Internet Quickstart

If you’re looking to rank among the highest echelons of entrepreneurial success, you might benefit by taking cues from established gurus. They have been where you are, struggled with the challenges you are struggling with, and overcome them to make big names (and big bucks!) for themselves. Here are 5 pieces of advice from entrepreneurs who have raked in millions:

1. Read non-fiction.

A quality fiction book can entertain you, possibly impart you with some life philosophy. A quality non-fiction book can help you build concrete skills and develop a library of knowledge that is relevant to the reality you’re living in. Millionaires regularly include non-fiction books in their reading. Through this reading, they become more capable individuals. They know how to get tax exemptions or how to make a great sales pitch. They are familiar with the success stories of industry giants, and they are in touch with the history, economy, social trends, and government policies that shape their market. Even if new information is not immediately relevant to your business, it might come in handy with networking, sizing up competitors, or branching out someday in the near future.

2. Don’t miss out on new technology.

The technology industry is a fast-paced machine, but it’s constantly spitting out new opportunities for you to get an edge on your competition. Although it’s not necessary for you to invest in each new gadget that comes out, you should always research breakthroughs in technology to see if they could help you up your game.

3. Don’t make money your only goal.

If you’re reading this article, it’s a safe bet that money is important to you. Still, as an entrepreneur, you’re going to be working hard for your money; there are easier ways to get rich than starting a business. Money alone is unlikely to keep you motivated through the dog days of work. Passion about seeing your ideas come to life and commitment to improving the lives of your customers will keep you going for much longer than visions of a full bank account will.

4. Burn the midnight oil.

If there’s a trope to biographies of the self-made millionaire, it’s the image of an entrepreneur hunched over his/her project, working tirelessly through the night. There’s a reason for that image’s ubiquity. The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who put in extra hours of work, waking up early and going to bed late so that their business gets the maximum amount of attention it can out of each day. If you want to be at the top of your game, work harder and smarter than your competitors. Study the habits of industry goliaths. Learn from their breakthroughs and mistakes. Learn how to model yourself into the person who can lead a winning business. During the early, make-or-break period of your business’s life, you are going to be the force that elevates into the millions or sinks it into the ground.