How to Succeed As an Entrepreneur

If you compare the most successful entrepreneurs throughout history, there are clear success patterns that emerge. Below I have highlighted a few key components from studying the likes of Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Richard Branson and others. As I have said before, modeling success is the quickest way to achieving your goals. Read on, learn and put these best practices into action.

1. A clear vision and sense of purpose - there is something to be said about having a clear vision and a great sense of purpose. Take Oprah as an example, she was transparent about her vision of a different kind of talk show. She was never guarded about her desire to create positive change in the world by empowering women. In fact, many people told her she would not succeed in fulfilling her vision, yet she has more than fulfilled her vision and purpose. I have seen the power of setting a clear vision and having a sense of purpose. It is unyielding and those that are driven by this clarity are quite unstoppable.
2. A belief in yourself and your vision/purpose- having seen this first hand, when someone is fully aligned with their vision and purpose, they get out of their own way and their success seems meteoric. This belief in yourself and what you want to bring to the world is truly what keeps entrepreneurs going at times. No one said the journey of an entrepreneur is easy, in fact there are many bumps along the way and maintaining a strong belief in yourself and what you are meant to do propel you forward and through obstacles that may come your way.
3. A group of supporters - imagine your journey from corporate to entrepreneur as traveling by boat from California to the Hawaiian Islands. As you leave California, all your friends on the shore are telling you not to go, that you are crazy, that you will never make it, that you might get lost along the way and lose everything. As you set sail all you can hear are those you are leaving behind and since you can’t see the islands yet, you begin to doubt yourself and your journey. You know the islands are there, because you’ve plotted out the course, however the journey is long and you can be faced with a ton of uncertainty on the way. Having supports becomes a necessity in reminding you of your vision and of the purpose that propels you forward.
4. A great deal of curiosity - being curious about what is, instead of being rigid is another key component. Individuals who are extremely rule bound end up sabotaging themselves because they lack the ability to adapt emerging trends and changing circumstances. Perhaps this is why some businesses end up failing over time as they grow. They lose the ability to be curious and try different approaches to the work they do, and end up obsolete. In order to not end up obsolete before you begin, you need to challenge yourself and your thinking. Be open to others ideas especially if they are different than your own. I guarantee it will open up perspectives you never dreamed of.
5. An ability to learn from mistakes- the key here is that mistakes will happen, don’t spend your time trying to avoid all mistakes because that will just keep you stuck. Also, as you make mistakes take time to learn from them. What worked, what didn’t work and why? Also, learn from others and the mistakes they made. Whether its people just like you or reading autobiographies of successful entrepreneurs, there are great lessons to be learned by what they did wrong as with what they did right.

Remember taking action is the underlying characteristic of the successful entrepreneur. Of the above best practices what do you need to work on in order to continue on your path to entrepreneurship? Make a note of it and any action steps you need to take to make it happen. There’s no time like the present, so get going!

Silvia Johnson has over 10 years of experience in the area of personal and business transformation. Having a knack for modeling success and an ability to walk others through the steps to achieve their own goals, she has transformed hundreds of lives and businesses on an international scale. Her background is mostly as an executive coach and organizational consultant in Fortune 100 companies.

Check out her website http://www.sixfiguresoutsidethecubicle.com for more information.