Being in business for yourself can be a challenge. If you left a fairly good paying job to become an entrepreneur, then of course, there’s the need to generate income as fast as we can.

The problem is that when we need money quickly to pay our bills and prove ourselves to those who think we’re crazy for going it alone, we can often make poor decisions and operate in a mode of desperation, instead of confidence.

To be a successful entrepreneur we have to operate in different ways than those who just “go into business” for themselves. We ARE different. We’re Entrepreneurs! My definition of an “Entrepreneur” is someone who “does whatever it takes” to succeed.

To help develop your mindset of doing whatever it takes, here are 5 keys that you should adopt to master your entrepreneurial life:

    1. Raise your standards! When we’re not getting the business we want, we tend to take what I call “crap jobs” just to pay the bills. We tend to also let others dictate how we’ll do business with them.

As a professional, you have to dictate to the people who do business with you how YOU do business, not the other way around.

When I started out as a consultant, I had this problem. It destroyed my credibility completely. I wasn’t revered as a successful marketing consultant. I was perceived as “miscellaneous project boy”.

The lesson here: Set the standards in which YOU want to run your business by. You make the rules, not your clients.

  • If you don’t want to work on weekends, don’t!
  • If you don’t want to accept crap projects, don’t!
  • If you don’t want to take calls after 5pm, don’t.

    • Raise your standards and build your credibility as a successful entrepreneurial professional.

      2. Change your limiting beliefs! I’ve heard it said before “belief systems are nothing but B.S.”
      Sometimes when we’ve not had much success it’s easy to believe one of a few different things: “I’m not worthy”, or “I don’t know if I should even be in business for myself”, or “the other people in my field are much more educated than me”, or “I have no time for marketing”, etc.

    This type of belief system will ruin you. And, guess what? The things you’re thinking to yourself and believing are not real! You just believe they’re real.

    To get on your with your successful entrepreneurial life, you MUST believe that anything is possible. You must believe that “if anyone can do it, so can I!”

    When you allow your limiting beliefs to run your life, it shows in everything you do, and will ultimately destroy you. It destroys your confidence, self-esteem, and self-concept.

    Walk with pride! You’re an entrepreneur! The fact that you took a risk to be in business for yourself says so much about you. Now, believe in that.

      3. Modeling ’success’ works! My teacher Jim Rohn (www.JimRohn.com) says, “Success leaves clues.” What he means by that is, there are so many examples out there of people doing things right, we need to take notice.

    If you’re struggling to get your business right, study those in your industry who ARE doing it right. Find someone who may not be directly in competition with you. Ask them out to lunch (you pay!) and interview them and ASK the tough questions.

  • Ask them what their BELIEFS are that make them successful.
  • Ask them WHO their teachers of success are.
  • Ask them what driving PRINCIPLES they operate on that make them so successful.

    • They might say, “I read this book, and it changed my life.” Or, they might say, “I attended this seminar, and that’s all it took.” Or they might say, “I got myself around other successful people in my field, and it’s made all the difference.”

    Take notes! Then, do what they do. Buy the book. Attend the seminar. Hang around similar types of people. It’s that simple.

    Success leaves clues. Pay close attention to those who are already doing it well.

      4. Increase your emotional intensity! You’re an entrepreneur! You’re in business for yourself! You help people! Be excited about it.

    Be passionate about what you’re offering. Speak passionately about how you can help others!

    To be perceived as someone who is good at what they do, you must have passion for what you do. It’s got to come out with everything you do and say.

    Even if you haven’t reached all your goals yet, you must believe you will. And, you must operate with intense emotion about who you are and what you do. It’s so important.

      5. Give more than they expect to get. One of the best ways I know to create a “Wow!” experience with your clients is to do more, be more, and give more than they could ever expect of you.

    What does your competition do? They most likely give exactly what they advertise and nothing more – or worse – less than they promise!

    What can you do that will “Wow!” them? This has to be a driving principle you live your life by. It’s not something you do once and then stop.

    Here are a few examples of giving more than they expect:

  • Give them a surprise bonus of some sort for doing business with you.
  • Send a handwritten thank you note with a coupon for future savings
  • Prepare their work with such excellence it blows them away!

    • You must always be thinking, “How can I go above and beyond for my client?” or “How can I WOW them?”

    People will go out of their way to do business with you, if you go out of your way to make them feel special and give them more than they expect to get.

    These concepts are simple and effective. They’re easy to adopt into your life. But, guess what? Most small business owners don’t… and that’s why so many fail.

    There’s a difference between a small business owner and an entrepreneur.

  • Small business owners go into business for themselves and hope things will happen for them.
  • Entrepreneur’s go into business and make things happen for them.

    • Think and act like a successful professional and master these 5 keys to your entrepreneurial life. It’s truly a much more fun way to do business by.

    Have a super-profitable week!

    Craig Valine
    blog@craigvaline.com
    www.CraigValine.com