4 Strategies for Success for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs

Starting your own business is no small challenge. Stepping into a world where you get to work on your own terms can be as stressful as it is exciting. The risks and uncertainty of being a self-employed entrepreneur can give you every excuse you can think of to return to the stable life you once had. There will be many peaks and troughs, ups and downs, and you must be prepared. So here are four simple strategies to maximize your success and ease your mind.

4 Strategies for Success for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs

If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.

- David Allen

Work smarter, not harder

Working harder does not mean that you are making lots of progress. Take this example: a wasp attempting to get through a window can work hard at trying to get through it. It will spend minutes – if not hours – trying to get in or out. However, if the wasp realized that the window above was open, it would have saved itself a large amount of time.

Moral of the story?

Plan your work intelligently and consider all your options. Like that, you will not only be able to save yourself a lot of time but also work more effectively and efficiently. This can allow you to focus on other aspects of your daily hustle.  

Patience in the macro, speed in the micro

A large and growing problem with young entrepreneurs is that they are too fixated on the micro at the expense of the big picture when starting their businesses. A frequent result of this is that the second they begin making profits, they will go out and spend it on themselves to celebrate. This will limit the returns you could get in the future.

Patience is vital. You must be willing to wait months or even years before expecting your business to turn a profit. At the same time, your daily work should be done with speed. Work quickly on priority tasks like replying to important emails, returning phone calls and making orders. With both in mind you will find the right balance between working efficiently on a daily basis -- by being smart with your time and tasks -- and remaining patient by focusing on the longer term outcome.

Invest in your productivity

You must be smart and efficient with your money as well. Limit the money you spend on things such as cars, houses, clothes, watches and other luxuries. This is the crucial startup phase when you must absolutely maximize the amount of money you invest in your business. Instead, invest your money in things that boost your efficiency and effectiveness, for example by hiring someone to deal with your daily work. This can free up your time and energies to help you focus on the macro.

You are your business

It goes without saying that one does not start a business simply on a whim. To be successful, you have to build your business based on what you love and believe in deeply. You need to invest years of research and practice to prepare yourself before starting your business. And then you need to be able and ready to literally become your business. Where you go, your business goes. You are everything of that business. You are the managing director, CEO, employee and cleaner. Top to bottom. Embrace your niche and channel the passion behind the business. People will connect with this love, and you will propel yourself forward to find new opportunities.

Focus on each small step, and it will add up to success in the future. After all, a 1% improvement every day results in 365% this time next year. The stress and hard work are part of the process – focus on the end goal, and cherish it. Remind yourself of your objective every day, and work towards it relentlessly. Take these 4 strategies and apply them in your daily work. Before you know it, you’ll be a successful and respected entrepreneur.