10 secrets of becoming a successful entrepreneur
10 Secrets of Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur
There is a myth that entrepreneurial success is all about innovative thinking and breakthrough ideas. Here's what success truly means.
Philip and Karen Smith/Getty
I've been an entrepreneur most of my adult life. Recently, on a long business flight, I beganthinking about what it takes to become successful as an entrepreneur--and how I would even define the meaning of success. The two ideas became more intertwined in my thinking: success as an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial success. I've given a lot of talks overthe years on the subject of entrepreneurship. The first thing I find I have to do is to dispelthe persistent myth that entrepreneurial success is all about innovative thinking and breakthrough ideas. I've found that entrepreneurial success usually comes through great execution, simply by doing a superior job of doing the blocking and tackling.
But what else does it take to succeed as an entrepreneur, and how should an entrepreneur define success?
Here's what I came up with, a Top 10 List:
10. You must be passionate about what you are trying to achieve.
That means you’re willing to sacrifice a large part of your waking hours to the idea you’ve come up with. Passion will ignite the same intensity in others who join you as you build a team to succeed in this endeavor. And with passion, both your team and your customers are more likely to truly believe in what you are trying to do.
9. Great entrepreneurs focus intensely on an opportunity where others see nothing.
This focus and intensity help eliminate wasted effort and distractions. Most companies die from indigestion rather than starvation, i.e., companies suffer from doing too many things at the same time rather than doing too few things very well. Stay focused on the mission.
8. Success comes only from hard work.
We all know that there is no such thing as overnight success. Behind every overnight success lie years of hard work and sweat.
There is a myth that entrepreneurial success is all about innovative thinking and breakthrough ideas. Here's what success truly means.
Philip and Karen Smith/Getty
I've been an entrepreneur most of my adult life. Recently, on a long business flight, I beganthinking about what it takes to become successful as an entrepreneur--and how I would even define the meaning of success. The two ideas became more intertwined in my thinking: success as an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial success. I've given a lot of talks overthe years on the subject of entrepreneurship. The first thing I find I have to do is to dispelthe persistent myth that entrepreneurial success is all about innovative thinking and breakthrough ideas. I've found that entrepreneurial success usually comes through great execution, simply by doing a superior job of doing the blocking and tackling.
But what else does it take to succeed as an entrepreneur, and how should an entrepreneur define success?
Here's what I came up with, a Top 10 List:
10. You must be passionate about what you are trying to achieve.
That means you’re willing to sacrifice a large part of your waking hours to the idea you’ve come up with. Passion will ignite the same intensity in others who join you as you build a team to succeed in this endeavor. And with passion, both your team and your customers are more likely to truly believe in what you are trying to do.
9. Great entrepreneurs focus intensely on an opportunity where others see nothing.
This focus and intensity help eliminate wasted effort and distractions. Most companies die from indigestion rather than starvation, i.e., companies suffer from doing too many things at the same time rather than doing too few things very well. Stay focused on the mission.
8. Success comes only from hard work.
We all know that there is no such thing as overnight success. Behind every overnight success lie years of hard work and sweat.