7 Habits to Develop as a Successful Entrepreneur

Ok. Take a bow and give yourself kudos and high fives if you are an entrepreneur. You are one of those special people who see the world from the prism of “what if” and who holds a strong belief in your own abilities to control your destiny. Being an entrepreneur calls for “true grit” and a set of habits that could help you succeed. Here is a list of 7 of those habits:

Put your customers first – always. Your customers are your success (or failure). You need them just as they need your product. Make your product indispensable. Go the extra mile to help them. When they need your product, they will turn to you.

Establish a routine including setting regular sleep hours. Sleep deprivation is helpful to no one, least of all to the entrepreneur. It dulls your thinking and your reaction time. Creativity is dulled. Health can become compromised and without good health, you cannot expect to be successful. In addition, that routine should include some form of exercise whether it’s yoga in the morning or a brisk walk in the afternoon or both. And set aside quiet time or meditation as a part of your routine.

Practice continued education and constant reading, especially of nonfiction. Attend conferences, workshops or classes. Continual learning opens the mind and leads to new ways of thinking. The consequences? New innovations and improved products.

Promote your business wherever and whenever you can. Cultivate an instinct to see opportunity everywhere and in every encounter. Act on it. Discuss your business, leave a memorable business card. Develop “thick skin.” There will be failures and rejection. You must be able to understand that failure can sometime be a part of great success. Just realize there is often great reward in perseverance and determination

Practice informed optimism. Don’t blindly believe you will be a success. Definitely believe in your ability to be a success but put some study and information to it. Study trends; analyze profit and losses – yours and others. Look at your threats and opportunities. Create a strategy around those. This is what could be called informed optimism.

Take care of yourself. Take regular vacations. Reconnect with your family and yourself. Really unwind. Visit a spa; go to a ball game. Take a break from the routine. There is validity to the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Literally, your mind will not be as sharp and you will not be as interesting a person to be around when your entire focus is always work.

None of these habits are complicated, but habits must be developed and cultivated to be of any use. You have to put them into practice on a routine basis. Your enterprise, regardless of what it is or how large it is, will benefit and thrive from the beneficial habits you follow. After all, you are in business to succeed and to make money. Adopting a few sensible habits can put success in your reach.