7 TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS
I’m so glad I found podcasts early on in my entrepreneurial journey.
Are you listening to any? If not, you are missing out. There is so much amazing content being put out there by successful entrepreneurs, business owners, coaches, athletes, you name it.
Literally, listening to the right podcasts feels like being handed out a roadmap to success.
This year, I had the honour of being a guest on The No Formula Podcast.
I spoke with Laura L. Bernhard about my journey to entrepreneurial success as a Coach. I opened up about my early struggles and the lessons I learned along the way.
Our conversation highlights 7 tips for entrepreneurial success:
Clearly Define the Value of Your Service(s) or Product(s)
When I first started, I sent out 2,000 individualized emails – pretty much everybody that had ever met me got an email. I explained my transition from international lawyer to executive coach and presented my services.
Only two people came back to me: one wished me luck and said that maybe we’d work together in the future and the other said he was going to report me because my email was unsolicited.
I was very discouraged… but only briefly. I know there is no need to dwell on what is going wrong. I rather focus and give energy to how I can make it right.
I re-evaluated.
I asked myself:
“What didn’t resonate with people?”
“How did I present my offer that didn’t resonate with people?”
“What value can I bring?”
When you start a new venture, especially one as demanding as being an entrepreneur, you need to clearly define WHAT you are offering but most importantly, WHY you are doing it.
By clearly defining the value of your services, you’ll attract the right people that are actually looking for your help.
To steer you in the right direction, identify the following characteristics of your business:
• Target audience
• Your message
• Your pitch
• How you help people
• How to narrow your audience
Bonus Tip: No matter what you work on, don’t make it about the money. Why? After experiencing massive rejection – like my 2,000 failed emails – you’re more likely to abandon your entrepreneurial journey and look for something else that can make you money faster and easier. You won’t give your business the time and dedication it deserves to succeed.
Create a Morning Routine that Works for You
Mornings are a precious and special time of day.
Your morning routine can either make or break how your day unfolds.
People often think that I drink massive amounts of coffee or that I’m running on some sort of stimulants because my energy is always so high.
Truth is, I set up my day, first thing in the morning, to have this kind of energy resonate throughout the rest of my day.
I know my morning routine works for me because I am energized, in a great mood and ready to start my day. Feeling any other way would require me to change things up and find something that generates the kind of energy and good vibes I’m after.
I wake up during the Brahma Muhurta period – between 3:30am and 5:30am. It’s a transition period between night and sunrise. It is the most serene and peaceful time of the day.
This early, the mind is at its purest and free of thoughts.
This is when I do my Gratitude Prayer.
This practice allows me to express gratitude for the things I have, big and small, but also for all the amazing entrepreneurial opportunities to come.
I always add the following in my practice “I am grateful for the clients that need my help today.”
Once I’ve prayed, I meditate. I let everything I’ve expressed sink in and listen for guidance.
Then, it’s time to get the day going. I answer some emails and exercise.
I make sure my day never starts rushed or hectic. Or else that’s how the rest of the day would feel.
Bonus Tip : If you want to further optimize your schedule, find 30 unique ways to kickstart your morning and a guide on how to implement it.
Be Intentional about Your Actions
Staying focused is a super power.
After identifying the value of your services, you need to focus on how to execute.
There’s a myth that entrepreneurs must multi-task to get a million things done.
But multi-tasking is the best way to get nothing done right. But it may in fact, prevent you from reaching your entrepreneurial goals. It may seem like you are accomplishing a lot but truth is, since nothing has 100% of your focus, you wont get 100% of the results.
It’s important to focus on each task, one at a time.
If you are answering emails, focus on your emails.
If you are in a meeting, focus on that meeting.
If you are with family, focus on your family.
Being intentional with whatever you are doing means not thinking about other things you could be doing. This will help you concentrate on what needs you be done.
Stop Negotiating with Yourself OUT of Doing things.
Being intentional is difficult. It’s even more difficult when you don’t feel like it.
When you start procrastinating, you are negotiating with yourself.
Think about the last time you didn’t want to exercise.
“I exercised yesterday; I don’t need to do it today”
“Oh, I’m still sore, I deserve a break.”
“I don’t have gas in the car, I won’t make it to the gym.”
You literally talked yourself OUT of what you should be doing. Stop negotiating with yourself. Stop making excuses.
Like Nike says, just do it.
Next time you try negotiating with yourself, tell your mind to simply shut up.
In all honesty, you can’t stop the flow of your thoughts. However, you can change how you react to your thoughts.
Next time you catch yourself negotiating with your own self, remind yourself of why you decided to do what you had originally decided to do. Picture the person you want to be – a person who runs a business, who is a great entrepreneur, who eats well, exercises…
Act right now like your future self would act.
If that still doesn’t work, think about when you make plans with your mom, your dad your friends or your partner. Chances are, you would do what is necessary to make those plans happen. You wouldn’t cancel on them for no reason. So, don’t cancel on yourself.
You are important and in order to have the entrepreneurial success, you need to make yourself a priority. It’s not being selfish, it’s simply looking after what’s best for you.
Bonus tip: Stop negotiating with yourself by telling yourself to shut up. Envision the person you want to become and what that person does. Finally, respect yourself like you respect others. If you plan on doing something, do it.
Self-Leadership
Simply put, if you don’t know how to lead yourself and your life, you can’t lead others.
Reflect on your habits. Based on the person you are today: would you look up to yourself?
Alternatively, would you look up to someone who procrastinated? didn’t follow through on commitments? couldn’t get to the gym? was never disciplined?
Probably not.
In general, we look up to people who are authentic and disciplined.
Self-leadership is the concept of owning your decisions by being disciplined in your follow-through.
If you are unable to set goals for yourself and have the discipline to go after them, people will see through that.
Let’s say, for example, you have a new client and get them excited about all the projects you are going to help them with. If you don’t follow through, if you don’t show up and do the work, if you don’t deliver amazing value, beyond what is expected, you will most likely lose that client very quickly to someone else that is willing to do all those things in order to succeed and build a reputable business.
Now, you must be wondering, “Eloïse, why is self-leadership important for entrepreneurial success?”
Most likely – and I strongly suggest so – the foundation of your business is a reflection of you: your values, your purpose, your habits.
If you’re habits include procrastination, you will most likely attract people -employees, service providers – that procrastinate. You will continuously suffer setbacks and it will take you a lot longer to get your business off the ground.
As a result, work on your discipline and develop the habits that lead to self-leadership.
Bonus tip: Discipline is the art of doing things you don’t feel like doing it.
Consistence and Persistence
Part of being disciplined is not only about executing tasks, but doing them repeatedly.
Consider the law of the 1%.
One of my friends explained to me that, in aviation, if, after leaving your point of origin, your plane shifts by one percent off your planned trajectory, that could mean the difference between landing in Montreal and landing in Brazil.
This drives home the point that improving your life by just 1%, every day, can make a very big impact in your life.
One percent every day is the equivalent of making one decision every day.
Perhaps, you decide to wake up earlier that day or you decide to exercise or you decide to skip the cookies.
Making one good decision every day has a compounding effect on your life.
In a business setting, a 1% decision would be to promote your content every day. That consistency will eventually pay off in dividends. It will have such a great ripple effect.
Bonus tip: Ask yourself: what good decision did you make today?
Embrace Failure
If you don’t fail, you’re not trying hard enough.
Your failures are the stepping stones to bigger and better things.
People are usually scared of failing because of what other people think.
However, think about toddlers when they are learning how to walk. Do they quit? Do they say, “oh, walking isn’t for me?”
Absolutely not.
They fall, again and again, but they get right back up.
The way they learn how to coordinate their bodies is how entrepreneurs learn how to implement strategies and grow their business. It takes time, but eventually, they figure it out.
There will be times where you will fail miserably. In those instances, be brutally honest with yourself and evaluate what’s working and what isn’t. Then, take a step back and find a way to make it work.
You can only learn from your failures if you acknowledge them.
When I was rejected countless times, I acknowledged that something was not right. Okay, I actually told myself that it was a disaster. That’s what helped me take a step back – I was able to look honestly, without judgment, at what didn’t work.
I didn’t quit. I looked for new ways to approach prospects. I made note of the resources I had available to myself.
As a result, I clearly defined how I could help entrepreneurs and executives. I learned how to speak to prospect and explain how I could support them in their business growth. That wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t fail first.
We celebrate the people who fail, make a comeback and succeed. But we rarely want to be that person ourselves. Help your business and embrace the failures.
Successful Takeaways:
Clearly define what you are offering.
Start your day on the right foot – energized – by figuring out your ideal morning routine.
Stop negotiating with yourself – you are worth the plans you make for yourself.
Be intentional about your actions.
Develop self-leadership: focus and discipline.
Consistent and persistence – one good decision every day and great compounding effects.
Embrace failure – they will be your stepping stones to bigger and better things.
Remember that your entrepreneurial journey is a marathon, not a sprint
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To your success,
Eloïse
P.S. I know what it feels like to want so much out of life and to run a business that has a positive and powerful impact on the world. I know what it’s like to read endless self-help sand business mastery books, looking for that edge that is going to calm the overwhelm and give direction to your life and your business.
I know how all of it feels like because I was stuck there for years. And so have all my clients.
Now don’t get me wrong. I LOVE self-help and business mastery books and still read them to this day. But now I know what I was missing that none of these books could give me and that is A CLEAR MISSION OF WHAT I WANT IN MY LIFE AND FOR MY LIFE.
It took me years and thousands of dollars spent on coaches, mentors, workshops and online courses to get to this point. And let’s not forget the two decades I spent travelling the world and working as an international corporate lawyer alongside top business leaders.
All of that got me to here. And HERE is to help you. Because my own mission is:
To inspire and lead others to find clarity and affirm their purpose.
No matter what stage you are at in your life, finding your purpose and getting clear on your mission is the greatest gifts you can give yourself. It is what will bring you the greatest fulfilment. Not to mention, the greatest abundance.
Abundance, yes. When you are clear on what you want, you can focus all of your energy and your willpower on making it happen. Things start flowing, new opportunities are presented to you, ideal clients and partners and adventures are directed your way.
You may not understand how this is all happening and this is far from being “magic” or some woo woo concept. This is simply you getting clear on what you want and channeling your energy accordingly.
If you are looking for that transformation, if you have reached that point where you know there is more to get from your life and your business but you just don’t know how to get there, then I can help you.
I can guide you through the step by step process of getting clear on your mission and claiming your purpose.
This mentoring is tailored to you, your needs, your experiences and your desired outcomes. This is not some cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all kind of coaching. This is for those that are willing to put in the work to get more out life and their business: more money, more abundance, more joy, more freedom, more fulfilment.
If this sounds like you, if you are like all of my other succesful clients that came to me searching for something more and getting even more out of their life and business, then I urge you to CLICK HERE and get in touch with me directly. I will directly respond to your email. Not my assistant or another coach. I will personally assist you.
But let me make this clear for you, before you click that link. You are going to have to work for what you want. I am not the “cheerleader” type of coach. Yes I will support you 1000% but I will also call you out when you need it most.
Remember, this is about YOU. THIS IS ABOUT YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR LIFE. In order to get you there, you will need to work through the process.
If you are ready then I can’t wait to work with you. CLICK HERE.