Common Traits of all Successful Entrepreneurs

“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” — John Maxwell

Every successful entrepreneur believes in Pareto’s Law more than the law of gravity. Pareto’s Law states that that 80 percent results come from 20 percent causes. Through experience, such entrepreneurs have learned that 20 percent of their actions yield 80 percent results. So they maximize their time on these 20 percent actions. I have done some basic research and found seven (20 percent) traits and actions which all successful entrepreneurs have in common.

(1). Knowing Their Customer

Successful entrepreneurs understand that the customer is always right, provided they are the right customers. They decide which customers they want to cater to, and what they are willing to do for them. This clarity makes them build powerful business models around their customers.

(2). Setting Effective Processes

For entrepreneurs, the product is not what the company sells. It’s the company itself. Entrepreneurs who understand this get their hands dirty initially to understand how every aspect of the business functions. Then they design effective processes to streamline each function, which the team follows. They avoid delegation early on and reap the benefits of this hard work in later years.

(3). Setting the Right Goals

They identify important actions for their business to grow — customer satisfaction, fixing their MVP’s bugs, shorter turnaround times and traction — and set Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) for them. They set ambitious deadlines for these goals and work with their teams to achieve them.

(4). Taking Time Off

Taking time off lets the subconscious mind sort through complex challenges. The result of these pauses is that often a solution to the problem bubbles up when they least expect it. Bill Gates has ‘Think Weeks’ where he retires to a cabin in the woods to think. Carl Jung took time off from his practice to focus on his research. Every successful entrepreneur understands the importance of time off to regain focus on what’s truly important.

(5). Solving the Right Problems

Most people confuse a situation or an outcome as a problem. But a problem is the difference between the expected and current levels. Successful entrepreneurs solve problems at the root and address factors which influence them.

(6). Constant Learning

Successful entrepreneurs keep learning. They learn from their failures instead of blaming poor market conditions, lack of investment and talent, and so on.

But here’s the thing. Successful entrepreneurs learn from their successes too. They reflect on what they did right and what they could’ve done better. Then they apply learnings from their failures and successes to generate positive results in the future.

(7). Explaining the W’s

At CF Braun Engineering Company, Carl Braun had a rule for communication. He called it the five W’s. You had to tell who was going to do what, where, when and why. If an individual wrote a letter instructing someone to do something but didn’t tell why, he could get fired. If he did it twice, he would get fired for sure.

Successful entrepreneurs communicate the ‘why’ along with the ‘what’, even if it’s obvious. This doesn’t just improve communication. It also adds clarity to their thoughts and decisions.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Entrepreneurs..!! There is no standard recipe or personality for success, but learning from previous success and failures is a sign of a real leader. Your perseverance, vision, self-believe, ability to convey your idea and hard work can make anything possible.

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