When an entrepreneur fails it is common to hear what they believe to be the “reason” for the lack of success they envisioned. These “reasons” are actually the cause and the excuse they have accepted.
Lack of Confidence – Hesitation to take the actions necessary often come from lack of confidence. Part of being a successful entrepreneur is the willingness to jump in with both feet and not let fear, limiting beliefs lack of self-esteem or self-confidence stop you from taking the necessary actions.
Uncertainty – You don’t have to have everything figured out in advance. In my early days as an entrepreneur, I was a nosebleed perfectionist. Everything had to be perfect. One of the problems with this is that you don’t take a chance and don’t attempt things you are uncertain about. Our biggest growth can come from stepping outside of what we know and doing things we might not know everything about.
Lack of Commitment – Being committed is absolutely vital to success as an entrepreneur. One can’t just be committed when things are going right. The true test is when things don’t go as planned, the successful entrepreneur rolls up their sleeves and is willing to do what it takes for as long as it takes. Those that are not fully 100% committed to doing what it takes, will find themselves giving up, using excuses as to why they didn’t succeed.
Lack of Perseverance – It’s also vital to persevere when things are not going as planned, or take longer as planned. Challenges are simply part of the process towards success. It’s vital to develop perseverance and this is a result of being fully committed to your business.
Lack of Support – Having supportive people around you is great, however, as most successful entrepreneurs will tell you, it is not a pre-requisite. Inexperienced entrepreneurs tend to give up because someone close to them is not supportive, and has “opinions”. I learned something very valuable many years ago – ONLY TAKE ADVICE FROM THOSE THAT ARE ACTUALLY QUALIFIED TO GIVE IT! This allows you to sift through all the well-meaning advice you are given, and actually have a way of making a decision to take that advice or thank them for their interest. Simply because someone is close to you, is not a reason to take their advice. Understand that most people close to us are not qualified to give us business advice, and a huge percentage of entrepreneurs are talked out of their dreams because they make the mistake of listening to these people.
Worrying about the Opinions of Others – No one will ever believe in your dream as much as you do. People have opinions, but it is simply their opinion. They have not taken the time to do all the research and build their knowledge about your business. Trust yourself, and listen to your heart…it is there to guide you in the right direction.
Negative comments – There will be people that gossip, or, spread negative comments about you or your business. Don’t take this personally. Often it is due to them not taking the time to know for themselves and have listened to some gossip. Shake it off and move forward doing your best at what you are doing. Focus more on surrounding yourself with positive people that appreciate your service or products. When you are being the positive inspiration to those around you, you will not be dragged down by negativity and will attract more positive people to you. You will also find that some of those negative people will change their opinion because of your powerful example you set.
It is vital to be solution oriented. So often people come across a challenge and think it is the end of the road and give up. There are solutions. Commit to being solution oriented and be willing to find a way when there doesn’t seem to be a way. This will also improve your self-confidence, self-esteem, and belief in yourself and what you are truly capable of.
A long time ago I was told to really understand who your customers are, find them, sell them, get the money, then create your business. Becoming an entrepreneur starts after all of that is done.