“Don’t quit your day job!”
“Everything isn’t for everybody”
You’ve heard people use those expressions before, but why do you think entrepreneurs make those statements? What are people really trying to say when they make those comments?
If you really think about it, those expressions are a little on the offensive side. Whether those statements are directed at you or not, what that person is really saying is that you aren’t doing a good job at whatever it is you’re currently doing, therefore, you need to find something else to try and be good at!
Those two expressions are especially true in the entrepreneurial world.
As an entrepreneur, you’ll quickly find out that you’re going to wear all the “hats” in your business, and your workdays will extend way beyond the typical eight hours, especially in the beginning stages of your startup.
But that doesn’t mean you have to engage in back-breaking work, nor do you have to be mentally drained at the end of each day… The key here is to, of course, work smarter, not harder.
Take all your “hats,” for example. In the beginning stages of your business, you’re more than likely going to be the accountant, the CEO, the marketer, the receptionist, etc… You’re going to be stretched pretty thin on all the responsibilities you’ll have. To work smarter, and not harder in this instance, would be to outsource some of your responsibilities.
There are, of course, other important considerations to think about in starting your own business like choosing the best website builder platform and hiring the right people to join your team. But in order to even accomplish a fraction of your responsibilities, you have to have a strong work ethic.
What does having a strong work ethic mean as an entrepreneur? It means that you have to have the drive and determination to achieve success and embrace the failures that will come along with it on your journey.
Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned vet, your journey to entrepreneurial success isn’t going to be easy but maintaining a strong work ethic will keep you motivated to strive through the challenges you’ll face. Take a look at the four work ethic principles that every entrepreneur must implement in order to reach success.
Stop Creating “Busy Work”
When you hear the phrase “busy work,” what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? If you’re like most people, you probably think of meaningless work or tasks that are of lower importance. Well, when it comes to your business, you can actually be giving yourself busy work and not even realize it.
As an entrepreneur, you’re going to be taking on more tasks and responsibilities, but it’s also important to recognize when those tasks and responsibilities are “busy work” or if it’s work that will actually contribute to the productivity of the day.
Another word for “busy work” is “time-wasters” and there are so many entrepreneurs who think they’re working and conducting business but all they’re doing is wasting time.
The thing about time-wasters is that they’re not easily recognizable as time-wasters… in fact, they look like work but they’re really not. According to allbusiness.com, emails are one of the biggest wastes of time an entrepreneur can put their focus on. To be clear, it’s not necessarily the emails themselves but more so the actual time you spend responding to emails.
You need to pick a specific time of the day for correspondence and set a certain amount of time to dedicate to correspondence. Most people either do it at the beginning of their workday or at the end of their day.
Embrace Pessimism
Okay, before you raise an eyebrow, keep an open mind here. Yes, pessimism is the habit of always seeing the worst in everything but have you ever considered using pessimism as a growth tool? Pessimism has a negative connotation behind it but did you know that there is a thing called productive pessimism and destructive pessimism?
Look at failure. Failure, in theory, is bad, but the positive aspect of failure is the learning experience you get from failing at something. Those negative aspects are going to be the fuel you use to jet-set you off to success.
End Your Workdays With “One More”
Whether you’re an exercise enthusiast or not, you’re probably familiar with pushing yourself to do “one more” situp or “one more” squat. Well, the theory of “one more” also applies in the world of entrepreneurship.
It’s all about pushing yourself to send “one more email” or to complete “one more” task on your to-do list. Doing “one more” not only is going to give you one less thing to do the next day but you’re also going to feel a huge sense of accomplishment in knowing you had a productive day.
Don’t Talk About It, Be About It
As an entrepreneur, you have all kinds of great ideas and plans on how to improve your business, and as you have these ideas, it’s tempting to want to tell people about the plans you have. Well, as tempting as it sounds to want to share your great news, try to refrain from doing so.
People don’t care about what you PLAN on doing… All they care about is if you actually got it done.
You’ve heard people say “I’ll believe it when I see it”… Well, that’s how you need to think about your business plans before you decide to tell people about them… they’ll believe it when they see it. So in other words, don’t talk about it, be about it!
Do You Have What It Takes?
As you can see, you can’t just become an entrepreneur because you want to own your own business… It not only takes substantial financial backing but it also requires the mental capacity and entrepreneurial credentials to embody a work ethic like no other.
So the real question to ask yourself now is do you have what it takes and are you willing to put in the necessary work that’s required to reach the level of success you’ve always dreamed of?
