Ryan Lim

We all have bad work habits, and most of us are content to get away with them for the foreseeable future. Sure, they may make us a little less productive, and they might not look great in a performance review, but they’re relatively innocuous when they creep into our daily lives.

When you step up to be an entrepreneur, everything changes. You’ll have more direction, more authority and more freedom, but you’ll also have far more accountability for your decisions and habits. Not only will most of your actions have a direct and substantial impact on the health and future of the business, they’ll also set an example for the other people you work with, and set a tone for the entire organization.

Before stepping out fully as an entrepreneur, be sure to eliminate these 10 bad work habits:

1. Not planning your day (or week)

You can get away with this in a job you can muddle through, but, as an entrepreneur, if your priorities aren’t clear, you may never be able to dig yourself out of that hole. Each day, and each week, preview everything you need to do and organize those tasks based on order of importance.

2. Reacting to emails as soon as they come in

Prompt responses are almost always a good thing, so there’s no fault in wanting to respond as quickly as possible. However, responding to emails all day is an inefficient way to go about your tasks. Plan your projects and tasks in advance, and don’t let emails relentlessly distract you. One exception to this rule, however, is sales personnel, whose quick email response may prove essential for landing a sale.

3. Communicating inefficiently

Inefficiently written emails or conversations in meetings might cause a slight hiccup in someone’s average day-to-day work, but in the context of a budding business, these problems may cause serious headaches and make your company look unprofessional. Take an inventory of your communications skills, and make improvements where necessary. Don’t rush through anything, and think carefully about what you mean to say.

4. Settling into a firm routine

Routines are useful for productivity, especially for everyday tasks you might otherwise forget. However, settling too deeply or firmly into a routine could put you in a poor position when things change abruptly (and they will in a startup). As an entrepreneur, be flexible enough to change your approach when the situation demands it.

5. Never taking breaks

It often seems like a good idea to work through your breaks to get more done, since it’s basically a free hour or two to add to your total workday. However, working through breaks can take its toll on your psyche and productivity. As an entrepreneur, six hours of great work is better than eight hours of okay work, and you definitely don’t want to run the risk of burning out.

6. Running late

If you’re an employee coming in to catch up on emails, being 10 minutes late usually doesn’t matter. But, as an entrepreneur meeting with prospective clients or otherwise setting an example for the team, running late can damage your image. It’s okay to set your own schedule, but when you say you’ll be somewhere, you need to be there, and on time.

7. Procrastinating on tough projects

That monster project awaiting you might do fine sitting on your desk in your current day job, but procrastinating the tough jobs as an entrepreneur usually only makes things worse. If you can’t handle something, delegate it or seek outside assistance. Don’t just set it to the side.

8. Delaying hard decisions

You probably make few decisions in your current position, at least compared to the many you’ll make as an entrepreneur. Hard decisions may take their toll on you, but you need to come down on one side or the other. Even a bad decision is better than no decision, so eliminate your habit of delaying decisions now.

9. Never saying no

At the lower rungs of the corporate ladder, the word “no” is taboo, and the habit of saying yes to everything seems to stick around in our careers for years. When you become an entrepreneur, you need to get comfortable with saying no. Not every client is worth taking. Not every employee candidate is worth hiring. Not every idea is worth pursuing.

10. Multitasking

Multitasking is another one of those pesky habits that only seems to save you time. In actuality, it distracts your mind so you complete simultaneous tasks less efficiently than you would had you completed them individually, and with greater focus. As an entrepreneur, you’ll need all the focus you can get.

These ten habits won’t necessarily destroy your business, but they could interfere with your ability to work productively and in a way that ultimately benefits your organization.

It may take some patience to eliminate them entirely, but you’ll be in a far better position once you do.

 Source: Entrepreneur.net

If you were pressed to describe the stereotypical entrepreneur, which words would you use? Passionate? Dedicated? Optimistic? Sure, those apply. But insecure and troublemaker are more accurate, according to ’treps who know a success when they see one. Do the following traits, characteristics and quirks describe you? Well then, you might be an entrepreneur (at heart, if not yet in practice).

1. You take action.

Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and co-star of TV’s Shark Tank, says people who have a concept but not necessarily a detailed strategy are more likely to have that entrepreneurial je ne sais quoi. “I hate entrepreneurs with beautiful business plans,” she says.

Corcoran’s recommendation? “Invent as [you] go,” rather than spending time writing a plan at your desk. In fact, she believes that those who study business may be prone to overanalyzing situations rather than taking action.

2. You’re scared.

“Many entrepreneurs judged as ambitious are really insecure underneath,” Corcoran says. When evaluating potential investments, she adds, “I want someone who is scared to death.” Those who are nervous about failing can become hyperfocused and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. If you feel insecure, use that emotion to drive you to achieve your business goals.

3. You’re resourceful.

“One of my favorite TV shows growing up was MacGyver,” confides Tony Hsieh, lifelong entrepreneur and CEO of Las Vegas-based Zappos, “because he never had exactly the resources he needed but would somehow figure out how to make everything work out. Ultimately, I think that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about.” It’s not about having enough resources, he explains, but being resourceful with what you do have.

4. You obsess over cash flow.

Prior to founding Brainshark, a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of sales productivity software, Joe Gustafson bootstrapped a venture called Relational Courseware. “All I ever thought about was cash flow and liquidity,” he admits. “There were seven times in [the company’s] eight-year history when I was days or hours away from payroll and didn’t have enough cash to make it.”

How did he respond? “In the early days, you could step up and put expenses on your personal credit card, but that can only go so far,” he says. “You need cash.”

5. You don’t ask for permission.

Stephane Bourque, founder and CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Incognito Software, says true entrepreneurial types are more likely to ask for forgiveness than permission, forging ahead to address the opportunities or issues they recognize.

“Entrepreneurs are never satisfied with the status quo,” says Bourque, who discovered he was not destined for the corporate world when his new and better ways of doing things were interpreted as unwanted criticism by his bosses. Now, he says, “I wish my employees would get into more trouble,” because it shows they are on the lookout for opportunities to improve themselves or company operations.

6. You’re fearless.

Where most avoid risk, entrepreneurs see potential, says Robert Irvine, chef and host of Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible. True ’treps are not afraid to leverage their houses and run up their credit card balances to amass the funds they need to create a new venture. In some ways, he says, they are the ultimate optimists, because they believe that their investments of time and money will eventually pay off.

7. You welcome change.

“If you have only one acceptable outcome in mind, your chances of making it are slim,” cautions Rosemary Camposano, president and CEO of Silicon Valley chain Halo Blow Dry Bars. She says that if you are willing to listen, your clients will show you which of your products or services provide the most value.

Her original vision for Halo was part blow-dry bar, part gift shop, “to help busy women multitask,” she explains. But she quickly learned that the gift shop was causing confusion about the nature of her business, so she took it out and replaced it with an extra blow-dry chair, and things took off. Smart entrepreneurs constantly evolve, tweaking their business concepts in response to market feedback.

8. You love a challenge.

When confronted by problems, many employees try to pass the buck. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, rise to the occasion. “Challenges motivate them to work harder,” says Jeff Platt, CEO of the Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park franchise. “An entrepreneur doesn’t think anything is insurmountable … He looks adversity in the eye and keeps going.”

Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, agrees. Despite naysayers who questioned her idea for a bakery in the midst of the carb-fearing early-2000s, she persevered and now has locations in eight states. In fact, she was one of the first entrepreneurs in a business that became an ongoing craze, sparking numerous copycats.

9. You consider yourself an outsider.

Entrepreneurs aren’t always accepted, says Vincent Petryk, founder of J.P. Licks, a Boston chain of ice-cream shops. They may be seen as opinionated, quirky and demanding—but that is not necessarily a bad thing. “They are often rejected for being different in some way, and that just makes them work harder,” Petryk says. Case in point: Rather than copying what most other ice-cream shops were doing, including buying from the same well-known suppliers, Petryk forged his own path for J.P. Licks, developing made-from-scratch desserts in bold flavors.

10. You recover quickly.

It’s a popular notion that successful entrepreneurs fail fast and fail often. For Corcoran, the trick is in the speed of recovery: If you fail, resist the urge to mope or feel sorry for yourself. Don’t wallow; move on to the next big thing immediately.

11. You listen.

Actress Jessica Alba, co-founder and president of Santa Monica, Calif.-based The Honest Company, which sells baby, home and personal-care products, notes that “it’s important to surround yourself with people smarter than you and to listen to ideas that aren’t yours. I’m open to ideas that aren’t mine and people that know what I don’t, because I think success takes communication, collaboration and, sometimes, failure.”

12. You focus on what matters (when you figure out what matters).

“Entrepreneurs fall down and pick themselves up until they get it right,” says Micha Kaufman, co-founder and CEO of the fast-growth online freelance marketplace Fiverr. During Fiverr’s launch, instead of trying to deal with “an endless number of potential challenges,” Kaufman and his team focused on “the single biggest challenge every marketplace has: building liquidity. Without liquidity, there is no marketplace.”

Source: entrepreneur.net

As an entrepreneur, you likely have a strand in your DNA that tells you to go out and crush the day for all it’s worth. This mindset sets you apart and is absolutely essential to your success.

But that small seed of an idea won’t germinate without a little upkeep. The best entrepreneurs know they need to cultivate that “crush it” mindset every day, regardless of whether they’re at home or in the office, in the car, at the gym or in the tub. This is the mantra I built my entire business on.

So, as the founder of that business, which teaches people to cultivate purpose, passion and productivity, to find a work-life balance, I’d like to offer my best tips on how to use your whole day to cultivate your winning mindset.

1. Absorb inspiration.
You need to read, watch and listen, to soak up all the inspiration you can from the world around you. “Reading can offer richer, broader and more complex models of experience, which enable people to view their own lives from a refreshed perspective and with renewed understanding,” says Josie Billington of the University of Liverpool, who’s an expert on the effects of reading.

2. Hit the treadmill.

Staying fit keeps you physically and mentally sharp. It helps you look better, feel stronger and be more confident. (Plus, it always helps in a competitive meeting when you know you can outrun the guy on the other side of the conference table.) Whether you hit the gym before work, over your lunch break or after closing up shop, it’s important to get at least 30 minutes of physical exercise every day.

Entrepreneur Josh Steimle makes a point to prioritize exercise over business — knowing it will help his company in the long run. “I schedule my workouts during the workday and prioritize exercise over all my work activities,” Steiml says. “There is some flexibility, but if there is a conflict between a trail run I need to get in and a meeting with a client, I’ll reschedule the client meeting first.

“I do this because I and my business can survive the consequences of rescheduling a client meeting, even if it means losing that client. But as soon as I start pushing workouts off, I’ll start missing workouts, and once I start missing workouts, I’m close to stopping workouts altogether.”

3. Be that kid.

In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, developmental psychologist Carol Dweck describes how children react to challenges. In her studies, she posed a series of increasingly challenging puzzles to her young participants and found some surprising responses. One boy “pulled up his chair, rubbed his hands together, smacked his lips and cried out, ‘I love a challenge!’”

I’ll bet that kid turns out to be the most successful student in his class — and probably an entrepreneur. The desire to tackle a challenge is something all great entrepreneurs share. It gives us a chance to show off our skills and creativity.

4. Get yourself a ‘growth mindset.’

Dweck also found that mindsets can be categorized as either “growth” or “fixed.” People with fixed mindsets believe their talents and traits are basically unchangeable, whereas people with growth mindsets believe their talents can be cultivated with effort.

I’ve always aimed for the growth mindset, and I’m a much more versatile businessman for it. That mindset has helped me see challenges as opportunities, turn criticism into fuel and be inspired by the success of others.

5. Celebrate and move on.

You can keep your mindset strong, even when you’re outside “working hours.” The key is to celebrate what’s gone well in the day. Be grateful, even if you’ve secured only a small win. Studies support the notion that rewards are critical to resetting, reframing and preparing for the next day. Celebrate in whatever way makes you feel best, whether that means going to a movie with your kids, cracking open a bottle of wine or simply patting yourself on the back.

Then, let go of all the crappy moments that happened that day. Just as you’d counsel your favorite sports team, don’t let a bad play derail the entire game. Focus on the present. Next play. Move on.

Only your mindset will determine how far you rise above the pack. When your competition gets tired or stuck in a rut, it’s your mindset that will keep you going — pushing harder so that you can live to crush another day.

Resource: Entrepreneur.net