Do you know which entrepreneur qualities help to dominate and win, or instead, lead to failure?Success in both business and life is knowing both what to do and not do.The values of entrepreneurship have changed, and not for the better.Venture capital and social programming have taken entrepreneurship down the wrong path.Whether you're a new entrepreneur or a veteran, the messages you see are confusing at best and wrong at worst.Who am I, and how do I know?I was that kid who started his EdTech right out of school with no money, experience, or team.Failure became my new best friend. All-day. Every day.I didn't know what I didn't know.My salvation was my grit and passion, which kept me in the game long enough to build a successful company.I became an "overnight" success thirteen years later when I had a 9-figure exit.What made the difference for me, you ask, and what can you do to dominate and win?Two words.Entrepreneur qualities.I discovered five entrepreneur qualities that were holding me back. Once I dropped these five entrepreneur qualities, my journey to success gained momentum.What should you do?Find and foster the entrepreneur qualities that unlock your sweet success. Drop the entrepreneur qualities that are robbing you of success like a thief in the night.What are the five entrepreneur qualities that you must avoid at all costs?Keep reading to find out.
Failures don't ask for help believing they can do it all - Jeffrey Feldberg
One of the entrepreneur qualities that lead you to failure is believing that you can do it all.Whether you're running a start-up or an established company, do you believe that you're the best at what you do?Do you follow the philosophy that if you want to get something done, you should do it yourself?How about thinking that you don't have the budget to hire people to help you?Let's not forget the battle cry that you don't have time to train other people to do what you do.Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, do any of the above sound familiar?The list of failed entrepreneurs that never realized their potential is endless.I drove my EdTech down a street called 'nowhere' that lead to a destination called 'dead end.'Every person is born with a unique talent. That includes you.Your duty is to find your unique gift and help people solve their problems and achieve their goals.Your mission is to surround yourself with people that help you do what you do best.Do this today, and you'll begin the process of welcoming massive success tomorrow.Having a team around you is essential if you plan to sell your company for top dollar.Read and prosper from "Why You'll Be Happier And Richer When Your Company Runs Without You."That said, a word to the wise.Do you know which of the entrepreneur qualities that is a magnet for failure?Keep reading to find out.
You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility - Byron Dorgan
At the top of the list of entrepreneur qualities to avoid is delegating both tasks and authority.Wait a minute, you say, how does my company run without me if I don't delegate tasks?It's a fine line between delegating too much and not delegating at all.Delegating tasks to team members is essential to free you up on activities you shouldn't be doing.When you delegate, you free up your time to play to your strengths.Read and prosper from "Play To Your Strengths If You Want To Be Successful (And Happy)."Do you know where most entrepreneurs get it wrong when delegating?Delegate tasks but not authority.The delegation of authority puts you on the fast track to failure.In a smaller company, you will likely be the person who ensures that the desired outcomes happen.In a larger company, you have trusted and proven members on your team who can oversee progress.Whether it's you or a trusted team member, ensure that authority isn't delegated.Effective checks-and-balances ensure that delegation works as intended.Do you know which entrepreneur qualities guarantee failure?Keep reading.
Don't chase the money. Chase the passion - Tyra Banks
One of the entrepreneur qualities that guarantee failure is chasing the money.Don't do it.Instead, chase the passion.A quick story.I started my EdTech with no money, experience, or team. Despite the odds, my EdTech was successful and had a 9-figure exit.Right after selling me EdTech, I became involved in another start-up in health care.This time I had the money, experience, and the same team.In the blink of any eye, my health care start-up racked up 7-figures.Sounds great, right?Not so quick.My health care start-up racked up 7-figures of losses.On paper, my EdTech should have failed, and the health care company should have succeeded.What happened?With my EdTech, I chased my passion for solving a painful problem affecting many people. My EdTech became pain relief for my customers' painful problems.Read and prosper from "Make More Money Now By Solving Massive Problems."With my health care company, I chased the money.When it comes to entrepreneur qualities that lead to failure, stop chasing the money. Instead, start chasing a passion.Of all the entrepreneur qualities that rob you of success, there's a legendary one.Are you making the worst mistake in both believing and following this myth?Keep reading to learn more.
Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it - Salvador Dali
One of the entrepreneur qualities that guarantee failure is striving for perfection.If you want to change lives, and dominate and win while you're at it, do one thing.Replace the belief of perfection with "good enough."Of entrepreneur qualities to avoid, chasing perfection is as fatal as chasing money.Don't do it.Why not chase perfection?Perfection neither exists in nature nor life. Save the idea of perfection for the movies.Read and prosper from "Want Success? Try These 11 Unusual Success Hacks."Losers chase perfection. Winners chase good enough.Chasing perfection robs you of momentum, experience, and time.Striving for good enough puts you in front of customers who will tell you what works and what doesn't work.When you chase good enough, you keep what works and remove what doesn't work.The first iteration of your product or service is inferior compared to your fourth.Smart and successful entrepreneurs involve their customers on their journey.Customers enjoy being part of the process and become raving fans.Looking for entrepreneur qualities that help you dominate and win? Chase good enough, and while you're at it, bury the concept of perfection.Speaking of burying entrepreneur qualities to avoid, do you know the one to avoid at all costs?Keep reading.
Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing - Warren Buffett
Whether you run a startup or an established company, your goal is to do whatever it takes to live another day.Entrepreneur qualities that are a kiss of death include taking on too much risk.Cockroach startups know this, and so should you.Read and prosper from "Cockroach Startups: What You Need To Know To Succeed And Prosper."Contrary to popular belief, successful entrepreneurs are not risk-takers. Instead, successful entrepreneurs avoid risk at all costs.Running out of time, not money is why business failures happen.A quick story.In the early days of my EdTech, Embanet, we didn't know what we didn't know.Our goal was to fail fast and often but to fail small.How do you fail small?Embanet ran small market tests to create momentum and traction.As a cockroach startup, Embanet spent a few hundred dollars on a market test.Ready for a loaded question?Here it is:If you had to choose between losing $200 or $20,000, what would you choose?When a marketing message worked, Embanet spent big on the message to dominate and win.If you want to dominate and win, replace risk with calculated risk.While there are no guarantees in life or business, calculated risks help you live another day.And when you combine a calculated risk with the notion of "good enough," the sky's the limit.
Entrepreneur qualities will either make you or break you.Adopt entrepreneur qualities that lead you to success, and drop the ones that lead to failure.Is success that simple?Yes.Who am I, and how do I know? I was that kid who started his EdTech right out of school with no money, business, or team.I had no business being in business. It was my grit and passion that kept me in the game to not only find success but create a 9-figure exit.How?I made it my quest to find out the specific entrepreneur qualities that work. All-day. Everyday.It took years of failure, frustration, and many experiments.If I can do it, so can you.What do you do and where do you start?Start with the first quality and master it before moving on to the next one.Before you know it, you'll have mastered all five entrepreneur qualities.So what are you waiting for?Here's to you and your success!Your Biggest Raving Fan,Jeffrey Feldberg
