5 Habits of Authentic Entrepreneurs
I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, but never really understood exactly what that meant. Since I was 12, I have always owned my own business. From selling chicken eggs to my neighbors to eventually founding a start-up. I started my first business because I wanted to be different. I was driven by the fact that I could potentially make more money than my friends. I didn’t really think about my habits but was solely driven by money. It wasn’t until just recently when I reflected on the last 8 years of being an entrepreneur that I realized the habits that have led to my success and the success of others.
While it's true different people have different habits that lead to productivity and success, many of us could benefit from learning from the best entrepreneurs out there. These habits are tried and true, learned from years of experience and failure. These habits can help just about anyone be an entrepreneur, from right now to the moment you sell your company.
The most radical thing about these habits is that they are simple, yet when applied diligently can have drastic effects on your success.
1. Stay focused.
When I started selling chicken eggs, I started to make some good money for a 12-year-old boy. I was inspired by this whole entrepreneur thing and decided to start another business. I started selling calendars on Amazon. Months went by though and I didn’t have many sales, so I decided to start another business. I started selling phone holders on Amazon. Once as time went by I had very little sales, so I decided to write a children’s book. To no one’s surprise, I had very little sales, so I decided to create apps. I was making very little money once again, so I started a website with my buddy. This cycled continued and is a place many entrepreneurs find themselves. Focused more on the money rather than what you are doing.
As time went by and even today, as I look back at all of my ventures, I see the secret to success. FOCUS. Whether I look at the fact that my book is now registered with google but is not available anymore to buy because I gave up, a podcast I created years ago that still get listens today, or an app I gave up on but now has hundreds of downloads but bad reviews because I didn’t stick with it. It is clear, to be a successful entrepreneur you must be focused. You should stick with what you are doing. The money will not be great in the beginning but if you are focused, you’ll have a better chance at success.
2. Sleep.
Although many of us know that sleep is important to life in general, is it essential to get a full 8 hours? Some of the most successful people in the world get very little sleep. For example, Jack Dorsey the founder of Twitter and the CEO of Square gets less than 6 hours according to business insider. How is he so successful when science tells us that when you don’t get enough sleep you are less able to process information and problem solve and that it can even kill your creativity.
The answer may be in the fact that with less sleep you have more time to get more stuff done. In the beginning, many entrepreneurs just have themselves to create their vision. We are often very busy and have little time to get a lot of stuff done. Despite the fact that more sleep can lead to greater productivity, does that extra productivity produce a higher yield of product for the extra time you are sleeping? For entrepreneurs, the answer might be no. According to Bill Gross the founder of idea lab, timing is the most important factor when it comes to start-up success. If this is true then creating a potentially less quality product in a short amount of time and protecting it might be more important to the success of an entrepreneur.
For most people, more sleep is better for overall health and productivity. Although this is true for entrepreneurs too, sadly in today’s high pace environment it may not yield the greatest business success.
3. Be different.
It is at the core of who we are and why we chose to create our own business.
Successful companies solve important problems, but the most successful companies solve problems we didn’t even know existed. Take Amazon for example. It all started by selling books on the internet because it was one category with so many products you couldn’t possibly create a store to fit them all. The internet had been around for a while, and unless you were an avid book reader not having access to every book in the world wasn’t a problem. What was key about this business was that it would solve an even larger problem, data storage. Amazon generates 62% of its operating income from Amazon Web Services according to Forbes, a business many people don’t even know exist.
Amazon web services would not be around today if Jeff Bezos didn’t take the first step to create something different. Through the revenue of selling books, Bezos had the resources to solve even bigger problems like data storage enabling him to be the richest man in the world at one point.
You don’t have to solve cancer to have a successful business you just have to create value. You have to be different enough that people notice your product and want to buy it. You don’t have to recreate the wheel just create something different enough that there is added value.
If you are able to create something of value even if that value is small at first, you have the potential to be successful. We all have to start somewhere and no one expects that you will be able to solve the world’s problems, just dare to be different.
4. Use what you know and those that know more.
“Knowing enough to think you’re right, but not enough to know you're wrong”
— Neil deGrasse Tyson —
It is important to do your research and understand what you are doing. But, it is also important to ask for help. Bill Gross concluded that timing is the most important factor in start-up success but his team also found that having a strong team was the next most important factor.
When you are launching a start-up you first put a team together. Why? Because other people might know how to do something that you don’t or maybe they just know more about something. No one expects you to solve cancer but also no one expects you to know it all. Being an entrepreneur is unique, there is no one above you to tell you how to do something. Everything we learn is through making mistakes and asking others for help.
Having a smart team is essential to building a successful start-up but sometimes entrepreneurs are independently trying to create a business that doesn't require a team. But, you don’t need someone to join your team for you to learn from them.
Whether it was talking to my teacher about my business or reaching out to my aunt who helped with the 2.6 billion looker acquisition to Google. I was better able to run my business because of what they taught me. Never be afraid to ask for help, you will be amazed at the connections you have. And who knows maybe the people you know, know someone who can help you out even more. It is a great idea to talk to all those around you and use the resources available. Most people will be impressed and more than willing to help.
It is not weak to ask for help, it is wise.
5. Do something.
Finally, you must at the very least create something in order for it to be successful. It sounds silly, but this is where most people fail. We lose hope in ourselves and take the critique from others to shut us down instead of using it to create an even better idea.
“The most terrifying thing in my life is a blank sheet of paper”
— David Ayer —
Authentic entrepreneurs tap into their instinct for success and break down the invisible barriers society puts in front.
My number one tip to overcome your self-doubt and poach this habit from authentic entrepreneurs is to just start. You can not improve upon nothing. Just like when we write, a first draft is important. It is never too early to take control of your life. The worst thing that could happen is you fail, but so what? Right now you don’t have anything created anyway. Something is better than nothing. If you fail you learn and gain experience.
Don’t worry about the end product or what you don’t know, have fun and start!
Humans are amazing creatures and successful entrepreneurs are able to tap into the best of who we are.
People today are often not successful because our society has brought us further and further away from who we are as humans. It used to be you had to fight off lions and forage for your own food to live. Now we spend our time fighting each other and foraging for snacks in our cabinet. We work so hard trying to achieve other people’s dreams we forget about our own.
Being an entrepreneur means being unique and having control over your life but also maybe sometimes not knowing when the next check is coming in. In order to be successful, you need more than just a drive to succeed, you need to have focus, get good sleep, be different, use those around you that might know more, and finally don’t wait but do something.
Although these habits are important, it is more important that you have the courage to be different.
