9 Traits that you must have to build a successful start-up

You remove your corporate suit and 9-5 boots. You want to lead a path of entrepreneurship.

You invest hours of sleepless nights in coming up with a bunch of great ideas. You build a blueprint; connect with business strategies just to see your business module “FAIL.”

You start thinking that entrepreneurship may not just be right for you. Everything looks a dead end. Don’t worry; you aren’t alone in this scary world. You are among the 90% startup owners who fail.

So what about the 10% who succeed?

These 9 traits will tell you what you need to do for creating a successful start-up company.

1. Always be hungry

   One of the major characteristics that separate a successful entrepreneur with a mediocre one is the hunger for success. You will see them working consistently every day. Most entrepreneurs spend at least 10-12 hours a day on a consistent basis. You need to remove the rest day from your routine till the day you achieve your ultimate goal.

2. Focus on your mission

   When a reporter asked Mark Zuckerberg why he only works 50-60 hours a week, he simply answered that’s the time I work in the office. However, if you count the hours I spend focusing on my mission, that’s basically my whole life. You should always have a distraction free focus driven towards achieving your goal. Set a milestone for every week or month that helps you moving towards your goal with full determination.

   

3. Driven by self-motivation

   Managing a start-up often means you are running a business with a small to no employees’. There is no overhead boss that will ask you about the daily work report. There won’t be any deadlines hanging upon your neck from outside forces. There won’t be any immediate consequences if the work isn’t completed. You have every reason to get lazy. However, a successful entrepreneur takes this time as the opportunity to build himself and his start-up. You should be driven by self-motivation and commitment to producing quality work every time you step inside the work zone.

   

4. Not afraid to take risks

   One of the unflagging attributes of triumphant business leaders is the ability to take a risk. A set of measured risk comes with a goal. You as an entrepreneur should understand the risk associated with launching a business. Risk fright can come up at any stage of your business. One who can take hard necessary decisions on the daunting challenges has the ability to succeed. There was a time when one of our start-ups was hit by a major catastrophe. We had to take the risk of sacrificing our brand name to minify the problems. Yes, we did that. And over a course of 1 year, we were able to double our profit. It’s all about understanding the risk management and coping with it.

   

5. Passionate

   This is no brainer. A successful enterprise is built with passion. If you aren’t passionate about your dream and what you want to pursue, you might fail instantly. If you don’t love the idea and your sole motive is to get rich, failure is just a distant away. You should be passionate and dedicated toward bringing enthusiasm in your work. You should be a source of motivation for your employees. Running a business is a stressful task, but with a definite purpose, you can make the work much easier.

   

6. Be persistent

   A successful start-up is built by entrepreneurs who never give up. People call it with different names like tenacity or stubbornness. But this is what you need to get beat the occasional bump in the road. The hustle should be real and never stop trying. Quitting should never be a chapter of a syllabus. If you want to create a history, you should follow your dreams consistently without looking at the setbacks. Challenges and setbacks weaken the entrepreneurs who are mediocre, but these elements make a great entrepreneur even more strong and determined.

   

7. Performance measurement and calculation

   It’s merely impossible to scale a business without understanding the key potential indicators of a business. As a start-up founder, you should be able to measure important drivers of organisational progression. Measurement is fundamental as it lets you analyse your current position and curves needed to meet the plan.

   Similarly, you should also set stair-steps to meet milestones at every stage of your start-up journey. Consider selling 1000 units at the end of first two weeks. Always make calculations based on your goals. Overall, you should build a habit of leading a company on the basis of evidence and data.

   

8. Take failure as a learning formula

   Richard Branson said it best –“Only few first ventures workout. ” What sets a successful entrepreneur with others is the ability to accept the failure and learn from it. Learning comes in different shape and the biggest one comes from a failed business. One who stays sharp and learns from their mistakes will stay ahead than others. There is never a failure; there is only a lesson. If you can accept failure as the part of entrepreneurship, you move one stair up to successful start-up.

   

9. Know how to adapt

   Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had a future telecasting machine like we see in the movies? Well, that’s not going to happen for real. You can’t really predict what’s in stored for you in the near future.  There are surprises and shocks around every corner of the business.

   Even with thorough plans and strategy, you can’t tell if the challenges will be met efficiently.  This is why you need to be highly adaptable to respond to the situations immediately. Being adaptable makes you competent and less likely to get affected by cultural changes.  You need to make tough decisions when the company demands it. You have to be able to blend with circumstances to thrive in any environment.

Wrapping Up

What are the traits you think can lead to successful start-ups? Let us know your favourites in the comments section.