Whether you’re working out of your parent’s basement or propping your feet up on the top floor of a high-rise, running a business is hard work. You’re going to have days when you feel like the luckiest person in the world, and you’re going to have days when you would gladly trade places with a fast-food employee.
These five entrepreneurs have been in your shoes, and they’ve got some advice to get you through the less-than-stellar days (or weeks).
Failure is Not an Option
When people see a CEO, they think how innovative, powerful or smart that person must be. They don’t usually think about how much a CEO had to accomplish to build a business from the ground up. Leo Rocco, founder of San Francisco-based mobile payment company GoPago, spent $500,000 of his own money and went three years without a paycheck to get his business on its feet, a task he credits to his “mental resolve.”
“When failure isn’t an option, you promise yourself you won’t fail. It’s not crazy. It’s hard work.”
Setting Goals Doesn’t Set You Up for Success
When you are in the early stages of starting a new business, it can be easy to get caught up in your grand vision of where you see the company in 20 years. Focusing on the future and what goals you want to accomplish is common for many entrepreneurs, but Leo Babauta, a journalist turned best-selling author, says not setting goals can actually make you more successful.
“If you live without goals, you’ll explore new territory. You’ll learn some unexpected things. You’ll end up in surprising places … You find something you’re passionate about, and do it. Just because you don’t have goals doesn’t mean you do nothing — you can create, you can produce, you can follow your passion.”
Welcome Criticism
Hearing that your company is doing a great job is always heartwarming, but it can sometimes do your company more good for you to hear what areas you can improve. Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, said encouraging your critics to look for flaws is the sign of a true businessperson.
“Have them shred your plan and designs from top to bottom. If you find yourself agreeing with them and having doubts, then your plan (and possibly you) may not have the mettle to make it. But if you are able to defend it with conviction, repeatedly, then you probably have both the moxie to last through the long, tough grind you’re facing, as well as a plan that just might work.”
Know When to Go Home
Spending 60-plus hours a week at the office is the norm for many entrepreneurs, but that doesn’t mean their business will be more successful than an entrepreneur who goes home at 5:30 every night. Nick Francis, the co-founder and CEO of Help Scout, and his partner clocked 80 hours a week before realizing there was a better option.
“The reality is you’ll never be ‘done’ with your work, you’ll never finish all the tasks, build all the features and have the perfect design. At the end of the day, around 4 p.m., we close our laptops and go home. Never forget work is here to enable your personal life.”
Think About Who’s Around You
Remember when you were a kid and your mom didn’t like you hanging out with that friend who was a little bit of a troublemaker? You probably thought she was being unfair, but she didn’t want bad habits to rub off on you.
It doesn’t change when you grow up. If you hire employees who don’t have a passion for what they’re doing or have friends who want to party until 2 a.m., it’s going to affect your work ethic.
“Focusing on who you spend time with on a day-to-day basis, working with doers instead of talkers, can make or break the progress of your business and, more importantly, self-improvement,” Allan Branch, co-founder of LessAccounting, says.
