7 Daily Habits For Entrepreneurial Success

Many entrepreneurs aspire to be successful. However, it takes discipline in your daily routine and successfully repeating positive habits. Success is directly connected to your habits and daily routine. You must be intentional about success. Are your habits sabotaging or advancing your success? 

Years into my entrepreneurial journey, I found the key habits that contributed to my success. These small habits done consistently can hugely impact your success as an entrepreneur. Continue reading to find my seven daily habits that have set the stage for success in my businesses.

1. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning. 

Work on developing yourself for the rest of your life. Read in your field for 30 to 60 minutes each day. If you read just one book per week, that’s a minimum of 52 books each year about your industry/field. Imagine the impact on your business and your skillset. You no doubt would be ahead of your competitors. If you’re not a reader, this habit may be unpleasant to form. However, being successful is about the temporary sacrifice of doing what others are unwilling to do so you can live a life that others can’t live.

2. Rise early. 

When running a business, it may seem like it’s not enough hours in the day. What if I could give you 10 extra hours each week? Simple. Wake up two hours earlier than normal at least 5 days a week. If you do this daily, that’s 14 extra hours each week that you normally wouldn’t have had to be productive. Plan how you’ll use this time. Waking up early is great because the house is quiet and you should be able to be more productive. I say rip the bandaid and start this habit immediately. However, realistically you may need to start slowly but just waking up 20 minutes early for a few days then 30 minutes early, and so on until you reach 2 hours.

3. Dream BIG dreams. 

I find that so many people let fear and self-doubt cripple them into not dreaming big dreams. “Oh, if only I could just make $40,000 a year and buy a reasonable house, I’d be ok.” Why settle for just $40,000? God wants us to dominate in our sectors (Genesis 1:26-28). God wants us to be totally dependent on Him. Being dependent on Him allows us to dream big and live our best lives. Psalm 46:5 NIV tells us “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” God is on the inside of us and will help us fulfill our dreams. If your dreams and goals are achievable on your own, you’re dreaming too small. Turn your dreamer up to the max.

4. Stop procrastinating. 

Procrastination is an entrepreneur’s worst enemy. If you want to achieve more in life, you have to stop procrastinating. If you find yourself procrastinating, you should determine the reason. Are you procrastinating because of fear? Are you procrastinating because it’s become a habit or are you simply procrastinating because you’re waiting on everything to be perfect? If you wait on perfect conditions, you’ll never act (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Whatever the reason for your procrastination, I encourage you to read Eat the Frog by Brian Tracy. In the book, Mr. Tracy discusses completing your hardest, most important task (aka the frog) first thing in the morning. Rank your tasks in order of importance. Then start each day by knocking the first one off your list. Don’t quit until the task is complete.

5. Review/recite your goals daily. 

Launching a business can take time and having a reminder of the end goal in weary moments can be the extra motivation you need to keep pushing forward. Afterall, what good is goal setting if you don’t follow through with them? Keep your end goal in mind, literally. Reviewing and reciting your goals daily help to develop a clear sense of direction. Romans 4:17 tells us to call things into existence. When you recite your goals aloud make sure you recite them in present tense as though you’ve already accomplished them. “I earn” or “I have” not “I am going to..”

6. Schedule time for revenue generating activities.

Building a business is like giving birth. An idea/seed is growing inside you. It gets larger and larger on the inside until you’re ready to give birth to that business idea. Then after giving birth your focus immediately shifts to rest. “Wow, I actually created this.” You start showing your baby off to friends and family. A few weeks later reality sets in. You’re exhausted, sleep deprived, and have no idea what you’re doing. Sound familiar? Too often entrepreneurs focus on creating and have no idea what to do after. It’s vital to focus on sales. Your mind should always be thinking of how you can get your product/service in the hands of your target audience. “How can I increase sales? How many people do I need to reach out to today?” Set aside at least an hour each day to generate revenue. Healthy businesses are sales oriented.

7. Exercise. 

Daily exercise is not only great for your health but it’s even greater for mental health– in particular developing discipline. You may not find exercise fun but it will do wonders for you in business. Exercising is the quickest way to develop discipline. Discipline equals freedom. If you master discipline at this basic level of exercising, it will transcend to your business and the rest of your life. When you feel like giving up while exercising because you’re tired or you just simply want to quit, you push yourself past your feelings. In business you will have to push past your feelings. Push past wanting to quit. Push past wanting to sleep in. See the correlation?

In conclusion, I guarantee that if you incorporate these habits into your daily routine consistently, you’ll succeed at a faster rate than someone who’s not doing these things.

Incorporating a new habit into your daily routine can be challenging. We often dismiss small changes because they don’t seem to matter much at the moment. When results don’t come quickly, we slide back into our normal routine. However, don’t give up. Remember what starts as a small win accumulates to much more. Check out Atomic Habits by James Clear.