What Would You Give to Become a Successful Entrepreneur?

Because if you’re not prepared to give your all, I can tell you from experience: You will most likely fail.

Failure is a bit of a theme of being an entrepreneur. We’re not talking about total failure, with your dreams scattered like ashes around your feet. But there are many smaller, everyday failures. After all, the more things you do, the more chances you have to fail.

So it’s important that you have a mindset that’s prepared for failure.

One of my favourite quotes that’s been used in reference to entrepreneurship is “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” And it’s this sort of attitude that you’re going to need to cultivate if you’re going to succeed.

You’re going to need to be willing to continue, and continue, and continue. And never give up.

Don’t beat yourself up over your failure. Understand that this is part of the path you’ve chosen.

It’s important to set yourself a goal that’s larger than just “success”. Or rather, you need to define what success means to you. If you’re doing this thing just for the money, odds on you’re not going to make it. “Money” isn’t a concept that will get you out of bed in the morning after you’ve just worked an all-nighter. And even if it does one day, it certainly isn’t going to on a long-term basis.

So what is “success” going to be for you?

For me, it’s having passion for the services I’m delivering. I believe in what my company is doing — giving people expert services they can rely on to make their lives easier. I’m proud of that. Find the part of your company that you’re proud of, and your definition of success should follow. This will be your inspiration through the tough times, and the point you should focus on every day. It will remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing.

As a society, we’re geared towards promoting entrepreneurship. But I see so many wannabe entrepreneurs who have nothing but a tiny little plan to their name. Perhaps 1 in 10,000 will succeed in making that nucleus of an idea into a successful business.

Of course if you don’t try, you’ll never succeed. But you have to be ready to accept the hard times and failures. My friends and family know how much of a sacrifice it’s been for me personally. It can affect your health, and it will take a lot out of you.

It’s not a lonely place any more, though. I’ve got business partners and employees who are extremely good, and who I know will take us to the next level, and the level after that.

You too can make it.

But you should never underestimate how much you’ll need to give, if you want to become a successful entrepreneur.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rune Sovndahl, co-founder of Fantastic Services, has built his domestic services business from scratch to a point where they serve 230,000 domestic clients in London, the South East and the North West. With a £28m turnover, it is easily the largest domestic cleaning company in London, yet the company has been self-financed since the outset. As well as the UK, Fantastic Services is already established as a leading cleaning company in Australia and USA.