Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs

Posted on October 21, 2016August 22, 2017 by Kay Walker

The Internet has made building and running a business far more accessible than it used to be. Anyone can cheaply and easily build a website, set up shop quickly in a global marketplace, and work from home in their pajamas. So here’s a selection of the secrets of successful entrepreneurs that I have learned over my 20s.

As an entrepreneur, I can tell you what a fulfilling career it is. I’m 29 today and I built my first business when I was 21. This is why, like many of my millennial pals, I can’t imagine working for someone else. Though I did initially. As many entrepreneurs do, I worked a 9 to 5 job (until I was 26) while building my own businesses on the side.

The view from my office.

So, I remember what it was like to… Have someone else rule my financial destiny. Wake up at 5am for a one-hour (sometimes two-hour) commute to the office. Request permission for time off. Ugh!

I also remember how creatively starved I felt. I had to defer to the higher-ups to make key decisions. They ultimately controlled the destiny of the business.

These are some of the reasons many people switch to entrepreneurship:

The lifestyle allows you to be fully self-expressed in your career. It provides you full ownership of your time and money. And, there is no roof on your income potential! All of these are priceless.

But, if you choose the entrepreneurial route, step into it with your eyes wide open. Its has its challenges.
For wannabe entrepreneurs, and those in the throes of building a business, there are pitfalls you’ll want to avoid. Follow the rules below to fast track to business ownership success:

Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs

Build a war chest

Having little money to support yourself is a surefire way to get in action fast, but it’s extremely stressful. Financial stress is debilitating. It will impact your ability to make smart choices for your business. You may find yourself making decisions based on fast-money versus thinking about what the business needs. Too many people quit their jobs before their business is stable.
That being said, it can be tough and exhausting to work in a high-pressure role for another company while building a business.

Before you jump into entrepreneurship, ensure you have an ample war chest, or build it around a full-time job. Make sure you have an income or structure that supports basic survival needs. At a minimum, you need to have enough money to cover housing, an Internet connection (of course), a mobile phone, groceries, and transportation expenses like a car, subway, bike or bus, etc. The private jet comes later!

Don’t expect overnight success

Successful entrepreneurs can make running a business look glamorous and easy. Ever watch an ad for a webinar about becoming an entrepreneur? They show scenarios like this: A millennial entrepreneur stands in front of a giant mansion with a pool, his laptop at his side. He shares a story about how he has automated his business. He makes millions and spends his time traveling the world.

While this life is possible for entrepreneurs, what’s left out of this story is the time it takes to build a successful business, and the struggles most entrepreneurs go through.

Similar to many of my entrepreneur friends, when I built my first business I had a bit of a “build it and they will come” mentality. I created a beautiful website, got some fancy business cards and started hitting networking events.

But I soon found that clients weren’t flocking to me as I had envisioned. It was my first hard lesson in the importance of learning about my target market first and doing more work to build a killer brand that would attract the right people.

Rarely are new businesses overnight successes. It takes time and a great deal of determination. Many entrepreneurs fail because they aren’t patient. Entrepreneurship requires mental toughness, immovable resilience and a granite-chiselled conviction to succeed.

A great idea for a new company is easy to churn out. However, the real work is creating a business that serves an unmet market. You may discover you need to tweak your initial strategy, sometimes many times over before you hit growth and revenue that will support your dream life (or frankly that even pays the rent or mortgage).

A business can take years to build, even when you’re following the advice of experts and doing all the right things. Be patient, determined and believe in yourself.

Be flexible and adapt your plan

Businesses sometimes fail because the person running the company is an artist or creator and not a true entrepreneur. To succeed you need to be both business-minded and creative. You need to be willing to do the books, create the products, build a team and hire people, open the mail and be social media savvy all at once!

Like most entrepreneurs, you may find that some of these jobs are not your strengths. And worse, you’ll hate doing a few of them. For instance, I handle the books for the digital marketing agency my husband and I own, and I don’t particularly enjoy it. But it’s a requirement for the business, and I like saving the money and being involved knowing what’s going on in the company finances.

You also need to be a strategist. That means deciding and choosing what the business needs by listening to what your customers need, not what you want to create. These are two very different approaches.

For example, let’s say you want to run a successful clothing boutique. You create a target market, then purchase an initial inventory of clothing that you love and think will be great. Now, you can be an artist and continue to buy items you like, or you could pay attention to what the hot items are selling, and buy more of those. Too bad if you don’t like the in colors or fashion trends. That doesn’t mean you can’t bring your own flare to the inventory you buy, just make sure it also moves off the shelves and keeps you in business.

Entrepreneurs are willing to crush all their notions and ideas about how their business should work. They let the business lead. They take themselves out of the equation.

Be 100% responsible

Young entrepreneurs often look at business as an easy way to make money in their sleep while they spend their time having fun. And yes, this is part of the beauty of living the entrepreneurial lifestyle.
However, it’s important to remember that even if you automate your business and free up your time, you’re the one in charge.

You always need to be the visionary behind business and, to think ahead. This is true even if you done a great job setting the business up so it runs without you. When your business is doing well, you must consider what it needs to stay doing well, or how it could do better. When it is struggling, you need to double your resolve and get through the hard times.

As an entrepreneur, you pay you. This is both exciting, as you have ultimate control over your financial destiny, and scary. It’s on you, and only you, that ensures the success of the business.

Find a mentor

If you want to build a successful business and you’ve never done it before, seek out a mentor. Look for someone who has a proven track record for success, and choose someone you trust.

I can guarantee that wouldn’t be in business today if it wasn’t for the mentors and life coaches I’ve had along the way. Think of it this way: An Olympic-level athlete would never train for a competition without a coach. It’s the same thing in business.

Your mentor may be someone you hire and get coached by. Or it could be a collection of online experts you follow and learn from. A mentor is paramount for your success as an entrepreneur. Building a business can be a lonely, frightening and confusing process. A mentor will teach and guide you. Use them to answer questions and bounce ideas off.

Find a incredible business person who is willing to be your mentor and suck all the business marrow out of them. For many successful business owners getting to coach a newbie entrepreneur is a joy. They’ll be as grateful to you as you are to them.

Mastermind your way to success

Surround yourself with a group of entrepreneurs by joining or creating a mastermind group. It might be a group made up of local entrepreneurs that meets weekly in your community. Or it could be an online group that meets in forum or on a weekly Skype call.

When I recently found myself stuck in my business I remembered what I learned from a mentor: “go to your community”. I realized that in the new area I’ve recently moved to, I didn’t have a group of entrepreneurial friends. So I quickly made some requests and connect through social media. It doesn’t have to be complicated to get a few like-minded people together.

A mastermind group can provide a weekly accountability structure; a way to make sure you meet the targets you set for yourself. It also gives you a platform to ask questions, share ideas and resources, and learn from other entrepreneurs.

Learn digital marketing basics

Entrepreneurial success requires basic literacy in digital know-how. This is true, even if you hire an agency to build your website, run your email campaigns, or drive traffic to your website. Third parties care less about your business than you do, so understanding the mechanics of digital marketing and hiring experts to execute the strategy is key to your success.

You will save a great deal of money if you learn how to do the simple things like:

● Build a WordPress site from a template.
● Record a video on your mobile phone and edit it.
● Set up an email sales funnel and landing pages.
● Write enticing sales copy.

At minimum, you’ll need to learn how to write great blog content, and use social media platforms to promote your business.

Find a digital marketing savvy friend to school you. Or seek out online experts or groups. Take an online course. Watch tutorials on Youtube. Learn digital marketing so your business stands a chance of being seen.

Use failure to succeed

Building a business is a process. You won’t do everything perfectly. Be okay with mistakes and failure, and understand that failure is a gateway to success. The more you fail, the more you can tweak your strategy, and the closer you get to learning what works.

When you accept failure as part of the process, and not something that can stop you, you’ll be on your way to great success.

Yes, there are times when running your own business will be confusing, challenging and frustrating. Find comfort in knowing that these tiny hurdles along the way are part of the process. Believe in yourself and keep going.

Being an entrepreneur with all its challenges is an incredible livelihood. It allows you to be self-expressed in your career. You get to be in complete control of your financial destiny. And, you get to live the life of your dreams.

Listen to the audio version of this post with additional insights. Download the mp3 here.

How to defeat laziness

Posted on August 18, 2016October 11, 2017 by Kay Walker

Are you feeling guilty because you’ve been lazy lately? Are you lacking ambition? Are you lacking motivation to want to do anything but relax , “chill out” or have fun? Want to learn how to defeat laziness?

Or, maybe you’re annoyed at someone because they are being lazy when you’d like them to get in action?

Shifting from being lazy to being productive first requires a choice to do so. And in most cases, getting to that choice requires a simple shift in context, seeing your world in a different light.

Read on to learn what makes people lazy and what to do about it.

How to defeat laziness easily with these simple tips

Reason for laziness#1: You have nothing to get in action over or be excited about in your near future.

Solution: Create something. You are not feeling ambitious because you haven’t chosen what you’d like to achieve.

This is not a fun place to be. When you’re in between choices of what to do in life and which way to go, it creates an environment of unhappiness. And, when you feel crappy you might want to avoid everything by distracting yourself.

So, close your eyes and visualize what you desire most in life and in your near future. Mentally see and feel what you want. It’s any easy way to get present to what you desire so you can then decide what you need to do about it.

Ask yourself: What do I want to accomplish in the next year? And then work backwards to decide on what milestones you need to accomplish this week and next month etc, that will get you where you want to go.

Having a burning desire for something and working towards it will pull you into action.

Reason for laziness #2: You’re really bad at doing things when you don’t “feel” like doing them.

Solution: Learn how to defeat laziness by separating your feelings from your commitments and actions.

Learning how to separate what you feel like doing from what you need to do to forward what you want in life is an important skill. What you feel about action and the actual act of doing are totally separate things. You can still take an action without feeling like it.

It’s a crucial skill to hone because in many times in life when you deeply desire something the work you need to do to take you from where you are to achieving that end goal are a bunch of not-so-fun milestones.

For example, a runner that wants to win a marathon, must train every single day. And there will be days when they don’t want to. But, if they don’t do what they don’t feel like, they’ll never reach the end goal.

Take on a hobby or learn a skill you don’t “feel” like learning and you’ll be able train yourself to be more resilient. You’ll also want to learn quick ways of getting yourself motivated.

Reason for laziness #3: You feel stuck in a situation you can’t control, so you’ve given up.

Solution: Fill your knowledge gap or take a new action

If you ever feel stuck in any area of life you can unstick yourself by taking a new action or by learning what to do. The only reason people get stuck is because they don’t have the knowledge to know what to do, or they haven’t taken an effective action.

Reason for laziness #4: You have been working really hard and you really do need a break. You’ve reached a point of exhaustion.

Solution: Relax. (Like really, relax. Tune out. Get away. Unplug. DO NOTHING!)

If you are the type of person who pushes yourself and is deeply ambitious and you desire massive success, you might have pushed yourself too hard. You might need a break! Allow yourself to have a break! Sometimes being lazy – doing nothing! – is crucial for your mental and physical health.

This is hard for some people even when their body and mind is telling them to take a break.

Reason for laziness #5: You have low or no energy.

Solution: Too much caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and overeating can trigger low energy. You may feel like you have no energy to accomplish anything. You might also go and get a checkup. Low or no energy could be linked to depression. There are some simple solutions to no energy. Read these tips.

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Here is the bottom line on how to defeat laziness…Don’t let your feelings run the show. Get in action around what inspires you. Don’t waste your life avoiding, putting off and not doing what you want.

Flipping the switch from lazy to productive is a skill. Train yourself and commit to getting what you want and being in action.

And action you might want to start with is to join Awesome Life Club. It’s an easy part of your success structure (and it’s free!) CLICK HERE.

How to fast-track to the life of your dreams: Learn these 3 skills

Posted on May 20, 2016October 11, 2017 by Kay Walker

How to fast-track the life of your dreams in by learning three key skills

If I asked you: What would your “dream life” look like? That is, what would your life look like if everything was perfect in all areas – your physical health, relationships, career, purpose, finances, home environment. What would you tell me?

Then, if I asked you: Are you living that life right now? What would your answer be?

For most people the answer would be: no! or “kind of, but…”.

Don’t feel bad. That’s common for the majority of people

The most important question however to ask is: Do you have a plan to change the areas of life that don’t inspire you?

Do you have a detailed action plan?

And are you implementing that plan?

And is it specific, measurable and has a concrete timeline?

…and are my questions freaking you out?

If you can answer all those questions calmly and are able to provide specific answers on what you want, what your plan is and what actions you’re taking, then you are on track to achieving the life you desire.

And most importantly…you are thinking and behaving like a visionary.

Visionaries are revered as exceptional for their skills in turning dreams into reality. Many of them make a massive difference in the world and leave a legacy. They are people like: Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Oprah Winfrey.

Master the three roles all visionaries are skilled in and you can get anything you want in any area of life. This doesn’t mean you need a desire to change the world, but it’s the secret to turning your dreams into reality. And you’ll do it faster than you would if you didn’t have these skills:

Ready to fast-track the life of your dreams? Master these 3 roles:

You see, visionaries aren’t ordinary people. Life doesn’t “happen to them”. They design their lives. They are highly intentional and calculated about everything they do. And they do this by playing three roles in one.

Many of them don’t necessarily know they are playing these roles. It starts with a burning desire so deep in them that they figure out, train and do anything they need to, to have the dream realized. Martin Luther King Jr. began his legacy with a burning desire for equality. He had a vision for the future and then he started to plot out and take actions that were consistent.

Here are the three roles all visionaries play:

The Architect
The Planner
The Builder

Most people are generally good at at least two of the roles, but have a weakness in one or two. Below is a description of each. They will help you zero in on what skills you are lacking, so you can train to be proficient in each role.

For me, I’m great architect and builder, but a horrible planner. I’ve had to train myself to be organized, create plans and create better plans with fewer gaps (flaws). Planning for me does not come naturally. For other people (maybe you) it is a strength, but you may have trouble visualizing outcomes.

Read on and consider which roles you are strong at or lacking….there is a helpful exercise at the end of this article.

Drawing of building

Role #1: The Architect: Envisions a future end goal. In other words, an outcome. Thinks about the end goal first before building anything.

Consider how architects work. They visualize the design of a building first. Then, they sketch it out, they create a technical blueprint. When they do this, the idea comes out of their head and starts to become a reality.

A visionary does this by creating an future goal they’d like to attain. This is something they deeply desire to accomplish. They think about it and then start to formulate a plan in their mind. Capturing the thoughts on paper is an important step because it helps move an idea into a reality.

blueprints of building

Role #2: The Planner: The planner takes an idea and formulates a detailed action plan on how it will get done. They chart out the road to the end goal – and design the milestones required to be met to get there from where they are now. And to reach completion.

Planning is a crucial step prior to action. It allows you to be strategic. It will help you increase your effectiveness and reduce error.

The planner does a lot of thinking work to build a plan that is specific and measurable. They plan everything down to the smallest details.

The builder role gets it done

Role #3: The Builder: The builder executes on the plan or plans. They do the physical work required to the accomplish the end game. They are the action takers, doers and the worker-bees.

Quick exercise:
Think about the three roles above. What’s your strength? Which one have you mastered? Which ones are weak or need work? Do it for yourself. Do it for someone you know well. Your spouse, your best friend, etc.

People who aren’t great builders don’t follow the plan OR they take a really long time to get into action.

Here’s how to streamline the process of getting in action so you can accomplish more.

Not only does a visionary perform these three roles they do it in a cyclical motion. As a diagram that would look something like this:

They map out an idea, then create a structure of how to accomplish it in reality, then they take action. Now, little do things go as perfectly as planned. Environmental challenges that were not accounted for get in the way. Projects can take longer than expected. So when the plan goes in a new direct they adjust. They recalibrate.

If you learn how to master the skills of these three roles you will become unstoppable. You will also feel more freedom, self-expression and joy as you’ll have a plan and be taking actions to achieve your dreams. Deep happiness comes from continued personal progress and expansion.

If you want to learn more about this approach make sure to join awesome life club. You’ll get a series of gifts inspired by this post that will train you to get what you want in life with velocity.

The barrier that’s in your way of achieving your dreams

Posted on May 11, 2016July 23, 2016 by Kay Walker

Is it time to raise your standards?

Living the life you dream about – y’know the one you think about in your head while you’re physically doing things day-to-day that you don’t particularly love? – takes guts.

It takes a willingness to confront and consider things you may not feel like considering. It often takes getting a bit uncomfortable. It takes taking bold actions.

But if you are truly serious about living a life you love – a life that has you pinch yourself everyday and ask yourself: “is this really my life?” – then you need to ask yourself this question: What, in your life (right now), are you settling for?

In other words, is there an area of your life that you are not entirely happy with? Where you don’t feel fully self-expressed? Something you’ve been putting up with for a while now? Consider all the important areas: Your physical health; your relationships; your growth as a person; your career; your spirituality.

Maybe you’ve been looking at your bank account. You see the same numbers month to month and you’re not happy with what you see. Or, maybe it’s your weight. Perhaps you can’t bring yourself to step on the scale because you don’t want to see that number.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are desperate to change an aspect of your life and you feel you’ve been taking certain actions but then you always end up back again in the same place you don’t like to be?

The number on your bank account always seems to stay around the same amount. The weight on the scale goes down for a few months but then it always goes back to that number you’re not happy with.

It’s easy to make short-term change, but how do you make a lasting change?

Your ability to make lasting change is related to the standards you have for yourself. These are core believes that come from what you’ve learned in the past.

Many become unconscious to you – you exhibit certain behaviors and take certain actions without being aware, without seeing or considering why you do these things.

So, to make lasting changes in your life you need to do this one thing: RAISE YOUR STANDARDS

How? Here are five methods. #5 is a simple tool you can use today!:

Download Free Tool Now

JOIN THE CLUB FREE TO GET THE TOOL

Method 1: Wait till you’re in crisis and you reach an “emotional threshold”. Being in a crisis state can drive you to reach an emotional peak where you decide a change is mandatory. In these moments you see that your behaviors and actions NEED to change in order for you to maintain you’re survival.

This is the person who goes bankrupt and then realizes they need to learn new ways to be responsible with money. Or, the person who gains 350 lb and has a health scare. It’s only then that they get for themselves that they have to change because they can’t bare the pain of living this way forever.

This is not an ideal way to expand your standards, but it works.

Method 2: Focus on incremental progress. When you notice you have a standards you want to expand build small actions into your day-to-day life to begin to raise your bar. Raising your standards is limited by your beliefs. When you take small simple actions you start to see progress you increase your beliefs in your ability.

For example, if you’re an entrepreneur and your business makes a consistent $10,000 a month challenge yourself to make $1,000 more the next month. When you slowly start to reach these small goals you will raise your standards.

The problem with this method is that it can take a significant amount of time.

Method 3: Examine your standards to see why you have them. Sometimes simply noticing, being aware of, the ceiling you put on yourself can help you take actions to expand it. When you see the barrier, you can consult with yourself it moments where you notice it and choose to take new actions.

In a moment, where you see that you are about to accept that job where you don’t love the salary but think maybe you should accept it because you’ve never made more than the amount it offers and you think it would be crazy for you to make more because you’re parents never did, you might be able to stop yourself.

Method 4: Spend time in environments and with people that raise your standards. This method is one of the most effective. When you surround yourself with people who have higher standards than you do you may start to see things as possible for you if they are possible for them.

This is also a great way to build desire in you and nothing is more powerful than desire to get you into action and move you in the direction you want to go.

Here’s a personal example: In my early twenties, I worked as an event planner. During this time in my career I had access to multimillionaires. I went to exclusive events. I spent time in mansions. Seeing people living in incredible spaces not worrying about money and having more control and freedom, inspired me. It had me see that I could achieve what they achieved. The disparity between us decreased.

Method 5: Use my raise your standards instantly formula. Methods 1 through 4 involve time and effort. You can immediately shift your mindset and raise your standards if you use this my 8 step formula. Grab it for free here.

If you notice a behavior you can’t seem to change the issue is the standards you have set for yourself and need to expand. It’s the one thing to focus on to elevate your performance in all areas of life.

Use the formula above today and let me know what you think.