Taking the plunge to start your own business can be a scary experience. Entrepreneurship has no set rules – it becomes what you make of it. This lack of organization and lack structure may very well be the reason that entrepreneurship comes with plethora of uncertainties and.

Entrepreneurial hesitation and uncertainty can be minimized – if not eliminated – if you work hard and smart. Thought it does come with challenges that will test your mettle, entrepreneurship bears sweet fruit.

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Let’s try and alleviate any potential hardship you may encounter while starting your own venture. Here are some tips you can employ to elevate your chances of entrepreneurial success.

1. Find a mentor

Getting a hold of an experienced mentor would be very beneficial to the prosperity of your business. These individuals may have already endured all the hardships you’re about to face and could potentially walk you through it all.

Mentors are also great to help you fine-tune ideas and perfect them before applying them. They may find flaws you’ve overlooked and provide solutions to your problems and hurdles that you face.

In addition, your networking circle automatically grows once a mentor boards your entrepreneurial ship. He or she could introduce you to other individuals with whom valuable business relationships can be built.

Here’s a testimonial about the benefits on-boarding a mentor can have on your business:

Entrepreneur Amy Backlock, health and wellness expert at “Life Zemplified” says “mentors can provide valuable connections and industry contacts.” In addition, Amy states – “he [mentor] was a source of endless information, important contacts, and a terrific sounding board for me, all contributing to my success.“

Now that we discussed the importance of having a mentor to provide you guidance…which brings me to another similar entrepreneurial tip –

2. Surround yourself with inspiring individuals

“You are the average of the 5 people with whom you spend the most time with.” – Jon Rohn.

Those words may have an impact on the close circle of friends you’ve built up over the years. After all, it’s no secret that we as people like to feed off of each others energy while operating in social environment.

To become a successful entrepreneur, you need to build yourself a nourishing social environment. Having positive, inspiring people within your friend group is a great way to improve not only your personal life, but your professional life too!

Make an effort to join some networking groups, clubs, and envelop yourself with people that lift you up. Like aforementioned mentors, these people may provide you with valuable advice, and motivation when you need it most.

3. Don’t be afraid to say “NO”

Saying the word “no” when confronted with a question, especially in a business environment can pose challenges. This is even more difficult when you’re the new kid on the block and are trying to make a name for yourself with new vendors and clients alike.

Turning into a “yes man” can bring about more problems than you’re capable of dealing with. Vendors could very well take advantage and clients may start overloading you with more work than you can handle. Without the word “no”, your accounts payable may be over-inflated, and your obligations out of reach.

4. Make time for yourself and release stress

Working hard and devoting yourself to your venture is essential for its success – avoiding burnouts is equally important. Expending all your energy to manage and grow a business can only get you so far. Time needs to be allocated to relaxation and to wind down from all the stresses associated with running your own business.

Burnouts are becoming increasingly common in today’s world – even more so for entrepreneurs. Research has shown that burnouts have very real consequences – not only is your productivity reduced, it increases the chance of heart attacks and stroke.

Relax! Take some time out of your busy schedule and dedicate it to something fun, not work related. Not only will this help improve your productivity, but also your mental and physical health.

Here is a list of potential hobbies you can try out as a way to alleviate stress, and to reduce the likelihood of a burn out. These may also become a breeding ground for new relationships to be formed that can supplement your social and networking circles.

5. Your social life shouldn’t suffer

Work hard play hard. You have your own business and you work hard at it. However hectic your life should be, don’t forget your friends and family.

It’s easy to succumb to tunnel vision; focusing on managing your venture while letting your social life fall by the wayside. Having a balanced schedule may be hard, especially at the beginning stages of starting and growing your business. However, this shouldn’t stop you from finding time to hang out with friends and meeting up your family.

Fun fact! A robust social life has shown to improve cognitive function, elevate mood, boost cardiovascular health, and even enhance illness recovery rates. Something to think about next time you consider declining your friend’s invite for a night out – for the 5 time.

6. Seek out challenges

Let’s face it, not many things in life are easy, and if they are, you’re not testing your limits.

If you have decided to start your own business, you clearly enjoy a challenge. Keep seeking out more challenges – the hunt doesn’t stop.

Treat every day as a potential lesson for you to learn from. As you encounter challenges and overcome them, you sharpen your skillet and become a more formidable entrepreneur.

7. Time management – plan ahead

Time management is one of those things that can quite literally make or break you – whether its in a professional setting or otherwise. Mapping out your daily routine ahead of schedule is something worth consider. Actually it’s something I would strongly urge you to do.

Make a to-do list and setting up daily goals. This has actually shown to improve productivity and time management.

Keep all the tasks you’re hoping to achieve in any given day reasonable and within reach. What I mean by that is make sure all of the things you hope to accomplish in any given day are within your control and something that can be done within the set time frame.

Speaking of time.

Set yourself deadlines. Stick to those deadlines. Although you’re technically the boss, you should still be accountable for the deadlines that you’ve set. You may even invoke the help of a mentor to oversee the accountability side of things. Doesn’t hurt to have someone looking out for you in this regard; minimizes the chances of procrastination.

8. Actively seek out for feedback

Here is the thing, and I hope I don’t break your heart by saying this, but you’re not perfect. I am not perfect. Businesses aren’t perfect, and yours isn’t either. That’s okay, because we are always willing to improve – or at least should strive to improve.

Easy way to start improvement is through gathering and assessing customer feedback. See how your business is perceived by its customers. Makes sense to try and listen to the ones who are keeping the lights on and food on your table.

There are a variety of ways to acquire customer feedback. You may create a business profile on variety of social media sites, where customers can leave ratings and comments about the interaction they had with your business. Provide a feedback email, or a comment box at your brick-and-mortar location.

Improvement never stops. No matter how successful you are, always make an effort to listen to your customers and see how you can enhance your business in the future.

9. Budget and utilize resources wisely

Resources are scarce and capital may not always be easy to come by. It’s in your best interest to utilize each resource efficiently. Now this may sound like common sense. But you’d be surprised just how many entrepreneurs start throwing around their money without a strategy once they get a sizable investment.

Time goes by, and all that money spent brought no results.

Be meticulous with your cash. Plan far ahead and be prepared for the worst. Have a fall-back fund ready when a dry spell hits and business slows down.

Keep working hard

Being an entrepreneur is not an easy feat – those of you who chose this path will surely be tested. Even if you do incorporate all of the tips for aspiring entrepreneurs mentioned above, you won’t succeed without hard work.

Don’t get complacent, no matter how successful you’re becoming. Keep setting goals, set your sights on an objective and go get it. Make sure you have the right people supporting you and continue to work on your relationships – both professional and personal.

“Keep working hard” wasn’t so much as tip, but a reminder to you that hard work in conjunction with all other advice amplifies your chances of success.