Every entrepreneur I know wants to improve in some way. They want to create successful companies. They want to scale those companies. They want to enjoy life.
What’s does it take to achieve these admittedly vague objectives? The simple answer is self improvement.
What are some practical things that will make you a better entrepreneur — things you can start today?
1. Hiring a
If you played sports in school then you know how important a coach is. A team cannot be successful without a coach.
Why is it that we think we can be successful in business without coaching? The stakes are higher than any sports event. It’s your professional career, your income, and your legacy that are on the line.
Professional coaches aren’t just for corporate pep talks. Robert Pagliarini explains what a coach does: “A good coach is someone who is an expert at helping others create positive change in their lives.”
Where do you want to see positive change in your life? Improve your speaking skills, lead effectively, manage time masterfully, dress better, achieve work-life balance, reduce stress, meditate, eat healthy, run a marathon, start a business — you can accomplish any of these things. Hiring a coach might be what it takes.
2. Consistently Publishing on a Blog
Many well-known leaders blog consistently. A blog is a powerful part of your personal brand. It allows you to wield influence and possess a voice. Entrepreneurs who blog consistently are perceived as more successful.
3. Getting a High-Quality Professional Headshot
Hire a headshot photographer to take your photograph. Use this professional photo as the profile image for all your social media platforms. A good headshot can make an instant difference in how others notice and respect you.
4. Optimizing Your
If someone wants to find out more about you and your professional accomplishments, what are they going to do first? They will
What does your LinkedIn profile say about you? Does it project success and indicate confidence? Does it present you as a professional? Taking a few hours to optimize your LinkedIn profile is time well spent.
5. Reading Great Books
There is a huge amount of potential improvement between the covers of a book. But as Jim Rohn said, “The book you don’t read won’t help.” Find and read great books, and you’ll steadily earn knowledge and achieve change.
6. Spending Time to Reflect
Most entrepreneurs are insanely busy people. The idea of pausing, even for a minute, is almost unthinkable.
But when we step back from the hard-driving, boundary-pushing life of entrepreneurship, we gain instant insight. It’s called working on your business, not in your business. It’s called self awareness. It’s called being present.
As unproductive as it feels, self-reflection is a crucial way to achieve balance, rearrange your priorities, and focus on what truly matters in life and business.
7. Exercising
Exercise doesn’t just improve your body; it actually changes your brain. Fast Company’s 5 Habits Series makes the point that “exercise changes your brain to be better at basically everything.” It sounds like an overstatement, until you understand the complex neuroscientific research that backs it up.
Exercise transforms the brain by enhancing blood flow, oxygen, and increasing mental energy. These factors combined cause the brain to perform at a higher level. Exercise therefore, improves mental retention, processing, creativity, insight, and speed.
8. Dressing to Kill
Marcus Lemonis says, “to be successful in business, you have to present yourself in a very professional way.” Just like packaging is important for physical products, so packaging is important for you — the way you dress and how you look.
To look good, you need two things: 1) You need clothing and accessories that people perceive as good looking, and 2) You need to feel good. The two go together. Why? To quote Lemonis again, “If you look good, you will feel good.”
9. Earning an Interview
When someone interviews you, it says something about you. You’re a person who deserves to be heard. You’re a person who has something to say. You’re a person of influence.
In order to earn an interview, it’s important to be present at industry events, on relevant industry publications, and to have an active personal brand.
10. Landing One Speaking Gig
A speaking opportunity is the perfect way to boost your credibility. You might not be ready to deliver a TED Talk, take the stage at PubCon or keynote at SXSW, but you can start somewhere.
11. Trying (and Failing) to Start a Business
What do the following people have in common?
- Travis Kalanick (Uber)
- Henry Ford (Ford)
- Bill Gates (Microsoft)
- Steve Jobs (Apple)
They “failed” in some way. Their failure didn’t keep them from getting back up, dusting themselves off, and accomplishing great things. In fact, their initial failure was what improved their ability to succeed.
I’ve made million dollar mistakes and spent months of my life building a business that failed. It would be easy to consider my failure a massive waste of time, money, and effort. In retrospect, I learned valuable lessons, and become me a more successful entrepreneur because of my failure.
Conclusion
Improving doesn’t happen by accident. If you desire to become a better entrepreneur, to grow your business, or to make an impact, you have to be intentional about changing.
Envision the person you want to become, and take daily steps to become that person.
What actions or habits do you have that help you improve?
