People dream of being a successful entrepreneur in the same way they might dream of being a successful Hollywood actor or a successful scientist. It all sounds incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. Regardless of what you want to be successful at, however, there is still an incredible amount of hard work, determination, and passion that goes into all of them before you can get to the successful part. And once you get there, it’s all about maintaining the strategies and routines you’ve established to stay there.
Ask plenty of successful entrepreneurs what they did to get there and what their weekly routine looks like and you’re going to notice some trends very quickly. Some of the specifics may vary but there are a few tried and true methods that help narrow an entrepreneur’s focus and keep them on the right path to success. Here are seven tips to practice weekly to become a successful entrepreneur.
Create & Maintain a Routine
One of the most basic things any entrepreneur can do is also one of the most critical. Flying by the seat of your pants might get you in the door but it’s not a smart long term strategy, especially once you’ve got people counting on you and major financial goals to meet.
What is the ideal routine? Ultimately that’s up to you. There are plenty of successful people who will tell you the keys to success include getting up early, committing to doing specific tasks in the morning, and create specific timeframes for your day. Some of those things may work for you but some simply may not. What works for a single person in their 20s might not be tenable for a person with a family in their 40s and vice versa.
According to entrepreneur Rashard Alomari with Fair Cash Deal, a real estate investment firm in Memphis, Tennessee, “finding the ideal routine took a bit of time for me. I knew what was important to me; my family, my work, and my health, and I wasn’t going to compromise any of those. After a few months of trial and error, I found a great balance between my family, work, and exercise.”
Set Great Goals
As part of your routine, you also need to become very clear about what you’re striving towards. By setting clear goals, you’ll have a good understanding of whether or not the effort you’re putting in each week is enough. Make sure you create some attainable goals so you’re able to celebrate wins often. But also make sure you’re creating lofty goals that will take time and effort to complete in order to appreciate just how much hard work you had to put in to get there.
According to Zach Tetley, an entrepreneur from Knoxville, Tennessee, and co-founder of Nexus Homebuyers, “when my business partner and I first started our business, we didn’t set short term goals. Of course, we had lofty goals to achieve in a year or two, but we didn’t have one to three month goals that we could celebrate. Celebrating those little wins are important and it helps you to live in the moment and enjoy the ride.”
Meditate & Exercise
A great mind won’t be able to stay in peak shape unless it’s being taken care of. Meditation is a critical part of the successful entrepreneur’s toolkit to ensure that you can stay present. It helps relieve stress, taps into your creativity, intensifies focus, sharpens intuition, and cuts down on emotional detachment.
It’s not just about taking care of the mind, you also have to take care of your body. Not only is staying in good health important but a solid workout can help clear your mind, cut out stress, and help get the blood pumping so you’re energized for the day. And if you don’t take our word for it, according to Business Insider, plenty of the top CEOs in the world make exercise a critical component of their schedule.
Budget Properly
As an entrepreneur, there’s a good chance your company’s number crunching is going to come down to you. And even if it doesn’t, you need to know exactly where you stand financially and where you need to be at all times. Knowing how to budget well is a critical skill you’ll want to continually work on and improve.
Separate your personal finances from your business finances. Get in the habit of keeping all of your receipts and always think about tax implications for everything you buy or sell. Always look for ways to finagle a better deal and get good at haggling with suppliers or leveraging for more value. And no matter what, keep a detailed budget and financial plan that you can refer to at all times.
Prepare For Tomorrow, Today
It’s easy for entrepreneurs to get wrapped up in everything they have to accomplish today. It can be overwhelming to try to get everything done and figure out how to fit it all in. So it’s easy to forget that the world doesn’t end at midnight and you’ve got an entirely new day to deal with tomorrow.
That’s what it makes a lot of sense to prepare for the day ahead, even if it’s just for a few minutes before you go to sleep today. Got a big meeting scheduled? Put together an outline and plans for what to discuss. Have a lot of tasks to finish? Prioritize them based on importance and need. If you’re up for it and it’s not going to negatively impact you, try to get ahead on some work tonight. If you can take one task out of the equation, you just removed one barrier from accomplishing tomorrow’s goals.
Find Your Passion
Why did you become an entrepreneur? It’s the quintessential question driving so many people who went out on their own. Whether the answer to that question is because you saw a need in the market, because you want to make a difference in the world, or even if your main drive is to make money, you have to be passionate to succeed. So the goal is to always find ways to remind yourself that you love what you do.
The best way to do this is to keep a close eye on how you’re feeling and reacting to the week. Are you excited to get out of bed each morning? Or do you dread all of the things you need to do? If it’s the latter, what can you do to change your weekly schedule in order to feel great about what’s ahead? Once you know that, you can get back to being excited about your business.
Make Time for Friends & Family
The entrepreneur’s life can be an intense one and it’s not uncommon to see them disappear into their work. Sometimes that can be a good thing in the short-term, but eventually, you’re going to burn out and be left with fewer strong relationships around you to rely on. So while you’re putting a lot of effort into growing your business, make sure you’re also putting a lot of effort into growing and maintaining your personal relationships as well.
According to Jason Ault from Element Homebuyers, “not only is it a great thing to be around those who care about you, but it helps to refocus your priorities and remind you why you do what you do. And if you don’t have anyone to hang out with on a particular day, it’s a perfect opportunity to invest in yourself and go do something fun.”