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What makes a successful entrepreneur? I was recently asked this question. Leadership PodcastA few bullet point answers came to mind, sharing what I think are the ideal qualities for someone wanting to start or sustain a business.
Reflecting on my answers, I was also reminded that entrepreneurial success isn’t determined by any particular trait or founder profile. For example, compare Jeff Bezos’s drive to innovate and change with Oprah Winfrey’s friendliness and community-mindedness. Each of these entrepreneurs-turned-global moguls has different qualities and each has their own life trajectory and worldview. Your life trajectory will be unique as well.
So to run a successful business, it doesn’t really matter what those distinctive qualities are exactly. What matters is that your values ​​– your moral principles — are shaped into your virtues — your best practices. When these two frameworks align, you gain buy-in from colleagues and customers, which leads to growth and trust.
Confidence
One of my core values ​​is to believe in myself, which means assuming that no matter what I’m faced with, whether at work or in my personal life, I’ll find a way to get through it. This value was instilled in me from a young age.
When I was five years old, my family and I were exiled from the Congo (then Zaire) because we were of East Indian descent. We made our way to Toronto with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Just two months later, my father died and my mother began working for the first time in her life, leaving me and my two sisters to raise on her own. Raising a grieving family and adapting to a new continent was not easy, but through these hardships, I saw how far my mother’s belief in herself had brought her, and ultimately, how far it could bring me.
Related: What to do when your personal values ​​and business decisions clash
Self-preservation
Fast forward to today, and the value of self-trust has emerged as a virtue to protect one’s energy, which is crucial because running a business can be exhausting: in addition to feeling overworked by competing demands on one’s time, skills, and recognition, there’s the risk of self-doubt and therefore self-sabotage. Recent HBR Articles “Even seasoned leaders doubt themselves. Past experiences or criticism from authority figures sometimes hijack our inner voice, leading to rumination and limiting beliefs.”
To counter such threats, I actively conserve my physical and mental energy. I take breaks at work where I can completely disconnect, occasionally taking brisk walks in nature or engaging in vigorous exercise, but whatever I do, I leave my phone behind. At home, I have my own personal stress-relief methods: reading and journaling. These habits help me take care of my body and keep my emotional tank topped off, both of which protect my energy to believe in myself.
Related: 4 Reasons Why Values ​​Are Important in Business
The right people, the right seats
Self-awareness is key to confidence, but because my business is no longer a one-person operation, I need to really know the people around me. This leads to another core value that can be hard to practice when other people, especially their careers, are involved: integrity.
Early in my entrepreneurial career, I sometimes chose employees simply because they were available, motivated, or simply nearby. But as my software company transitioned from a bootstrapped dot-com to a SaaS provider serving thousands of customers around the world, I learned that hiring the wrong person can be very costly and getting the right person can be hard and rare. I witnessed that there are makers and managers in every organization. Some thrive when told to do so, while others must continually challenge the status quo. Sometimes, you have to fire someone you hired for a particular role because they no longer (or never) fit the company’s core values.
Related: 4 Types of People You Should Hang Out With to Be Successful
Tell it like it is
Recognizing this reality requires being honest with yourself and your colleagues about who should be doing what, and for how long. A common comment we hear from operations executives is, “I wish I had acted sooner and put the right team together.” McKinsey article from earlier this yearAs a young entrepreneur, I found myself feeling this regret on a regular basis, so I agree with the article’s assertion that having the right people in place can enable “the shift in mindset, behavior, and capabilities required to execute a successful business strategy.”
Striking this balance can be very difficult these days. But it can usually be achieved by being honest about what the role requires and what the individual in that role can offer, including when I am that individual. Outside of work, I surround myself with people who not only understand my field but also tell it like it is. In fact, I rely on this support system, which includes members of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and other local entrepreneurship and technology networks, to mirror my virtues and continue to reflect my values.
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