The Entrepreneur's Blueprint: Essential Traits for Building a Successful Business

As an entrepreneur, taking calculated risks, seeking mentors and advisors, staying focused and persistent, embracing learning and adaptability, and finding inspiration in others are essential. That's why today, we're going to focus on a few traits that successful business owners and entrepreneurs have.

Let's jump in.

Take Calculated Risks

Entrepreneurship often requires taking risks and stepping outside your comfort zone. Therefore, it's important to carefully evaluate a given opportunity's potential risks and rewards and be willing to take calculated risks that align with your goals and values.

Ways to practice calculated risk-taking:

1. Research and gather information: Before making a decision, it's important to gather as much information as possible about a given opportunity's potential risks and rewards.
2. Make a plan: Once you have gathered all the necessary information, create a plan outlining how to mitigate potential risks and maximize potential rewards.
3. Seek advice: Talk to mentors, advisors, or trusted colleagues about your decision and get their perspectives.
4. Test the waters: Consider starting small and testing an idea before fully committing to it. Testing an idea can help you gather more information and assess the potential risks and rewards before making a larger investment.
5. Monitor progress: Regularly check in on your progress and reassess your decision as necessary. If things aren't going as planned, be willing to pivot or adjust your approach.
6. Learn from your mistakes: If things don't go as expected, don't be afraid to learn from your mistakes and try again. Each risk taken is an opportunity to learn and grow.

Seek Out Mentors and Advisors

Building a strong network of mentors and advisors can be invaluable for entrepreneurs. These individuals can provide guidance, support, and perspective and help you navigate the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. I am fortunate to have met my mentor when I did. She scooped me under her wing and started me on a path toward personal and professional development.

A healthy mentor and mentee relationship are about mutual respect, open communication, and a shared commitment to the mentee's personal and professional growth. Key elements to help you identify a healthy mentor and mentee relationship:

1. Clear communication: Both parties should have open and honest communication and openly discuss their goals, expectations, and challenges.
2. Mutual respect: The mentor should respect the mentee's ideas, experiences, and goals, while the mentee should respect the mentor's knowledge and expertise.
3. Trust: Both parties should be able to trust each other and feel comfortable being vulnerable and sharing personal and professional challenges.
4. Support: The mentor should provide support and encouragement to the mentee, while the mentee should be willing to accept feedback and guidance.
5. Growth-oriented: The relationship should focus on helping the mentee grow and develop personally and professionally.
6. Adaptability: The relationship should be flexible and able to adapt to the changing needs and goals of the mentee.

Stay Focused and Persistent

Building a successful business takes time and effort, and staying focused and persistent in facing setbacks and challenges is important. In addition, it can be helpful to set clear goals and priorities and to stay committed to your vision and mission.

Here are some of the ways to set goals to stay committed:

1. Be specific: Instead of setting a general goal like "I want to be successful," set specific goals such as "I want to increase my company's revenue by 20% in the next year."
2. Make them measurable: To track your progress, make sure your goals are measurable. For example, instead of setting a goal to "improve your fitness," set a goal to "lose 10 pounds in the next month."
3. Set a deadline: Having a deadline helps you stay motivated and ensures that you work towards your goal on time.
4. Make them achievable: While challenging yourself is important, make sure your goals are realistic and achievable. Setting unrealistic goals can lead to frustration and disappointment.
5. Write them down: Putting your goals in writing helps clarify your thinking and make your goals more concrete.
6. Share them: Sharing your goals with a trusted friend or mentor can help you stay accountable and motivated to achieve them.

Embrace Learning and Adaptability

Entrepreneurship requires continuous learning and adaptability. Therefore, it's important to be open to new ideas, perspectives, and approaches and to be willing to learn from your experiences and mistakes.

Because of this, learning takes a great deal of humility. Humility is the quality of being modest and having a low opinion of one's importance – it is the opposite of being arrogant or conceited. Humble people are aware of their limitations and are willing to learn from others. It means not letting success or achievement go to your head and instead staying grounded and humble. Here are some ways you can stay humble:

1. Acknowledge your limitations: Recognizing that you are not perfect and have room for improvement can help you stay humble.
2. Be open to learning: Being open to learning from others and being willing to take on new challenges can help you stay humble and grow.
3. Don't take credit for others' work: If you are part of a team, it's important to give credit where credit is due and not take credit for others' contributions.
4. Practice gratitude: Being grateful for what you have and expressing gratitude to others can help you stay humble and appreciate the value of others.
5. Treat others with respect: Respecting others, regardless of their status or achievements, can help you stay humble and recognize the value of everyone you interact with.

It is an important quality in any relationship, as it allows you to connect with others and be open to learning and growth.

Another way to embrace learning and adaptability is to stay hungry. And no, not in the sense that you are purging extra calories for a diet. Staying hungry when going after your goals means maintaining that strong desire or drive to achieve your goals, learning and growing, and constantly striving for improvement.

It means not becoming complacent or satisfied with your current level of success, which keeps you focused and motivated to reach new heights. Staying hungry requires a positive mindset and a willingness to work hard and take on new challenges. It can be a key factor in achieving success and reaching your full potential.

Find Inspiration in Others

Many successful entrepreneurs and business leaders have overcome challenges and achieved great things. Reading about their experiences and insights can be a source of inspiration and motivation. Some books that might be particularly helpful for entrepreneurs include "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries, "The Art of Possibility" by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, and "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen.

Reading has many benefits, both for your personal and professional life. Here are just a few reasons why reading is good for you:

1. Improved communication skills: Reading helps improve your vocabulary and comprehension, making you a more effective communicator.
2. Enhanced empathy: Reading exposes you to different perspectives and can help you develop a greater understanding and appreciation for others.
3. Increased knowledge: Reading allows you to learn about a wide variety of subjects, which can help you become more knowledgeable and well-rounded.
4. Improved focus and concentration: Reading requires focus and concentration, which can help improve these skills.
5. Stress reduction: Reading can be a relaxing and enjoyable activity, which can help reduce stress and improve your overall well-being.
6. Improved memory: Reading helps improve your memory while constantly being exposed to new information and ideas.

Books tend to go into more depth on a given subject and can provide more in-depth analysis and discussion. Podcasts and other media can be a great option for a more general overview or to stay current on events.

Ultimately, the best option to consume information may depend on your personal preference and goals. It can be helpful to try many different avenues and see which works best for you.

By following these principles, you can overcome many challenges entrepreneurship will hurl at you from time to time. Keep these strategies in mind as you continue your entrepreneurial journey and seek guidance from experienced mentors and advisors. Additionally, stay open to learning and adaptability, and look to the successes of others for inspiration and motivation.

Stay humble, stay hungry.