How to Be an Entrepreneur in 30 Ways - Neil Patel

Let’s apply this to the world of business. What type of content are you consuming that encourages fear versus encourages confidence? My favorite tip for managing fear as an entrepreneur is to do confidence-building exercises.
For me, I like to take a few moments at night to think of the decisions I made that day that had a successful outcome.
Thinking each day about the decisions that you made that benefited you, others, or your business will help you to quickly build your confidence and reduce fear.
7. Successful Entrepreneurs Visualize their Goals
This tip is less abstract than you might think, so bear with me.
When I recommend that entrepreneurs visualize their goals, I don’t intend for them to close their eyes and see the goal in front of them.
What I want you to do to visualize your goal is to define it so clearly that it’s real and tangible.
For example, which of these is a more accomplishable?
I want to become a successful entrepreneur.
I will become a successful entrepreneur by starting a business that solves a problem for this specific niche of my audience.
The second one, right?
When you can clearly articulate and visualize your goal, it becomes more achievable.
16. Read Case Studies
As an entrepreneur, you’ll be busy with your business, needing to take care of it all the time. When you get home and have some leisure time, you might be tempted to read fiction or books for entertainment.
The more you learn from their mistakes and successes, the faster you can grow your business and take steps to becoming an entrepreneur.
17. Successful Entrepreneurs Self-Promote
Many people don’t want to self-promote or talk about their business too much for fear of sounding like an egomaniac; but if you don’t promote your business, who will?
Egotistical self-promotion and self-promotion can be differentiated.
Know your business, know some key stats, and have your 15-second elevator pitch polished and ready to go. Then, when someone asks you about your business, you can promote it factually and quickly.
Another way to self-promote without sounding cocky is to know what your customers say about your business. When someone asks how your business is going, you can tell them your customer feedback.
Don’t forget to provide some of the bad as well as the good.
18. Successful Entrepreneurs Set and Oversee a Positive Company Culture
There may have been a time when company culture wasn’t important, but with social media and the 24-hour news cycle, your company and employees are always under scrutiny.
Set a positive company culture from day one and you’ll be more likely to work with people you enjoy and who inspire you as well as attract great customers.
Many entrepreneurs are working with family, from home, and even across borders. It’s important to set and know what you want your company culture to look like.
19. Network, Network, Network
There is no such thing as too much networking (well unless it’s getting in the way of building your business, of course).
What I mean to say is that you shouldn’t ever stop networking because you never know where your next lead will come from.
Chances are, if you network with enough people, you’ll bump into another entrepreneur who might have the ideas and connections you need.
You might find a new connection while grabbing a beer at the airport bar. You might meet your next business partner in an elevator on your way to a meeting. Plus, you just never know who’s sitting next to you on the bus.
Have a short chat with everyone you come into contact with. You never know who you’re sitting next to and what connections or resources they might be able to offer you.
20. Learn and Create
The successful entrepreneur mindset is that of learning and creation. As an entrepreneur, you always want to be taking in new information and creating.
To stay in the learner and creator mindset, stay away from TV, social media, and movies. These types of entertainment cause us to be passive and just take in information.
Pursue everything in moderation, but in general, these activities are time-wasters for entrepreneurs. Limiting your entertainment time is a sacrifice that must be made to become a successful entrepreneur.
Instead of watching TV and movies, read case studies and meditate. Take care of your mind and body in constructive, healing ways.
It may “feel good” to watch TV, but it’s not actually a rejuvenating way to relax.
To be a successful entrepreneur, find relaxing activities that help to restore your learner and creator mindset.
21. Successful Entrepreneurs Deliver, Not Sell
Honestly, no one likes to be sold to. I mean seriously, who enjoys going to the car lot and buying a new car? We all know what we’re getting ourselves into and dread it.
26. Take Time Off
You might not need time off every day or every week, but you do need to take time off. If all you do is work, you’ll burn out. Fast.
I think this is the most challenging for entrepreneurs because they often see themselves as invincible or believe that they must be invincible. This just isn’t true; we’re all humans and we need time off.
Time off allows your brain to roam, to rest, and to think. Ever wonder why you think of so many ideas in the shower? It’s because your brain has free range to just think and roam.
Even the most successful entrepreneurs don’t work all the time. Everyone needs time off, so don’t shame yourself for being human and normal.
When you do take time off, notify your staff ahead of time and let them know why it’s important to you.
Teaching your staff the importance of time off will help them to respect your time away and to recognize when they need time off.
30. Successful Entrepreneurs Lend a Helping Hand
Entrepreneurs are busy, so this tip sometimes trips them up. It’s easy to think, “I don’t have time to help anyone else! I’m so busy already!”
However, helping others can be inspiring and massively beneficial. It makes you feel good.
Furthermore, as an entrepreneur, you have a network with whom you can share your expertise and jobs you can hire people for. Why wouldn’t you help out when you can?
When you help someone, they will likely find a way to help you. It might not be today or tomorrow, but somewhere in the future, they will be there to help you when you need it.
Helping others is also a great way to build a loyal and supportive network around you.
Common Myths About Entrepreneurs
There’s nothing wrong with being an employee.
Personally, I find entrepreneurship more rewarding—but it’s not for everyone. Being an entrepreneur takes commitment.
Once you start your business, it takes just as much effort to keep up and running, so I want to clear up any misconceptions you might have about entrepreneurship.
We’ll go through the top 10 most common myths about entrepreneurs:
Entrepreneurs don’t have a personal life: While it’s true that entrepreneurship can take grueling hours and commitment, it’s not true that you can’t have a personal life. I’m not saying you can take time off whenever you want, but there’s still enough time for family and social activities if you master your time management skills.
Entrepreneurs take lots of wild risks: Yes, entrepreneurs take risks, but not ones that put themselves in high-risk situations. Entrepreneurs learn how to take calculated risks. It’s all about balancing the risk and reward. You can’t take a risk that will put your company out of business if it fails.
Entrepreneurs are only motivated by money: Financial gain is not the only motivation for business owners. Achievement of their dream, flexibility, and control are other motivations. The freedom these elements bring are all driving elements and money is a result.
Entrepreneurs raise money from venture capitalists: Venture capital money is on the list, but personal loans, credit, and family and friends are often the main funders. You have to put up a lot of your own money to get started.
Entrepreneurs have great ideas: You don’t have to start with a great idea. You can start with an existing idea like Lyft did, similar to Uber. You can even have a great idea and not become successful. You just need to have a solid business model to lead you to success.
Anyone can be an entrepreneur: Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, nor do they have what it takes to start and run their own business.
Entrepreneurs have formal training and education: You don’t need to study business or entrepreneurship to have a successful startup company. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go to college. I’m just explaining that it’s not a requirement.
Entrepreneurs are young: Age has no limitations when it comes to entrepreneurship. You can become an entrepreneur at any age.
Entrepreneurs don’t quit until they succeed: Odds of success are less than failure. You need to accept failure as a potential reality. If your business is going to fail, you need to do whatever you can to minimize the damage. Liquidate your company assets and try not to lose your entire investment.
Entrepreneurship is genetic: You are not born an entrepreneur. It’s not a trait that you can inherit from your parents. Even if your entire family runs their own business, it doesn’t mean that’s your destiny as well. On the flip side, this means you can be an entrepreneur even if your family doesn’t own a business.
Nobody is born an entrepreneur.
It’s something that you need to truly want and work for to accomplish.
Now that all 10 of these myths have been cleared up—you can make an informed decision whether to pursue the path of entrepreneurship.
FAQs
What do entrepreneurs do?
Entrepreneurs take an idea and develop it into a product or service that people or other businesses can buy. An entrepreneur assumes most of the risk and initiative for their new company. Successful entrepreneurs are frequently seen as innovators and thought leaders.
What skill does an entrepreneur need?
Most importantly, being an entrepreneur means you need to have focused time management skills. Being a business owner, you’ll need to prioritize your workday. Having an organized calendar, to-do lists, and a team to support you will allow you to be more efficient.
What kind of risks do entrepreneurs take?
The steps to becoming an entrepreneur involve risks along the way, such as:
Financial risk: Entrepreneurs invest their own money, or that of their investors, into their businesses without the guarantee of success. They may take out loans, invest personal savings, or rely on outside investors to finance their ventures. This financial risk can put entrepreneurs in a vulnerable position, especially if the business does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses.
Opportunity cost: Entrepreneurs often leave stable jobs or other opportunities to pursue their business ventures. They sacrifice the potential benefits of those other opportunities to devote their time and energy to building their businesses.
Reputational risk: Becoming an entrepreneur means your reputation can be on the line. If the business fails, you have to pick up the pieces and start again, and sometimes that means rebuilding credibility.
Which type of entrepreneurs are most successful?
The most successful entrepreneurs are those who strike a balance between risk and reward. From startup entrepreneurs to freelance entrepreneurs, motivation and a clear plan will lead you to recognize opportunities and make an impact.
Conclusion
So, is becoming an entrepreneur hard?
All I can say is entrepreneurship is certainly not easy.
Succeeding in business doesn’t come overnight. It takes a lot of planning, preparation, creativity, grit, and patience to become a successful entrepreneur.
The 30 tips I provided in this guide will help you with a long-term strategy and build it in baby steps until your business becomes a success.
Not everyone can do it. If they could, everyone would be an entrepreneur.
If you need help defining and implementing a digital strategy as you start to build your business, let us know if we can assist you. We even offer custom packages for businesses on a strict budget!
Are you an entrepreneur already? What is the best advice you’d give your younger self when just starting out?
See How My Agency Can Drive More Traffic to Your Website
SEO - unlock more SEO traffic. See real results.
Content Marketing - our team creates epic content that will get shared, get links, and attract traffic.
Share
Hey, I'm Neil Patel. I'm determined to make a business grow. My only question is, will it be yours?
About Neil Patel
He is the co-founder of NP Digital. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.