I read an article by Ryan Robinson and thought you would like to know what he has learned through his interviews and studies of the most successful entrepreneurs. What makes them successful? Why do they succeed when so many do not?

1. They Listen More Than They Speak – You may have heard how difficult Steve Jobs was to work for and how he had a hard time giving up control. Even Jobs had a team of advisors and talented employees behind the scenes. His relationship with Apple’s Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive was one of extreme trust when it came to product design. Richard Branson named listening as one of his three most important leadership principles. “Listening enables us to learn from each other, from the marketplace, and from the mistakes that must be made in order to get anywhere that is original and disruptive.”
2. They’re Ready to Embrace Failure – Without being reckless, entrepreneurs need to take risks accept that there will be failures as well as successes. Nearly every successful entrepreneur has failures in their history. Many have forgotten that at one point the Apple board ousted Jobs as CEO. It was after he spent time developing NeXT and Pixar that he was able to make a triumphant return to Apple. He did not lose heart when he was dumped from the company he built, but instead embraced failure and moved forward.
3. They’re Extremely Curious – Naveen Jain, Inc. columnist, says “you should always remind yourself that the day before something is a breakthrough, it’s just a crazy idea.” He believes the most precious resource on the planet is Big Thinkers. Thomas Edison would never have come up with his inventions – the phonograph and motion picture camera and electric light bulb – if he had not been curious. Entrepreneurs do not make it through life by being indifferent to the world around them. They are always looking for the next way to make something better.
4. They’re Determined to Follow Their Passions – Graham Young says “passion is something that will stem from your beliefs, be enhanced by your skills and sustained by the value that you are able to provide.” Successful entrepreneurs know what their passion is and make it an all-out effort to ensure that they wholeheartedly follow that passion. Most spend long hours running their businesses. It is much easier to devote this time if you are doing something you love.
5. They Admit What They Don’t Know – Genuinely successful, self-made entrepreneurs are not the arrogant people they are portrayed to be. Most are the first to admit they do not know it all. It’s the vocal few that get all the attention. Richard Branson: “Learning and leadership go together. Too much credit goes to me for what we have achieved at Virgin, but the successes happen from working and learning with some of the world’s most inspiring and inspired people.”
6. They Know When (and How) to Say No – Successful entrepreneurs can see a multitude of opportunities for their business to take. They can also see that it would not be beneficial (or possible) for them to pursue every opportunity that comes their way. They need to be selective and concentrate their focus on only those ideas with the greatest potential. Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 when the company had a range of 350 products. He reduced this number to 10 in two years. He was able to give Apple a real focus, a practice they continue today.
7. They Know the Importance of Balance – There is more to life than just running a business. Successful entrepreneurs spend quality time with their families, take breaks and vacations. When asked by an MBA class, two of the reasons he cited for his success were picking the right spouse, and staying in Nebraska rather than moving to New York City – providing a less stressful lifestyle.
8. They Know How to Build a Good Team – As an entrepreneur, you will quickly discover that you cannot do everything by yourself. It is physically impossible and you will burn out. One human being is unlikely to have the full skill set needed to run a successful company alone.  Successful entrepreneurs have built a team of loyal, creative, skilled people. To be successful you need to know how to delegate, how to allow others to become involved, and allow them to make decisions in their areas of responsibility.

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