.

10. Build trust. The world is full of crooks. But it’s not a reason for you not to trust anyone. You have to build trust; renew it; and reinforce mutual commitments.

11. Seek out allies. Enemies don’t stay that way forever; rivalries change, so do opportunities for growth. Recruit some old “enemies” to be your allies, partners or clients. Don’t stay in the small world of those who like you and whom you like.

12. Look for the silver linings. Problems don’t exist. What we call problems are only opportunities that are hidden behind obstacles and hurdles. Remove these to get to the goldmine.

Success does not happen overnight. It is the outcome of a lifetime of hard work. What is important is to think things through and adjust your attitudes and approaches in relation to the changes that take place in your environment. Success is the culmination of a long journey both internal and inside the business. To succeed is to change oneself, and when you change you also change those surrounding you. Good luck.

Related: In Business, Your Biggest Obstacle Is Often Yourself