Cornerstone of success

Staying power is everything when it comes to building a business. Mental toughness isn’t just for athletes – it’s the cornerstone of success in everything we do.

Entrepreneurship is no exception – in fact, your ability to keep going is why your business will still be standing in ten years’ time, when 98% of the businesses launching with you have fallen away.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says ‘I’ll try again tomorrow’.” - Mary Anne Radmacher, author of Courage Doesn’t Always Roar

Build a compelling vision

Self-help gurus love to speak about the importance of having a vision and purpose, but in start-ups, there are very practical reasons why you need both.

• Launching a business is hard. It’s probably the toughest thing you’re ever going to do. If you don’t have a strong reason for doing it, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to stick it out.
• You’re going to be dedicating a lot of hours to your business. You’ll be operating on minimal sleep, and most other areas of your life will be sacrificed in some way or another. You need to know what you’re prepared to do to achieve start-up success.
• Entrepreneurship is just like any other skill. It takes hard work, dedication, and commitment. If you don’t really care about what you’re doing, it’s unlikely you’ll put in the hours to achieve it.

“The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, who have dreams, who want to do things. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.” - Will Smith, Grammy-award winning musician, Oscar-nominated actor

Develop a positive, solutions-orientated mindset

Entrepreneurs tend to be positive people. This is important because it makes them focus on solutions instead of problems.