Reading is a top habit of 6.3% of entrepreneurs
Perseverance is what keeping 7.9% of all the entrepreneurs ready to handle day to day challenges
12.7% of entrepreneurs follow the art of meditation
Entrepreneurs are always on edge, and they do have to progress and survive in the highly competitive world of business. Thus, they have to develop habits, which makes them a better individual, who can tackle and win harsh tests of entrepreneurship. But, what are those habits for entrepreneurs?
Well, we asked 82 entrepreneurs to share a habit, which is necessary for them to have a better mindset and approach towards their work. To get a better result, we shortlisted entrepreneurs, who work in diverse fields and are on different stages of running a business or startup. The result that came was amazing and insightful, and it revealed the top eight habits that can help any entrepreneur to become a better version of themself.
Here are the eight most-followed habits for entrepreneurs shared by entrepreneurs in ascending order:
1. Listening
3.7% of entrepreneurs believed that the habit of listening is what helps you in becoming a successful entrepreneur.
It’s a very important habit because entrepreneurs always have to convince others and have to have faith in their product/service, and in the process, they sometimes forget to listen to the harshest truth or feedback. But, for an entrepreneur, it’s vital to keep an open mind at all times and take the opinion of each member of the team.
Listening is an art, and it requires you to keep your ego, and complexes at bay to listen to diverse opinion from people at a different position. Also, it’s essential to not build prejudice while listening to someone, because even the junior-most person in your firm can come up with an innovative solution, and make you follow the right path.
2. Gratitude
Gratitude is a tool that triggers your mind to look into the positive side of the life; which in turn makes you humble and happy. And it’s a habit that helps you get through and enjoy the tough journey of building a business, where failures are common.
Entrepreneurship is full of chasing goals and target, and it’s quite common to get unmotivated and get into the mode of comparison with others; this is a really bad condition, which affects the productivity in a major way. But, practising gratitude makes you feel positive, and gain the confidence to achieve the goals that can be called ‘Success of your startup’. No wonder, 4.9 % of entrepreneur endorsed the habit of practising gratitude.
3. Reading
Reading is a top habit of 6.1% of entrepreneurs.
One of the major threat to the progress of any venture is the stagnancy of knowledge and ideas of the entrepreneur. An entrepreneur needs to keep the habit of reading magazines, books, and articles on new technical innovations; as these are the catalyzers to generate new ideas and find opportunity in the ever-changing demands of the market. Also, a study from Mindlab International at Sussex University suggest that six minutes of reading reduces stress by 68%, which is no less than an ether for an entrepreneur.
4. Proactiveness
Proactive people believe in taking control and influence outcomes, rather than responding to the outputs of an event. 8.5% of entrepreneurs in our study have cultivated the habit of proactiveness.
As an entrepreneur, you have to always look into the future and think about the opportunities and challenges that you might face. And with the cultivation of proactiveness; you become conditioned to take initiatives in present to prepare well for the future. A proactive entrepreneur analyzes both success and failures, and try to implicate required changes to repeat the success and avoid failures. Thus, it’s a habit that can help an entrepreneur in the longer run.
5. Perseverance
Perseverance is what keeping 11.0% of all the entrepreneurs ready to handle day to day challenges.
As per a study, almost 90% of startups in India fail within five years of inception. Thus, it’s a very tough job to raise a scalable business, and a lot depends on the capabilities of the entrepreneur, and the response he gives to challenges and failures.
Perseverance is one of the habits for entrepreneurs that helps them in taking failures sportingly, and evolve to become better. No plan is perfect, and every startup has to face failures and tough problems. Thus, perseverance is a very important habit that makes leading entrepreneurs and most successful startups in the world.
6. Meditation
11.0 % of entrepreneurs follow the art of meditation and made it into a habit to become a better version of themselves.
Meditation sure has the power to let understand emotions and mindset. It also helps in detaching from the mind and reducing stress; which in turn improves productivity and make you able to face ups and downs of life. It has the power to help you in making decisions with a cool mind, and not take the decision to cool mind; which can create a substantial effect.
It’s a habit that helps an entrepreneur keep hustling in the darkest phases of life. So, do try to follow it on a daily basis.
7. Morning Routine
Morning routine got endorsed by 18.3% of entrepreneurs, and it is the second most-followed habit among the 82 entrepreneurs.
A right morning routine helps in getting a perfect start for the day. The entrepreneurs believed in waking up early and following a particular routine like writing a gratitude journal or a task list, reading positive articles, doing exercise, and praying. And the common link between all the mourning routines was to have an energized mind with a positive feeling to face the daily grind.
There are huge benefits of having a morning routine, and it really catalyzes the overall development of a person. As it’s rightly said, a strong foundation is a prerequisite for a strong building.
8. Planning
22% of entrepreneur beleive that habit of planning is what helps them in winning the day. Also, it’s the most-followed habit in the group of 82 entrepreneurs, signifying it’s importance.
Entrepreneurs who chose planning as a top habit attested that it’s very important to plan, analyze its output, cut unnecessary work, and delegate time expensive task to make it available to do more important work. This whole process signifies the importance of time as high as that of money and planning as a tool to utilise it to the fullest.
Also, it’s very important to remember that in the process of building your business; you sometimes deviate due to unforeseen challenges and obstacles. Thus, you must again look at the goal, and evolve your plan accordingly. Remember, planning is not a static thing; it’s a continuously evolving process.
9. Both Planning and Morning Routine Plus other Habits
It was amazing to see that 3.7% of entrepreneurs believed that the habit of planning along with morning routine is must for kickstarting the day in a positive way. These entrepreneurs believed in following a particular routine in the morning, and then writing a plan for a day or coming week; which further highlight the importance of these two habits.
Also, 11% of entrepreneur believed in following complete different and unique habits in their life. One of them which is worth highlighting and inculcating in everyday life is calling friends, or business acquaintances, once in three months for an informal chat; these prints a right image in the heart of other people, and helps you in a long run.
AND with point number nine, our pie chart reveals the complete picture on ‘Habits that entrepreneurs love to follow’:
In the end, we can conclude that entrepreneurs try to work on their mental aspect, make sure to start the day with positive energy and give weightage to planning.
There you have it.
[The article was first published here and has been reposted with permission.]
