What Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Should Know

The fact is entrepreneurs do what most people either can't or won't. They show grit and determination and take bold steps to create something from nothing. Entrepreneurs have guts and they are driven to win, willing to push past the fear of failure and charge forward. And yes, they believe in themselves and they should.

But here is what you need to know if you aspire to be a successful entrepreneur. The very thing that causes you to be successful, causes you to win so often can be the very thing that can cause you to fail and potentially lose it all. That is, you believe in yourself when others don't.

Talk to any honest entrepreneur with a track record of success and they will tell you that at some point they should have listened to the people around them and avoided a disaster. Rather than being bullheaded they will tell you that there have been times when they were blinded by their own drive and confidence and ignored warning signs. But it is important to know why they so often ignore the nay sayers. It is because the nay sayers are wrong and the successful entrepreneurs know it. Every successful entrepreneur has been told countless times that their idea will not work. "It can't be done" is pounded into entrepreneurs and the successful one's push through those limiting words and do what others cannot. But at the same time there are times when they are missing something they need to be aware of. Here are six recommendations to help avoid both being held back and falling off a cliff.

1. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and who you believe in. First, take your advice from people who believe in you. They may not know how the heck you are going to accomplish something but they believe in your ability to get it done. At the same time you must believe in them. You must believe in their strengths and insights even if they are not a discipline expert.
2. Surround yourself with people who tell you what you need to hear not just what you want to hear. This is a very difficult role to fill but will change the trajectory of any successful entrepreneur and is often more important than funding. The more you succeed the more people are going to believe in you. Everyone can pick a winning team. But just when you are on a roll is when you need someone looking out for you and telling you when things are just not right. We have all worked with that person who tells us "everything is great" even when we know it isn't. We have also worked with the nay sayer who always sees the bottom falling out. Revenues are up 20% and they say "it won't continue" without giving thought to the negative impact of their words. What you need is the person who will tell you when things are great (when they are) and when things are a mess (when they are). These are the people who are only motivated by helping you, the entrepreneur win.
3. Never stop really learning. Norman Brinker, then CEO of Brinker International once said to me "the very minute we start thinking we have all the answers is the very moment we stop having all the answers". In his day Norman never stopped asking questions. He asked questions with a filter that allowed him to carefully sift through and search for what made sense. Norman was an incredibly successful entrepreneur who understood the value of learning. He knew that if he became arrogant and stopped looking for the answer in others he only had himself to solve the problem. So he asked others, constantly. Successful entrepreneurs listen and learn. While they march forward with confidence, leading with confidence they are listening to other leaders and individuals who have smart answers.
4. Stay focused on the horizon while stepping carefully fully aware there are land minds out there. No one is doubting you have a vision of where this can go. You see it and you can lead an organization to that destination. But between where you stand today and where you taking this are a thousand land minds. Step wisely. Case in point. The restaurant industry is strewn with great concepts that were better than just about anything out there. They had great cultures, amazing food and the consumer loved them. Their economic models produced spectacular results. They raise capital with good partners with shared values. And then the CEO pushes everyone to open more restaurants without taking the time to insure they do not miss on a single location. And they miss. Maybe they miss repeatedly. Suddenly this spectacular emerging concept is in trouble because the last three locations are underperforming. The game just changed. Had the CEO/Founder stepped wisely, maybe took a little too much time to make those important site decisions, no misses would have happened. Right now I am watching one of the best fast casual concepts in America, lead by one of the best restaurant CEO's in America, take a very cautious approach to growth. His team has not missed and they are on course to be a household name in five years. So can you but only if you step wisely.
5. Take care of yourself mentally, physically and spiritually. Your best decisions come from a clear head. Those of us who are faithful will tell you that the closer we are to our faith during the time of important decisions, the better the decision we make.
6. Lead with integrity. You will never regret it.

Carry your confidence wisely. You have a gift and you are different. Leverage your determination but balance it with being smart enough to know how to stay on the path you want.

Good luck.