7 Habits of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs

Over the summer, I was chatting with a fella that was complaining about everything under the sun. We'll call him Mr. Grumpypants.  

"You can’t find good help anymore, the banks won’t lend money to the little guy, and customers don’t want to pay anything”, Mr. Grumpypants said.   He wanted to know how everyone else was “getting by.”

I told Mr. Grumpypants that effective entrepreneurs are doing the following, to “get by.”

1. Market relentlessly – This is not a once in a while thing and only when they have time.  It is all the time.  They have a marketing calendar and they stick to it! They schedule their social media posts with Hootsuite/Buffer, they attend at least one networking event per week, have coffee with strangers, and they follow up with their customers regularly.
2. Create a niche – They know that not everyone will be their customer.  They are good at what they do and they want people to know it.  Consider the legal and medical profession.  Would you go to a patent attorney for a defense case or a see a pediatrician for a heart procedure?
3. Read and respond to financial statements – They compare their Profit and Loss statement to last year’s P/L, the industry average, and their budget.  They also calculate a few key ratios, such as the current ratio, debt to equity, and track accounts receivable.
4. Reinvest in the business – They don’t buy that boat or take a trip to Hawaii - yet.  They take their profits and reinvest into the business until they reach their goal of being financially independent and fully managed.
5. Hire the best people and delegate – They have heard “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”  They know that if you want to own your business longer than a few years, you learn to delegate and deal with imperfection.
6. Set goals and prioritize – They don’t run around putting out fires all day.  They set 2-3 goals annually, and set time aside to reach those goals.
7. Personal and professional development – They don’t spend all day staring at their magic phones mindlessly or catch up on every show ever made on Netflix.  They read books, attend conferences, and interact with their trade associations.

Don't be a Mr. Grumpypants during this Thankful Season and follow these seven habits to effectiveness!