113: 7 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

You're listening to the Time to Level Up Podcast. I'm your host, business life coach, Andrea Liebross. I help women in business commit to their own growth personally and professionally. Each week, I'll bring you strategies to help you think clearly, gain confidence, make your time productive, turn every obstacle into an opportunity, and finally overcome the overwhelm so that you can make money and manage life. Let's create a plan so you have a profitable business, successful career, and best of all, live with unapologetic ambition. Are you ready to drop the drama and figure out the how in order to reach your goals? You're in the right place. It's Time to Level Up. Let's do this.

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the podcast. I’m on my podcast world today. I am recording a couple of episodes. I'm batching them. They all have to do with each other, which is great so I love to do it this way. Last episode, we talked about not listening to what you should do from the outside, but listening to your own internal wisdom to guide you, which is not nearly as exhausting as listening to the external shoulds. We talked about building a life first and then a business, and how that business needs to fit into your life, not your life fit into your business. Life comes first.

In the next two episodes, we're going to talk about life and business, we're going to talk about today, redefining what a successful entrepreneur is, a business owner, what does successful really mean? What does it look like? Then in the next episode, we're going to talk a little bit more about what being a good mother entails or a good parent entails because when we start to go there, that's when we start to take away from our own business acumen and value and we let that get in the way of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

But today, I want to go to the place where sometimes, my people start to question this whole entrepreneur thing. They start to say, “I'm not so good at it. It might just be easier to go get a job. This entrepreneur stuff, it seems so scary and it has so many moving parts. I don't know what to do. It's going to take too much time or too long. It's going to interfere with my family.” But I'm going to say if you do it right, it's not going to interfere with your family at all. Your family is actually going to thrive from you being an entrepreneur, but that's a different discussion.

But as we close out January, I think this is the perfect time to think about this, what a successful entrepreneur is, and to create a definition that works for you. When I push people to write goals, I always use that SMARTER framework, and that S stands for Specific. When we define a successful entrepreneur, I want to get specific.

Today, I'm going to give you some specifics of what I think is a successful entrepreneur. But before that, I want you to know I went to the Googles. Here's what Google said, “Being a successful entrepreneur means more than starting new ventures every other day. It means the right attitude towards the business and the determination and grit to achieve success. A successful entrepreneur has a strong inner drive that helps him or her succeed.”

Here’s another definition, “Being a successful entrepreneur requires an appropriate attitude towards business goals, determination to achieve success, and present yourself as an authority in the industry. Entrepreneurs are people who have sturdy drive to succeed in their objectives and overcome hindrances along the way.”

Let's tease this a little bit apart. I see what they're saying here and how it relates to a lot of what I say in my framework, which I also, side note, have been really fine-tuning. My framework, much like a plane, I use the plane analogy sometimes with my framework, we need to clear the runway. We need to get in the right headspace. We need to have the right mindset. Then we need to fuel the plane. We've got to have a plan, systems, processes, and people in order to put that into action. Then we take off. When we take off, we start to create things, we create money.

We also need to create some high-value cycles, because if we hit a little bit of turbulence up there, we can't just come back down and start all over again, we have to figure out how to move around the turbulence which is a high-value cycle, we need to adjust our path. An entrepreneur needs to be able to do all those things, but here are seven things, I think, that an entrepreneur really needs that define whether or not you're going to be a successful entrepreneur. Are you ready? You might want to take notes on this. This might be a note one.

Here we go. Number one, the number one thing, the first thing I think a successful entrepreneur needs is self-discipline. Self-discipline is the first and foremost trait that every successful entrepreneur has. Strong self-confidence enables you really to live a quality life, and self-discipline or having control over yourself, over your own self-esteem really, your own worthiness enables you to do what you want to do to create the success you're craving.

It's a combination—self-discipline—of believing in self-responsibility and having self-direction. Those two things, self-responsibility and self-direction are really what makeup self-discipline and they encourage achievement. Successful entrepreneurs make a habit of accomplishing things on time, with energy, not exhaustion. This is why the mindset piece of my secret sauce is so important. If we don't work on managing our minds, we will not be successful. I'm a 100% believer in this. We need to have self-discipline, we need to be willing to work at something for as long as it takes. We need to honor our own calendar. We need to be responsible. When someone says to me, “Oh, coaching creates accountability,” it does. But how I do that is I make you accountable to yourself.

Number two. The second thing I think a successful entrepreneur needs is a strong work ethic. If you have a strong work ethic, then you have the ability to get things done personally and professionally. Not one or the other. A successful entrepreneur with a strong work ethic will do anything possible to make sure the result line or the outcome meets their business expectations.

They are really attentive in their business and at home. They're attentive or attuned to what's going on in their business and at home. Remember that word attuned because you're going to hear it in the next episode. They're passionate about finding new ways to accomplish what they set out to do. They're willing to fail in order to succeed. They're willing to try new ways of doing things.

Here's a case, my friends, for knowing what your productivity archetype is, what method of getting things done, of sticking with it works best for you. If you haven't figured out what your productivity archetype is, I urge you to go take the quiz. You can reach the quiz via andreaslinks.com, and that's going to help you figure out how you best get things done. If you're having trouble with your work ethic, that means you're probably not focused and willing to work to make sure outcomes happen. You're not focused on the outcome.

If you want to get focused on the outcome, go check out the Full Focus Coaching, fullfocuscoaching.com. Because that is really what you need in order to help both self-discipline and work ethic. See how all these components of what I share with my clients: unwavering belief, mindset, productivity tips, focusing, all of these components are the components I'm giving you in order to be a successful entrepreneur.

But yet, here's number three, you also need to be somewhat of a self-starter. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you don't wait for someone else's direction to get started. You've got to be a self-starter and highly proactive. You've got to start now planning your business goals for the future. You've got to have that future vision in order to continue to have the drive to continue to start over and over again when you fail.

Entrepreneurs really are people who set their own parameters and make sure that their business and their life align and ensure that things are done according to their priorities. How do I help with self-starting? Number one, I help you write SMARTER goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, risky, time-bound, exciting, and relevant. That helps you continue to be a self-starter because those goals should be exciting you should want to start them. Working with my clients on helping them realize that they have autonomy, they have agency to create change and make decisions, that helps become a self-starter.

Knowing what the next best step is, that helps someone be a self-starter. All of those things of components of what we work on inside coaching, they help you become a self-starter. That was number three. Self-discipline, strong work ethic, and self-starter. Here's number four. A clear sense of direction. Many entrepreneurs, business owners have a tendency to reduce their drive, their operations, their moving forward when they face a threat or an obstacle. But someone with a clear sense of direction is going to find new ways to drive themselves and their business through the worst-case scenarios. They're going to turn obstacles into opportunities.

COVID, my friends, businesses that survived through COVID, those business owners had a clear sense of direction. They turned that obstacle of COVID into an opportunity. They used technology. They use their internal wisdom. They figured out what their clients, customers needed during that time. They lead with a clearer sense of direction to help them get their job done, the job done, or their service out there to their client. Business planning always starts with vision.

This is how I help with this a lot of times. When we are doing a business plan on a VIP day, or in Runway to Freedom, we always start with the vision component. We don't go right to the action. We start with the vision because that gives us a clear sense of direction. The traction piece, the action piece, that follows. But we have to have our priorities set first, our priorities in our life and our priorities in our business. That really involves vision, nothing to do with action. That involves direction, nothing to do with action.

A clear sense of direction. To review, we've got self-discipline, strong work ethic, self-starter, and a clear sense of direction. Then here's the next one. The fifth one, successful entrepreneurs, they’re persistent. My husband calls me persistent all the time, which is funny as I'm working through these seven characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, but this trait is a crucial quality that goes hand-in-hand with success.

Successful entrepreneurs are not really easily impacted by the downfalls they encounter. They find ways to move forward. He just told me last night, “You can bounce back a lot faster than I can.” Which is true actually. I try to view any failure as an opening for something new, as an opening for a success story. I try again and again until I succeed. That's why I'm always shifting my business. I shift it, I test it. I decide if I like it. If I don't, I shift again.

I believe that my wildest dreams are possible. We talked about that last episode. Where are you on this possibility spectrum? Are you believing things are impossible or possible? Are you up to inevitable? How do I work with my clients on being persistent? I work with them to create a list of 25 ways they could fail. Imagine that. Then I teach them the high-value cycle, which I've talked about on this podcast.

I teach them that there's no such thing really as a fail, because it's an opportunity to learn. You're either winning or learning, you're not failing, really. You need to be persistent. You need to find a way to move forward. There's a tool, my friends, that I offer to help my clients become more persistent. Do you have that tool?

Here's the sixth thing. Successful entrepreneurs are change adapters. Openness toward adapting to changes in the landscape is a really great quality to have. What do I mean by that? When the circumstances change, when the facts change, a successful entrepreneur is really quick to adapt to improve their business operations and then really excel forward. The evolution of business ideas, services, and products, the evolution so think about that, we're evolving, who are you becoming? That's really going to grow your business tenfold.

Successful entrepreneurs really strive to always be learning new skills that align with the changing landscape and they learn to think about things differently. This is what I call mental flexibility. Remember, when we're clearing that runway, we need to have unwavering belief. We need to have mental flexibility. We need to have emotional courage and we also need to have autonomy. Here's the mental flexibility piece. They are change adapters. They do all of this because they believe in themselves that they can change, that they're capable of changing and so is their business.

Then here's the last, the seventh thing that successful entrepreneurs have, what defines a successful entrepreneur, they invest in themselves at all levels. Entrepreneurs understand that growing personally, growing skills, growing knowledge will definitely pay off. Think about it, ways to invest in yourself, you could buy some new clothes to feel better, which is one way to invest. You can invest in learning new skills through education. You can learn how to do things more efficiently by figuring out your productivity archetype.

Entrepreneurs are always growing. They're always growing and they see that it is endless. That lifelong learner concept is overused, but entrepreneurs are definitely lifelong learners. They want to become better people for themselves and for the world. They take good care of themselves, they remain physically and mentally healthy so they're going to be able to perform all of their responsibilities in life in business.

This is why I believe in getting the support you need and investing in you. If you are not going to invest in you actively, not just passively, we've talked about this, podcasts are a great way to invest in yourself but they're passive, if you are willing to invest in yourself and take massive action, then you will be successful. If you're not going to invest in you, then who are you going to invest in? The stock market? That's trusting other people? Why aren't you investing in you first? Why are you believing in other people to make money for you?

A coach doesn't make money for you, you make your own money. I just guide you to find your own internal wisdom. That's what coaching is. Coaching isn't me telling you what to do. I believe in you more than you believe in yourself sometimes. But if you invest in the stock market, you're believing that those other people know more than you. I think you know more than me about you and your own business. Invest in you. Get someone else to help you see your own wisdom.

If someone says, “I can't afford to invest in myself,” I always say, “How can you not invest in yourself? How can you not invest in yourself? What else are you investing in?” “This isn't a good time. When is a good time? If it isn't a good time, that's the whole reason why right now should be the best time.” The first thing you do is invest in you before anything else. I had to believe that, my friends, on day one, and then one of my very first episodes, I tell the story of how I told my husband that I was investing in a coach and I was going to do exactly what they guided me to do.

I was going to have an unwavering belief in myself because I knew that coach had an unwavering belief in me. If you are not investing in yourself, then you are living in a scarcity mindset. We've got to overcome that. You've got to have emotional courage. You've got to be willing to go through what sometimes is a little scary and uncomfortable. Definitely not easy. You've got to be willing to explore the real you, the real you, and coaching helps you do that.

My friends, the seven things of a successful entrepreneur. Number one, self-discipline. Number two, strong work ethic. Number three, self-starter. Number four, a clear sense of direction. Number five, persistence. Six, change adapter. Seven, investing in yourself to all levels. Do you have all seven of those? If you don't, that's why we're here. That's why Andrea Liebross Coaching exists to help you master all seven of those things and become a successful entrepreneur.

Okay, my friends, that's all I have for today. I will see you back here very soon. Remember, leveling up, it's really all about you upping your game, you becoming even better. Let's do it. Now's the time. See you soon.

Thanks for listening to the Time to Level Up Podcast with me, your host, Andrea Liebross. If you know someone who could benefit from listening to this episode, I encourage you to take a screenshot and share it with them. Okay. Now, what about you? You've listened to the podcast, and if you now know that you're ready to upgrade your life, upgrade your business, upgrade you, then stop being only a listener and start being a liver living that upgraded life. Head over to my website and schedule a call. Right there on that call, we'll start changing the way you think and act so that you can have the freedom to achieve the impossible in life and business, and have the resources to do it. You deserve an upgrade. Let's do it.