Ten Tips That’ll Make You A Better Entrepreneur
You should always seek to be a better you than you were yesterday. Those are words I’ve lived by my entire life – and words you should live by, too. As an entrepreneur, self-improvement should be second-nature.
Because if you aren’t constantly seeking to be better, what exactly are you doing?
The good news is that this self-improvement isn’t a road you have to go alone. You have help. To that end, I’ve compiled some of the most valuable advice I’ve seen, heard, and read over the years – advice that’ll help you take both your business and your life to a whole new level.
1. Check Your Attitude At The Door
Our first piece of advice comes to us via Business Insider, which compiled a Quora thread on entrepreneurial advice a few years back. Remember the show House, where the titular character is one of the most brilliant medical minds in history, but also a nightmare to work with? In the real world, the good doctor wouldn’t get far.
That’s because no matter how good you are at what you do, people aren’t going to want to work with you if you’re a constant cloud of negativity – a positive attitude gets you farther in life than anything else.
2. Take Intelligent Risks
You’ve heard time and again that being an entrepreneur is all about risk-taking. That advice leaves out an extremely important stipulation. Entrepreneurial work is all about taking intelligent risks, risks with a payoff that makes them worthwhile.
If you’re just throwing yourself at challenges with no thought as to how they’ll impact your business, you aren’t being a risk-taker -you’re being an idiot.
3. Invest Yourself
Attitude aside, there’s another trait that’s arguably more important than talent in most any field or profession – dedication. If you’re going to succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to give it your all. No half-measures, no excuses, and no backing out.
4. Know Your Limits – And Work Within Them
Confidence is important no matter who you are. But that confidence must be tempered with wisdom. Don’t try to take on more than you’re capable of handling – if you bite off more than you can chew and end up crashing and burning, your business suffers for it.
5. Clear Your Schedule
Here’s some another tip from that Business Insider piece – once a week, you should set aside a day where there are no meetings – and no exceptions to that rule, save for emergencies. Not only does this give everyone on your team a chance to de-stress, it also provides some downtime in which everyone (yourself included) can catch up on any work they’ve been neglecting.
6. Listen Closely
There’s an old saying that silence is golden. I’ve never much cared for it, myself. Music is actually scientifically proven to enhance brain function and improve focus – even a bit of ambient noise can help. Fire up Spotify, Google Play, or the radio when you’re at the office. Your brain will thank you for it.
7. Always Endeavor To Learn
Any day where you don’t learn something new is a day that you’ve wasted. It doesn’t even have to be a particularly complex lesson – maybe you realize that your current to-do list is busted and archaic, and you need to replace it with something else. The important thing is that you’re always on the lookout for things to learn and ways to improve, no matter how seemingly-insignificant they are.
8. Focus Fire
I always have trouble holding my tongue when someone brags to me about how good they are at multitasking. Computers are good at multitasking. Smartphones are good at multitasking. People aren’t, and I always wonder how much more those self-professed multitaskers would get done if they simply learned how to focus.
The human mind is only capable of working on up to two tasks at once – so focus your attention on the ones that are most critical at any given moment.
9. Watch What You Eat
You’re doubtless already aware of the importance of a healthy diet – but do you know which types of food are your best bet for brain functionality? According to researchers at the University of California, Omega-3 Fatty Acid and Folic Acid supercharge the brain, resulting in better thought processes across the board. For that reason, you should work foods that contain those nutrients into your diet, such as salmon, walnuts, spinach, orange juice, and kiwi.
10. Know The Importance Of Complaining
One of the worst, most prevalent pieces of advice I’ve ever seen is “don’t complain.” It’s nonsense – sometimes, a business does something wrong. If someone doesn’t complain, no one will know the difference.
For your part, you should think before complaining – think about what your complaint will solve, and if it’s worth airing your troubles for it. And always pay attention to customer complaints like negative reviews. Most of the time, you can learn something valuable from them.
Be Better.That’s it. That’s all there is to it. Apply the tips described above, and you’ll see your business grow and thrive. Of course, this is just the beginning – I can only guide you so far.
The rest is up to you.