Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. It takes not only great ideas but also a lot of grit and determination. In a world where each of us needs to take responsibility for our careers, everyone needs to act like an entrepreneur. Often overlooked are some critical habits essential to sustained success.
* Keep your personal overhead low.
Entrepreneurship requires extreme personal financial flexibility to weather the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities it offers. Too many entrepreneurial wanna bees indenture themselves to homes, cars, and lifestyles that don’t give them enough room to breathe. They complain, “I’d like to start a business or invest more in my business, but I have payments to make.” Enjoy the freedom that low personal overhead gives.
* Pick your business partners more carefully than your spouse.
Be sure that the people with whom you work are entirely trustworthy and ones you can rely upon in the trenches. You’ll be spending more waking hours with them than with your spouse. While there are clear mechanisms to divorce a spouse, there aren’t nearly as clear ways to disentangle your business from a partner. No matter how perfect a business partner may appear life changes. Be sure that you have a clear buy-sell or termination agreement. Most importantly, pick your business partners carefully at the start.
* Always have more than one choice.
Choices give us freedom and energize our work because we can choose our path. Too many wide-eyed entrepreneurs see only one path and try to convince everyone else that it’s the only way. Hogwash. You don’t know if you are making a good choice for your business unless you have other viable options. If you can’t think of any other choices, don’t act until you find someone who can offer you other paths.
With these three habits, you will enjoy what you are doing and have both the flexibility and support necessary for success.