Like most great achievements in life, finding success as an entrepreneur doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t expect to have the next Snapchat or Airbnb just because you have a strong idea or raised some capital. To create and develop a successful business, you must approach it with dedication and commitment possess a specific set of skills and anticipate an unpredictable and difficult journey ahead. While the statistics vary, by and large, economists agree that most startups will fail and the likelihood of success is small. Following are several keys to success and words of wisdom that I have gathered along my entrepreneurial journey.
1. Success is different for everyone. Understand what defines success for you and not what is generically acceptable by others.
2. What is normative today may not be tomorrow.
3. Be a pioneer, not a follower of trends. However, with that mindset you must be prepared to stay the course, believe in yourself, and not be afraid to take risks.
4. Stay informed but not boxed in. Listen to others, but believe in your vision. There are many people who are skeptics, and for every person that believes in what you are trying to do, there will be 9 others that will not. If every visionary in history was swayed by the opinions of others, we would not evolve. It is important to listen to other peoples’ opinions and understand their perspective and use that knowledge as a platform to build upon. It’s ok to change your mind and reevaluate your goals and even your vision from time to time. But when your inner voice tells you that you should stay the course, believe in yourself.
5. Don’t be afraid to fail because failure is a stepping stone to understanding many things.
6. “If you hear a voice within saying you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
7. Think outside of the Reservation. Complacency is death. When you stop thinking outside of your comfort zone, it is hard or even impossible to become innovative.
8. Try to look at multiple industries unrelated to the one that you are interested in. There may be things that can help you in your own industry that is already well developed in others.
9. There are multiple ways to build a box even though the end result may be the same. The difference between each process of building the box is where the magic lies.
10. Success is not a goal, it is a byproduct of your passion. You may be successful in the eyes of others but you are the only one that knows if you have truly reached success and have fulfilled your dreams and your passions. If you’re diligent and committed, have discipline and perseverance to reach your goals, success is inevitable.
11. Set your own goals. The problem with most people is that they need examples to gauge their own success. Before Uber, most entrepreneurs were not referencing yet. I’m positive that Travis Kalanick had a vision that some people believed in and others did not. He did not say that I want to be this or that, but he set out with his vison and achieved it. If you’re telling yourself that “I want to be the guy that created Uber,” you are off course. If you have a vision and you believe in it, then you are on course.
