The 6 Habits of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs

We are all creatures of habit. Your habits will determine your level of success or failure in everything you do. To become successful in life, you need to develop positive habits. And this is not going to be easy.

You see, it’s easy to keep refreshing your social media accounts and chat with friends instead of working. It’s easy to watch a Netflix show instead of reading a book or working out.

Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires discipline and courage to conquer yourself. If you are determined, you can achieve anything you want. Being an entrepreneur is one of the best jobs in the world. According to the Pareto principle, only 20% of the entrepreneurs across the world make it in life. How do they do it? They develop positive habits consistently until it becomes automatic for them. It’s not easy to find a successful entrepreneur who is disorganized or a time-waster.

If you are reading this, it’s highly likely that you want to become a successful entrepreneur. Today, we are going to discuss the habits of highly successful entrepreneurs. Let’s get started!

1. They are Early Risers

The majority of successful entrepreneurs are early risers. They wake up with the sun every day. So, what do they do after waking up early? Instead of grabbing their phones to check their emails, messages or social media, they indulge in positive activities such as working out, meditating, reading books, journaling or planning their day. 

They also get to the office while everyone is asleep and start working on their most important tasks without interruptions. If they have a remote team, they organize their activities and communicate using the most effective tools available. And this enables them to achieve their goals easily and quickly. Plus, the mind is usually active during the early hours which improves their productivity and performance. Early rising has tons of benefits. 

You need to join the 5 am club if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. Waking up early is a habit that is formed over time. To become an early riser, all you have to do is set your alarm fifteen minutes earlier every day.

2. They Have a Vision

Highly successful entrepreneurs spend a lot of time thinking about their future and coming up with plans and strategies to make it a reality. They are very creative and are always in the pursuit of self-discovery. They use their imagination to forge the way forward. 

The majority of entrepreneurs stop dreaming once they open their businesses officially. Entrepreneurs with a vision tend to try out new things to increase their incomes and level of success. They don’t do things for the sake of doing. They understand that every action has an equal reaction. Knowing what you want and creating a list of worthwhile goals will put you ahead of the crowd. 

You have to have clear written goals to have a vision and succeed in life. If you don’t, all you have are wishes. Setting your goals before starting your business will keep you ahead of the crowd. So, how do you set goals? First, you start with the question, “What do I want in life?” Do you want to become a millionaire? Raise successful children? Travel the world? Come up with a list of things you want to have in your life. Next, come up with ways that you are going to use to achieve your goals. 

For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, you’ll need to change your diet and exercise at least three times a week for more than thirty minutes. If you do this consistently for a few months or years, you’ll achieve your goal. 

Take another example. Let’s say your goal is to become financially independent. One of the easiest ways to achieve this goal is by saving at least 20% of your income every month and investing it. Knowing what you want and how to get there is a key characteristic of highly successful entrepreneurs.

3. They Plan Their Days in Advance

Most entrepreneurs start their days without any written plan. this leads to wastage of time and money in the long run. According to papers researchers, entrepreneurs who don’t plan their days waste an average of ten minutes before deciding what to do next. The more you waste time, the quicker you fall behind.

Planning your day, preferably the night before will make you more effective and productive. Here’s why. When you plan your day the night before, you have ample time to think about high priority tasks and how you plan to work on them. You are highly likely to remember other important tasks that you didn’t do during the day. 

Also, planning your day allows your subconscious to process the tasks you’ll be working on the next day. This makes it easier for you to complete your tasks compared to someone who operates without a plan. As the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. You only need ten minutes at night to plan your day. Before you start watching your favourite shows on Netflix, sit down and plan your day.

4. Empower the Team

Your business cannot operate without your team. How effective your team is will determine the level of success or failure of your business. Therefore, it’s always important to encourage and empower your team.

Do you know the leading cause of high employee turnover in most businesses? Poor management. It doesn’t matter how much you pay your employees to get the job done. If you are a poor manager, they will leave you and go to work with your competitors.

What are the characteristics of poor managers? They complain, blame their team when things go wrong, ignore their teams’ opinions and mistreat their employees. If you do any of these things in your organization, it’s time to stop. You’ve spent a lot of time and resources training your team. The last thing you want to happen is having them leave you.

You can reduce employee turnover in your organization without having to spend thousands of dollars. All you need to do is become a good manager. Good managers listen to their employees attentively. They take responsibility when things go wrong in the organization and look for ways to resolve the problem. They train and coach their employees regularly to boost their productivity and performance. And most importantly, they hire well.

5. They are Continuous Learners

Successful entrepreneurs never stop learning. The world is changing at a rapid speed. And it’s your responsibility to keep up with the latest trends in business. If you are not learning every day, you are falling behind.

The best way to learn is by reading books. Reading books related to your field for at least thirty minutes every day will put you among the top 10% of entrepreneurs in the world. Books are rich in principles and ideas that can make you a fortune. If you don’t like reading, you can listen to audiobooks. They are just as effective as reading.

When you become a continuous learner, you get the chance to develop and improve your skills which will, in turn, boost your productivity and performance. Developing and improving your skills increases your value in the world.

If you want to double or triple your income quickly, this is all you have to do. But what if your busy all day long? Where will you get the time to read or listen to audiobooks? How much time do you spend commuting to and from the workplace? 

If you spend twenty minutes going to work, you can consider listening to audiobooks. Put on your earphones while walking or exercising. Listen to an audiobook in your car. Forming this habit will improve your life for the better. You cannot afford not to improve yourself.

6. They Make Time for Loved Ones

Nearly 85% of your happiness will be determined by your relationships. Therefore, it’s important to make time for your loved ones. It’s easy to get carried away by running your business or completing high priority tasks. However, on your deathbed, you won’t wish you’d spent more time at the office. But you’ll regret not having read bedtime stories for your child or spending quality time with your spouse or friends.

Keep in mind that you are working hard to improve the lives of your loved ones and community. Therefore, they always come first. So, how do you maintain the balance between work and family or friends? Most entrepreneurs do not have enough time to spend with their loved ones because the work keeps piling up. Why does the work pile up? They either fail to plan their days properly or delegate tasks. 

You should always work on high priority tasks. Forget about low priority tasks. Also, always delegate your tasks to a capable team. Also, work every time you work. Do not start checking your phone, chatting with your employees or workers or go for long coffee or lunch breaks. When you work every time you work, you’ll complete all your projects successfully and you won’t have to work over the weekends or at night.

Conclusion

Becoming a successful entrepreneur is a result of developing positive habits. Becoming successful is not an accident. You have to have clear written goals and do all it takes to achieve them. It’s time to draw a line on the sand and resolve to become a successful entrepreneur. Remember, everything worthwhile takes time. All you need to exercise is consistency.