Be prepared to put in more than 100% effort.

The Cold, Hard Truth: If you’re thinking about starting your own business, chances are that you’re a hard worker. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance that your efforts will not be enough for success. In the early days of starting a company, it can be common to see 15 or 20 hour workdays. These long hours might feel necessary at first, but this type of schedule will not be sustainable forever. Instead of putting in more than 100% effort every day, it is important to step back and evaluate what needs attention first when approaching new tasks.

You will be rejected so many times, but you can’t take it personally.

• Don’t take it personally.
• Use rejection as a motivator to improve your product and yourself.
• Learn how to fail.
• Be persistent.
• Be flexible and open-minded. You can’t be afraid of changing your mind, making mistakes, or revising your idea to make it more viable in response to market feedback.

Wear many hats.

One of the first things you may notice when you start your own business is how many hats you have to wear. Depending on the size of your enterprise and its goals, you might be doing jobs that range from human resources to accounting to customer service. If this sounds like a lot—that’s because it is. The good news is that there are plenty of tools and resources available for small business owners. You can hire experts who can help with everything from financing to marketing. However, there will still be a lot of tasks that only you know how to do and only you can do—no matter what the books tell you about delegation.

Don’t let a bad day keep you from seeing the bigger picture.

Don’t let a bad day keep you from seeing the bigger picture. There are always going to be days in which everything feels like it is going wrong and no one appreciates what you do. Don’t take it personally, but try to look at the bigger picture instead. Don’t let a bad day ruin the rest of your week, and focus on the good things instead! And if something does go wrong or you make a mistake, learn from it, don’t beat yourself up over it and move on as quickly as possible. Most importantly, stay positive!

Remember that it’s not all about you.

Being an entrepreneur is more than just having a great idea. It’s about being able to communicate the idea to investors, the public, and the government. It’s about being able to coordinate teams of people to help you realize that idea and make it into something tangible. Remember that a business is not all about you; you are part of a team, and your success depends on many other people. If you’re not comfortable sharing responsibilities with others or delegating tasks in order to build something bigger than yourself, then entrepreneurship may not be for you.

Try to learn from people who have already taken the path you will take

• Speak to successful entrepreneurs.
• Read articles written by entrepreneurs and other business leaders, as well as books about starting a business.
• Focus on the areas where people have had the most difficulty or made mistakes.
• Reach out to established people in your industry for mentorship. There are plenty of resources online that can help you find someone, such as Linkedin and other professional networks.