Creating a business that is profitable in today’s marketplace takes a moderate amount strength and focus. Strength and focus alone won’t determine your success.

In this Article on Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur for the first time, we are going to talk about some of the key ideas to keep in mind to make sure you don’t become a statistic.

You will hear most “experts,” say the reasons businesses fail is because of underfunding. The truth is that… the answer of being “underfunded” is a weak solution.

In my observation, the reason most businesses fail is that the average new business owner doesn’t know… what they don’t know… so they end up making poor decisions with their resources.

By resources, I mean time, money, employees time, etc. So remember to take time regularly to evaluate and make sure you are using the resources you have in the most profitable ways you can.

We have all seen businesses with plenty of funding fail… and at the same time, we have seen business owners without a dollar in their bank account build fortunes.

The businesses with very few resources that win do so because the business owner is making the proper evaluations thus finding appropriate steps to solve the challenges that are between them and profit.

It is also important to understand why you are starting your business. So that you can make sure you are building in systems that ensure you get the benefits from the company made you become an entrepreneur.

So remember… the most profitable place to start is where you are. So be real with your present level of skill, and personal assets when it comes to building a successful business. There is a time to think positive, and there is a time to be real with your assets and make decisions based on reliable data that are going to get you useful results.

Other more steps includes:

1. Believe in Yourself. Fear is a powerful motivator. Be motivated and challenged by all of the people who tell you it can’t be done.
2. Be a sponge. Read everything; attend as many professional development sessions that time and money afford. Watch the news, listen to the talk shows and then talk to everyone and anyone. Every person regardless of what they do has the knowledge to offer.
3. Don’t try to be everything to everybody. Concentrate things you do good and what you love to do. That’s what you’ll excel at, and that’s how you will provide the most value to your clients and customers.
4. Even the big guys are always looking for the next customer. There is no such thing as coasting. Worrying about keeping customers forces you to bring new ones in the door. Your worst enemy is not the competition…your worst enemy is yourself.
5. Always strive to re-invent yourself and your product. Look for new ways to spread information, offer services and change the way you do things so you remain fresh, informed and can provide new services for your clients.
6. Integrity is King. Never compromise your values and beliefs. There is no such thing as an easy road to success or making an easy buck. No one gets discovered. But, they do earn success.
7. Leave your ego at home. I come from an ego drove business, and I have an ego. That’s not bad as it has served me well in television and business. However, the priority is the client. They don’t care about how great you are. They care about what you can do for them to fix their problems and make them better.
8. Know When to Let Go: Not every client is worth keeping. Some will drain time, energy and money away from you, your family and your business. So, learn to say no because compromising what’s important to you can make you unhappy and cause you to compromise your values.
9. Do what you say. So many people are so worried about pitching and competing for the business that they lose sight of what they told the client in those initial meetings. Remember what you said you would do and do it!
10. Have fun. Love what you do and love to get out of bed in the morning. If not, you’re in the wrong business.

While sales, marketing, client development, public relations and so many other business considerations are necessary to climb the ladder of success; real success bubbles forth from your gut for your customers will feel your commitment, energy, and passion that you bring to your own business and will pass on to them.

Originally published on Times Square Chronicles