There’s no definitive formula for
success. However, as entrepreneurs, we don’t really need a formula.
We can stand on the shoulders of
giants. We don’t need to guess or try to figure out our path to success from
complete scratch. We can look to the successful entrepreneurs out there and
emulate their habits, common qualities and characteristics.
Here are the six common qualities
I’ve found among the entrepreneurs I try to model myself after. This isn’t the
definitive list nor the only important qualities. These are just the ones I
think you can take the most away from right now. With each quality, I’ll show
you a successful entrepreneur that possesses it and how you emulate them and
apply that quality today.
1.
Perseverance
Arianna Huffington faced rejection
after rejection when trying to publish her second book, After Reason. However,
Arianna did not give up. When she was 23 years old, she was rejected by 36 publishers
before her book was finally published
.
Years later, in 2003, Arianna ran
for governor of California in the California gubernatorial recall race.
However, after seeing only 2 percent support in early polls, Arianna
dropped out of the race. Despite this, and seeing the power of the internet
through her fundraising campaign, two years later she launched HuffingtonPost.com,
which later sold to AOL.com in 2011 for $315 million.
My mother said failure was a
stepping stone to success
Arianna understood the importance of
perseverance despite her failures and roadblocks. A successful entrepreneur
knows that failures and rejections are not signs for stopping but instead signs
to keep pushing forward and persevering.
Begin looking at failures and roadblocks
as learning experiences and stepping stones. Remember that if it were easy,
everyone would do it. You will encounter failures, setbacks and other
obstacles. But that’s okay. Persevering despite the struggle is one of the most
rewarding experiences for entrepreneurs.
2.
Self-Improvement and Always Learning
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla
Motors, is known for being someone who learns very fast. Before Elon Musk
started the SpaceX program, according to Esquire’s interview, he read and consumed as many rocketry and
propulsion books as possible to learn how to build rockets.
When Elon Musk participated in an “Ask Me
Anything” on Reddit, one user asked how Elon is capable of learning
so much in such a short amount of time. Elon replied “one bit of
advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree—make sure
you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches,
before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on
to.”
I think it’s very important to have
a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and
how you could be doing it better. I think that’s the single best piece of
advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and
questioning yourself.
Even with Elon’s success with PayPal
and Tesla, and all of his accumulated experience, he understood he would have
to learn about rockets and rocket propulsion systems if he wanted to be a
competent leader of a space flight company.
Successful entrepreneurs strive to
learn more. A part of this is realizing that no matter how successful you are
or how much you think you might know, there’s always an opportunity to learn
more and work on your personal growth.
Start reading more, listening to more podcasts,
and watching more YouTube videos on subjects that can help grow your business.
Put together a regiment and daily routine where you set aside an hour a day to
work on yourself and becoming a more knowledgeable entrepreneur.
3.
Risk-Taker
Bill Gates risked his future when he
dropped out of Harvard when only 20 years old, to co-found the software
company, Microsoft.
From Bill Gates’ book, “Business @ the Speed of Thought: Using
a Digital Nervous System”, Bill describes his risk-taking as “to win
big, sometimes you have to take big risks. Big bets mean big failures as well
as successes. Today, looking back, it’s easy to believe that Microsoft’s
current success was inevitable. But at the time we made our big bets, including
starting the company as the first personal computer software firm, most people
thought we would fail.”
Business is a money game with few
rules and a lot of risk.
What are the things you are most
afraid of doing that has the potential to grow your business the most or put
you on the most direct path to where you want to be? One way to overcome the
fear of taking risks is simply through exposure. Entrepreneur.com suggests surrounding yourself with other risk-takers. To
break out of your comfort zone, and start taking more risks with your business,
spend more time with people who encourage you, not the ones who think you will
fail.
4.
Leadership
Howard Schultz’s leadership helped
quickly turn Starbucks around when it was on the brink of failure in 2008,
during a massive recession. In an interview with London Business Forum, Howard
Schultz talked a lot about leadership and what it took for him to revive
Starbucks. One of the most notable things Howard says in this interview is
“leaders need to be decisive, and you have to be willing to make decisions
without perfect information.”
I think the currency of leadership
is transparency; you’ve got to be truthful. I don’t think you should be
vulnerable every day, but there are moments where you’ve got to share your soul
and conscience with people and show them who you are, and not be afraid of it.
Leadership means being decisive and
executing on the things that lead to the growth and betterment of your
business. If you have employees or people that you work with, part of being a
leader is also explaining how and why the decision is made.
Taking initiative and taking
responsibility (and ownership of problems) are two things you can start doing
now to work to develop your leadership skills.
