1. They Don’t Network in Just One Group

Smart entrepreneurs never limit themselves, especially in the networking field.

If you want to build some SaaS in the tech sphere, then it doesn’t mean that all of your friends must be tech guys.

It doesn’t work that way.

You need to look at the things you create from different perspectives, and there’s no better way than to talk to many people from absolutely different spheres and with different interests.

It just gives you more knowledge and makes it possible to look at your product objectively.

Wider connections, a wider perspective, and wider thinking overall.

My main point of interest is UI/UX design. However, I talk to writers, programmers, project managers, and musicians every day. It just helps me to improve as a human being. And as an entrepreneur as well.

You can’t imagine how many insights and ideas I got from just listening to others. Listening to the ones that know in one sphere or another.

So, networking would be one of the most crucial parts of starting a successful startup. Try to meet with as many people as possible, you never know which one will help you turn your ideas into reality.

2. They Don’t Copy-Paste Success

We have all been reading the biographies and know how Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs created their companies in the garage. We also know where they live, where they went to school, which books they read, and so on and so on.

The crucial part here is that we tend to copy their lives, and it seems pretty logical. But it’s not.

If we know that Mark Wahlberg has some crazy morning routine (I wouldn’t even call it a morning routine; it’s a full-day one), then it doesn’t tell us anything about how our routine should go.

Of course, these are the most successful people in the world. But we’re all different, with different minds, bodies, and goals. If you think that waking up at 5 am, going for a run, or practicing meditation for half an hour doesn’t make you productive, then just stop doing it.

I’ve had this problem for a while. I thought that to increase my chances of being successful, I needed to do everything that Elon Musk did. That was a terrible idea.

After living that way for a while, I decided to make my own life and make my own strategy. And you won’t believe it; it really worked!

Smart entrepreneurs don’t mimic others’ lives. Instead, they analyze the underlying principles to create their own innovative strategies, routines, etc.

Define your own goals and what you want to do in the long term. Then just keep with that.

Look at the successful people and analyze them; don’t just copy

3. They Don’t Treat Customers as Transactions

You can’t imagine how often I see this mistake.

Looking at your customer as a bag of money is the worst thing you can do to get this ‘money’.

Yeah, we hear it from every corner, but it’s really important to understand.

Customers are your friends, not the guys that you need to sell some useless stuff to.

Your task is to offer something meaningful, make them loyal to you, and get money from doing something for them.

Smart people see beyond the sale, beyond the cash dropping in the bank account. Focusing on customer success and getting feedback from them is the lifeblood of their business’s growth.

So, think about it whenever you want to sell anything to anyone.

4. They Don’t Fear Competition Within Their Team

Look, I’m the CEO and run my design agency full-time.

I have a small team of designers, which I’m proud of and with which I’ve been working for almost 2 years. Each of us has our own unique skills, but we’re all good at design overall.

Whenever I see a place for competition, I always start it.

There’s no better way to practice and learn something new than to compete with your co-workers. It also shows who’s better in which aspect and gives them the ability to delegate future tasks more efficiently.

Instead of being intimidated by talented team members, smart entrepreneurs create an environment of growth and learning, understanding that a strong team creates the entire business.

5. They Don’t Let Ideas Slip Away

That’s a key thing for me. I talked about it more closely in my newsletter recently.

Sometimes, I just can’t sleep because of the infinite number of ideas and thoughts that I have on my mind.

It’s a common thing for me to get up at 3 am just to write down some interesting insights that just flew into my head.

The only question is how to store and process them.

That’s what differentiates a smart entrepreneur from the usual one.

Nobody knows which idea is truly revolutionizing and which one is a bullsh*t.

The only thing that we know is how we use these insights in our lives and business.

I would suggest that you form the habit of writing down everything that you have on your mind and creating a structure for these notes. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just should ‘be’.

You shouldn’t spend a week thinking about which tool would suit it the best. Use something pre-built, such as the Notes app on iPhone, which I’ve been using for several years already.

6. They Don’t See Problems as Dead Ends

Instead of getting discouraged by the challenges and problems, smart entrepreneurs view each of them as another brick in a wall.

If you’ve faced some huge barriers on your way, then it’s time for your inner entrepreneurial spirit.

The main reason why entrepreneurship and business exist is to solve problems.

You come up with your idea, your technology, and your product to solve a specific problem for a specific group of people.

The larger the problem and the larger the number of people who have it, the more useful and successful your product will be.

In other words, problems are the only thing that can allow you to build something on your own.

We should be pleasing the world for giving us more problems. Only they can show us who struggles and who is searching for a new creative way of solving them.

7. They Don’t Multitask

That’s a weak point for everyone who is obsessed with productivity.

We want to try as many things as possible at once. In our opinion, it would lead to much better productivity.

The harsh truth is that the only thing it leads to is a loss of focus. You’ll get into chaos and will only decrease all of your productivity to zero.

I always use this metaphor: Is it better to walk 1 step in 20 directions or 20 steps in 1 direction?

Which will lead to the most output and the best results?

8. They Don’t Forget to Recharge

If a guy tells you that you don’t need to recharge, then you should stop listening to him or punch him in the face.

Most of us take David Goggins’s advice the wrong way. If he doesn’t take any days off, then it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t rest throughout the day.

I’m not a guy who would go on a 30-day vacation after achieving something significant. I live a normal life, and when good things happen, I can take a moment to get the most out of them.

In other words, when I acquire another $5,000+ client for my agency or get 20k+ views on my article, then I don’t go crazy about it. The only thing that I can do is go hiking or skiing, which is the best relaxation for me.

It doesn’t take that much time, and I never recharge for more than one day.

In fact, I’d even say that it’s really good to go out for these relaxation moments, not only for your mental health but also for your productivity.

Recharging is more like a have-to-action to make some progress. It’s like taking a good 8-hour sleep, especially after working out. Without this rest, the muscles just won’t grow.

Also, if you don’t celebrate your wins, even the small ones, then you’ll lose the sense of progress and end up burning out. We definitely don’t want that, do we?

So, smart entrepreneurs always take the recharging part seriously and keep track of their mental health.

9. They Don’t Shy Away from Uncomfortable Decisions

Business isn’t about laying on the beach and spending all of your time relaxing, especially when just starting out.

It’s a lot of stress and hard decisions that would give you a headache most of the time.

Smart entrepreneurs understand that the path to success is not paved with comfortable choices and should never hide from them.

They recognize that growth often requires stepping out of one’s comfort zone and making decisions that may feel risky or unpleasant.

If you want to succeed, then you need to leave all the emotions behind and think logically.

Get ready to change your business plans quickly if you spot a better path to take.

This can mean giving up on a lot of work you’ve already done. It’s okay to drop a product that is not selling or end a partnership that is not working. No matter how much time and effort you’ve put into it.

Smart entrepreneurs are not afraid to make these hard choices. That’s what makes them stand out in the business world.

10. They Don’t Think, They Do

We often overthink too much. Smarter entrepreneurs don’t.

Yeah, reading an article like this one is cool, but truly doing and implementing something from it is much cooler.

Become a doer and not a thinker.

Just stop thinking so much about the problems, about what you’re gonna face if you take this step, and about which marketing strategy is the best.

The only thing that you need to do is to test different things out. This is why the MVP term even exists.

You don’t have to build large business plans and deep, deep roadmaps; the only thing that you need is to publish your product on the market.

Obviously, it doesn’t have to be perfect, and it won’t be. But it gives you an understanding of what can be improved.

Running tens of different marketing strategies and finding the one that would work perfectly in your scenario is the #1 thing that you should focus on.

Nobody would tell you what you should do, except for you and your own experience