According to statistics an alarming 90% of new businesses fail. For aspiring entrepreneurs, this is unnerving information which simply implies they are set for failure from the word go. However, with every negative story there is a host of positives, where all of the globe’s most inspiring brands would have once been in that start-up position.
So, what is it that sets the successful aside from the unsuccessful? And what traits should entrepreneurs avoid to improve their chances of being in the 10%?
Lack Of Self-belief
To succeed in business, you need to develop an unwavering belief that you will achieve your goals, if not immediately, eventually.
Without conviction towards a successful future, not only are you more likely to throw in the towel when things get hard – because they will – but on a subconscious level, you don’t truly believe it is going to happen, which means it won’t.
High performance individuals, celebrities, athletes – anyone who has achieved true greatness, would not have obtained this same level of success with talent alone. Mindset and self-belief have a huge part to play.
No Mental Toughness
The entrepreneurs who fail to establish Mental Toughness are those more likely to fail.
In essence, Mental Toughness means continuing to focus on achieving your goals no matter what challenges you face. The best way to exercise and establish true mental toughness is by combining consistency and persistence.
Being consistent means knowing what new habits you have to create and activate on a regular basis, where being persistent means whenever you fall over, stand up, dust yourself off and go for it again. The entrepreneurs able to learn and build habits around consistency and persistence are far more likely to take action and succeed, even when faced with failure.
Procrastination
Many people are unaware that procrastination often derives from a fear of failure, where tasks are often delayed through self-preservation.
The entrepreneurs and business owners who understand how procrastination prevents success, are the ones that perceive time as a valuable asset and take action no matter what challenge is being faced.
An excellent example is when you are faced with the decision to fire an underperforming staff member. From a business perspective, you know it is the right decision, but from an emotional perspective you procrastinate to put off the pain of going through it and potentially upsetting someone else. The longer you procrastinate, however, the longer the underperforming staff member remains in your business, having a negative impact for longer.
Lack Of Self-value
When a lot of entrepreneurs start a new business, they desperately underestimate the value of their product or service. Although this may not initially sound like a large issue, it quickly becomes one as it prevents scale and growth for the long-term.
Why? If business owners fail to truly value the quality of their product or service, they will set their fees or prices too low, meaning they are working harder for less money, instead of working smarter for more.
Failure To Work ‘on’ Not In
One of the books I highly recommend for all business owners and entrepreneurs to read is called the ‘E-Myth’ by Michael Gerber. Why? It helps you understand that a lot of business owners create a new company after experiencing success as a practitioner in their industry, i.e. When a lawyer creates a law firm.
This means they are stuck working in the business, doing the work, as opposed to working on it – lacking both the headspace and time to create a strategy for growth. The entrepreneurs who recognise this and employ talent to fulfil the workload are those who achieve a greater level of success.
