Entrepreneur

How To Be An Entrepreneur While Still In College

February 28, 2018 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

As an entrepreneur on the college schedule, I often get questions about how I manage my time. How do I go to classes, do homework, run, and run a business while keeping everything together.

I’m going to be very honest. You need to make sacrifices, but not as many as you think. You will need to cut back on TV and other activities. No matter how good the business school is, you’ll need to self-educate yourself how to become a successful entrepreneur.

You’ll need to read more books, listen to more audiobooks and podcast episodes, and if you watch videos, they need to be educational.

Yes, it’s a big change, but you don’t need to sacrifice your social life. I play pool for several hours each week. I run which serves as fitness and interacting with my teammates. I don’t head over to the library and only emerge when there’s five minutes until the next class.

In fact, I never go to the library (Note: if you dorm, go to the library. Instead of the library, I go home after my classes and commit hours of that time towards my work. If you dorm, you don’t have that option).

The Weekend Is Your Treasure

Some college students party every weekend. A day spent partying is two days wasted. One day for the party and the other day for the recovery.

The college entrepreneurs who take their work seriously don’t have time for that. Weekends present hours of uninterrupted time for work. Sure, there may be some homework in between, but the weekends are your time.

Since you’ll have to do it when you graduate, you might as well use this time now to move your business forward. If you’re reading this and are still in college, don’t wait until you get out. About half of the people who remark on my productivity also wish they were doing the same things when they were my age.

Team Up For Classes

If you skip all of your classes to pursue entrepreneurship, you might as well drop out. College is very expensive, and you either choose one or do both.

To make the workload easier, quickly make a new friend in each class you’re in. Ideally, get friendly with people who are in multiple classes.

That way, when you need help with the homework or want to know if there was homework, you can ask someone who will help you. When the test comes, you have a study partner.

Two heads are better than one, and it will cut down the workload for you and your friend. If you know no one in the class, get friendly with at least one person. That person may know other people in the class.

Have The Long-Term Vision

This is the big dream that keeps you up at night. When you finally nod off, you’re dreaming about this big dream.

Some people set long-term vision goals of becoming a millionaire, being a bestselling author, and impacting many people in a big way. What are your goals for five years, 10 years, and beyond?

Get specific. Don’t say you want to be a millionaire. Say that you want $1,145,284.53 in your savings account in five years. The more specific, the better.

Set Micro Visions Along The Way

Long-term visions aren’t guarantees. They don’t magically happen a few years out of college. Micro visions get you clear on the work you need to do first.

Micro visions allow you to lay out what you need to do this week and month to achieve your annual objectives. Just like anyone else, I set New Year’s resolutions. I get most of them accomplished because I set micro visions that I use as stepping stones towards my resolutions.

If I want to get 150,000 Twitter followers in one year, then in the first month, I want to gain at least 15,000 followers. I know at that rate, I’ll surpass my goal. I’d rather start ahead than behind because that gives me a better chance of finishing ahead.

Micro visions get you clear on the actions you can take now on your way towards long-term goals. All that’s left at this point is to do the work.

Self-Educate

I briefly mentioned it before, but I need to mention it again. You don’t need to read 10-30 books every month like I do. However, you need to self-educate yourself whether it be through written content, audio, or videos.

One power tip for reading books is that once you’ve read enough books, you need to choose five books that you’ll read every day. You won’t read these books from cover to cover. Rather, you’ll read different sections of each book even if you just read 2-3 pages in each book.

Daily immersion in the books that had the biggest impact on you will keep you in the right frame of mind. I read five books for two minutes each to start my morning. It’s a great way to kickstart my mindset.

A Few Other Things

Some people need straight As. While I intentionally aim higher because that will boost my GPA, I just need straight Bs to maintain my desired 3.00 GPA. I typically end up with a 3.20–3.30 GPA every semester. You should aim for a respectable GPA, but you don’t need a 4.0 especially when you’re putting in the extra work as an entrepreneur.

Find creative ways to make ordinary time productive. Daymond John meets with people when he eats. While driving, you can create a podcast episode or listen to an audiobook. Think of how you can turn any moment into productive time.

Don’t let your battery drop to zero. If you feel like you’re running on fumes, you won’t be running for long. No, Red Bull is not the answer. Don’t trick yourself or your body.

In Conclusion

Chances are if you made it to the end, you either want to be a college entrepreneur or tell a college student about this. Maybe you’re a professor who wants to share these teachings with your students.

This is my basic ideology for being a college entrepreneur. It’s how I get my homework and business work done.

What were your thoughts on my approach to being a college entrepreneur? Do you have any tips for college students who want to pursue the entrepreneurial bug? Do you have a question for me? Sound off in the comments section below.

7 Tips To Train Your Freelancers For Higher Performance

January 14, 2018 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

training employees
Hiring freelancers to perform various tasks within your business is exciting. You are on the road to delegating more of the busywork tasks so you can focus more of your time on your top priorities. All that’s left with the delegation is to ensure that your freelancers are getting the job done.

Easier said than done.

Even the best freelancer can’t get the job done without your advice. You need systems in place to ensure freelancers can consistently perform their jobs at their highest level. To train your freelancers to perform at a higher level, follow these tips.

#1: Getting On The Same Page

The main reason freelancers don’t fulfill expectations is because the employer and the freelancer never seem to be on the same page. The employer has one expectation, and the freelancer believes the employer’s expectation is something else.

This results in frustration on both sides because the employer either says nothing or a “Why aren’t you doing the work you’re supposed to,” while the freelancer assumes that they’re already fulfilling the employer’s expectations.

To get on the same page, identify clear goals and create processes to get the work done. The more clear you make the workflow and objectives, the more likely you and your freelancer will be on the same page.

#2: Communication

communicating with team

When you delegate a task, you take that task off your shoulders. However, you now have a new task—communicating with your freelancers.

By assessing their work, you can spot strengths and weaknesses. This will help you give more valuable feedback the freelancers can use to achieve a higher performance. When giving this feedback, emphasize the weaknesses AND the strengths. Most feedback tends to be one-sided towards the weaknesses. Don’t let that be the feedback you give.

#3: Use Google Docs

I absolutely love using Google Docs to lay out instructions for my freelancers. I could go off a tangent on how helpful they have been for me and my freelancers. For podcast show notes, I created a rubric for the show notes. My freelancer then puts in the info for those show notes.

I originally had to take the information he provided and put it in my own rubric. Now that is done for me. Even the episodes get scheduled for me. All I do for the Breakthrough Success Podcast is find guests, prep for the interviews, conduct the interviews, and send the files over. The rest of the post-interview process is handled by my freelancers.

Google Docs made that transition possible, and I now create a Google Doc for all of my freelancers. They can see your expectations laid out and make edits if appropriate (i.e. putting show notes content in their appropriate places).

#4: Use Images

We are visual learners who process images 60,000 times faster than text. That’s why I prefer to provide my freelancers with images showing them what to do than describing what to do.

This is especially useful when you need a freelancer to find an feature on an online tool. Instead of saying, “This is where you find the feature I want you to use,” I show them where to find that feature on their dashboard. This removes the guess work and replaces it with clarity on what I expect.

#5: Invite Them To Ask Questions

employee questions

You may not always view yourself as the boss of a company. However, the moment you hire a freelancer, you become the boss of your company. After getting over the initial ego boost, understand that your freelancers have a working relationship with you where you are the boss.

If you choose the right freelancers, they will have no problem with asking you questions or calling you out if you’re not doing a good job. Others will be more afraid and say nothing so they can keep receiving their paychecks without worry.

You need to encourage all of your freelancers to ask questions and call you out. Make your work environment open so people can give ideas and suggestions without fear. If your freelancers are afraid of you, overtime you will miss out on many ideas and suggestions that could have taken your business to the next level and beyond.

#6: Assess Their Work

Don’t assume that your new freelancer will immediately become a high performer. Some freelancers devote their time to the wrong areas. That doesn’t mean these freelancers were bad picks. In many cases, it means expectations weren’t clearly established or they don’t know the most effective and efficient process for getting the work done.

The best way to track progress is to assess the work of your freelancers. Weekly assessments will allow you to determine what actions your freelancers can take to boost efficiency and effectiveness.

As you get more freelancers, I recommend delegating this task to a highly trusted freelancer. Work with this freelancer for the first few weeks to make sure the weekly assessments help the freelancers achieve a higher performance.

#7: Check-Ins

In addition to weekly assessments, you should also check-in with your freelancers every week. Checking in will renew both your commitment and your freelancers’ commitment to your business goals.

I recommend conducting the check-ins through Skype so you can view the freelancer’s computer screen if necessary, but any check-in method works. In the weekly check-ins, you can go over the weekly assessment, talk about what’s ahead, and ask if your freelancer has suggestions or needs help.

In Conclusion

Delegating your tasks to others is a very exciting process. You’ll see what life as a boss is like and have more time to focus on your priorities.

With this newfound time comes the responsibility of treating your freelancers like gold. When a freelancer makes the commitment to work for you, you are that freelancer’s source of income. You are the person who helps them put food on the table.

And if you fire them, you cut off their income.

This is why you want to hire the right freelancers so you don’t have to fire anyone. However, you also have to properly train your freelancers because the best freelancer with the worst training won’t get the job done.

With that said, if you think about firing someone, just get it over with. Not only will it release the feelings of pain you’ve been holding, but you are robbing the freelancer with the false idea that he/she has a secure job. It’s better to never face that decision. That’s why you need to hire the best and train them to get the job done.

What are your thoughts about delegation? Do you train your freelancers? Are you a freelancer? Do you have a question for me? Sound off in the comments section below.

The Secret Sauce To Getting More Done

December 16, 2015 by Marc Guberti 2 Comments

If you do something every day for about 66 days, it becomes a habit. Something that you couldn’t imagine doing at all suddenly becomes common in your life a little over two months later. When 2015 began, one of my family’s goals for the year was to sell the piano in our garage.

In mid-August we made a sale, but by a stroke of luck, it was that moment when I wanted to play the piano every day. I hadn’t even touched it for a few years. Now I wanted to play it every day. Sale canceled.

My decision shocked us all. I knew at that point I was automatically committed to playing the piano every day. However, I had to build the commitment. A few months later and now I’m playing the piano every day.

On some days, I am playing the piano for more time than I spend on my business. How did that happen? The first reason is because I quickly fell in love with it. The second reason is that I set forth a plan to get me from Day 0 to Day 66. I knew that once I was playing the piano on the 66th day, it would be effortless for me to play the piano every day.

As a productivity expert, I knew many tricks of the trade. The best way to perform a task every day is to give yourself a productivity spreadsheet. For the piano, I would identify what songs I had to play and what exercises I had to perform to allow my fingers to cover a greater range of the keyboard.

Before I turn this blog into a musical blog, I’ll shift back to business. You don’t have to play the piano to utilize this method. In fact, I use productivity spreadsheets do create videos for my training courses every day. Productivity spreadsheets are the main reason why I can create numerous videos every day but still have time for the piano.

Productivity spreadsheets work like this:

#1: Have A Physical Calendar

Yes, a physical one. I am what some people would call a digital native. Just as people describe this current generation as Generation Z, many people refer to the people in this generation as the digital natives.

However, this is something that you can’t do on a device. There is something about writing down your dreams and goals on a piece of paper that you don’t get by typing them on the screen.

I tend to take a piece of paper and fill in the boxes and form my calendar. All of the boxes and numbers are drawn on the paper with a marker. That’s how seriously I take the idea of having a physical, non-digital calendar. And I’m a digital native. Let that sink in.

#2: Apply The Seinfeld Method

The Seinfeld Method is one of the best ways known to mankind to stay accountable. You simply put an “X” on all of the days that you complete the task. Then, keep the streak of “X’s” going. I used to have a calendar of “X’s” for playing the piano every day. Each time I could write another “X” on the calendar, I felt more accomplished.

I no longer have a calendar for “X’s” for playing the piano because it’s habitual. I don’t even think about it. I just do it.

That’s all a productivity spreadsheet is (fine, you can call them calendars but I personally think spreadsheet sounds cooler). However, how do we fully utilize those productivity spreadsheets so they allow us to be more productive? These are two power tips:

#1: Identify What You Will Do The Night Before

The best time to plan your day is the night before. At nighttime, we aren’t in the rigorous workflow state of the mind. At night, we tend to be more creative since there are fewer boundaries. Think about what your schedule looks like at 1 pm. You could be doing so many different things at 1 pm.

So, as an extreme example, what are you doing at 1 am. Chances are you aren’t working. You are either sleeping or are absolutely fried.

The longer we stay up, the less productive we become. It is at this time, just before going to bed, when we need to identify what we will do on the following day. That way, we can wake up knowing what we must accomplish.

You don’t want to think about what your day will comprise of in the morning because at that point, you are losing too much valuable time. Your first hour dictates how the rest of your day goes. Have a productive first hour, and you will probably have a more productive day.

#2: Take The Path Of Least Resistance

Let’s say you want to create video every day and turn that into a habit. You have done some videos here and there but are still not super comfortable with the whole process. I give you two options:

You must complete at least one five-minute video per day
You must complete at least 10 five-minute videos per day

It would be more incredible to do the 10 videos. However, that’s not how we become productive. We are creatures of habit who hate dramatic changes. We can achieve dramatic changes by taking one step at a time.

Most people like to view dramatic change as a colossal leap. That colossal leap is simply the combined total of a series of smaller leaps taken in advance.

To turn a task into a habit, you must perform that task every day for 66 days. It is easier in the beginning to turn one video per day into a habit than it is to turn 10 videos per day into a habit. Focusing on completing a minimum of one video per day allows you to build a strong foundation. That strong foundation results in habit formation.

Finally, once you have the strong foundation, and you choose to strengthen it, you can eventually get to the point of completing at least 10 five-minute videos per day.

In the beginning, you aren’t going for workload. You are going for consecutive days of completion. Only pay attention to the workload after the 66th day.

In Conclusion

If you want to turn your newest tasks into effortless habits, then you need to create productivity spreadsheets for those tasks. The key to becoming productive is to do a little bit each day. Once you have a solid foundation, you can begin to expand upon that foundation.

What are your thoughts about the productivity spreadsheet method? Which of these methods did you like the most? What are your tips for boosting productivity? Sound off in the comments section below.

How To Find Your Voice On The Web

December 9, 2015 by Marc Guberti 6 Comments

What do you stand for? What makes you who you are? How can you use that to build an authority and find your on the web?

These three questions are commonly discussed. We want to chase our passions and make money by doing what we love to do.

We spend about 33% of our lives working. That’s a lot of time to either be happy or sad. Finding your voice on the web allows you to gradually build an authority.

Before you can build an authority, you need to find your voice. Here’s how:

Ask Yourself This Question

What is your purpose?

This question will allow you to learn a lot about yourself. If you ask yourself this question every day, you will eventually discover what your purpose is.

Your purpose is the reason you are here. You build your voice around your purpose so you enjoy what you do.

If you are having difficulty finding your purpose, just ask yourself what you like doing. If you don’t like to do something, then it isn’t for you.

In other words, your purpose won’t be to do something that you hate. That’s not living life to its fullest potential.

Your purpose is to do more than to survive. Your purpose is to thrive in a certain area. Where you are to thrive will open itself up if you search for it.

Find Role Models Who Are Fulfilling Your Purpose

Chances are some people already live the way you want to. Their fulfilled purposes parallel with your purpose that you want to fulfill.

There are two ways to look at people who are already where you want to be. Each viewpoint also presents its different consequences:

#1: Envy. You will wish you were in that person’s position and hope to see that person falls. If you can’t have it, neither can the other person. Envy guarantees failure.

#2: Admiration. You recognize that the same people fulfilling the purpose you wish to fulfill started out where you are now. These people then become your role models and help you achieve success. Admire others and soon enough others will admire you.

I have many role models, and I admire them all. This admiration allowed me to become a better individual. Instead of wishing I was them, I use them as motivation.

That’s how we should view all of our role models.

Put In The Work

Identifying your purpose lets you know what you have to do. Finding role models lets you see who is living out your purpose the right way, and who you should use for inspiration.

Once you have these first two steps done, the next step is to simply put in the work.

No matter what blog post you read about becoming successful or doing something incredible, putting in the work will show up in one way or the other.

You don’t become an athlete without putting in the work. You don’t become a bestselling author without putting in the work.

And you definitely don’t become a successful entrepreneur without putting in the work.

Identify the type of work you must put in, and then simply put in the work every day. Regardless of how much work you put in every day, it is critical to put in the work daily.

Putting in the work every day will eventually turn that work into a habit. Eventually, you won’t even think about it as work.

It is better to do the work for 15 minutes every day than it is to only do three hours over the weekend but do nothing during the weekdays.

Mathematically, that doesn’t make much sense. 15 minutes per day does not add up to three hours (it only adds up to 1 hour and 45 minutes).

The importance is that 15 minutes per day turns the work into a habit. Once you turn the work into a habit, it becomes effortless.

If you have time in your schedule, it won’t take long before you can comfortably perform the same work for 30 minutes each day.

It becomes more fun. You get more productive. You feel comfortable doing what you do.

It is better to be consistent than it is to get all of the work done in one day.

Reflect And See If This Is Right For You

After you put in the work, you now have the opportunity to reflect. Is this really something that you want to do for the rest of your life?

Some people will say yes while others will say no.

All that matters is what you say.

If you believe you are on the right track, then stay on that track. If you don’t believe your current path is for you, then get on another path.

The moment you lose belief in yourself is when everything gradually falls apart (unless you change).

I like to reflect by writing in a journal every night. Before I go to bed, I write about the dreams I am chasing after. Writing in my journal every night reinforces the idea that my dreams are worth it and that I must get them.

Everything I am feeling in my mind lands on the journal. The cool part is that many months later, I will look back at those entries and see what I was thinking at the time.

A journal doesn’t cost much. The experiences it provides you with as you chase your dreams may become unforgettable.

In Conclusion

Finding your voice lets you know what you must be. The work that helps you amplify your voice and live life the way you want to matters more than any of your other workload.

Put in the work to achieve your dreams, and with patience, your dreams will be achieved. Patience is the most important part of the process. Few people have it which is why compared to the world population, few people are successful.

Which part of this process do you think is the most important? Do you have any other tips for us to find our voices and build authorities around them? Sound off in the comments section below.

7 Characteristics That All Leaders Share

November 6, 2015 by Marc Guberti 3 Comments

When we see leaders in action, it is hard to not admire them. We all have role models in our lives who impact us. Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, Seth Godin has been my role model. He’s a leader.

As we see the leaders in action, we can’t help but ask ourselves, “What makes a great leader?” Leaders possess many characteristics that lead to the role model status. These are seven of those characteristics.

#1: Always Learning

No matter how successful a leader becomes, that leader will always continue learning. Seth Godin spends a large percentage of his time reading through business books. The top professional athletes are learning more ways to play the game differently. Even though it’s against my team, this Mike Trout slide proves my point. He’s one of the best in the game, but he is still learning more about the game.

The leaders are often students to this day. It’s hard to teach or do something without learning it first. If you want to teach or do something very well, you need to spend more time learning. Some leaders commit their lives to learning a particular skill. Even when they are considered the best in the world at a particular skill, leaders continue learning.

#2: Implement

Ah yes, the “I” word. You can learn everything there is to know about your niche. However, if you don’t implement, then the knowledge does not mean anything to do. Implemented knowledge is power. Knowledge that doesn’t get implemented doesn’t mean much.

When you implement what you learn, implement in small steps. Rome wasn’t build in one day, and all of the leaders failed their way to success. Look up these leaders biographies and see what they went through. When I say Bill Gates, most people think of Microsoft. Few people who hear “Bill Gates” think of Traf-O-Data (and you thought MySpace was ancient).

#3: Understanding Opportunities

We understand the part about looking for opportunities. We search and explore because the common perception is that opportunity doesn’t come to you, but rather, you go to it. Social media experts tend look at every social network as the next opportunity. We have many opportunities that we can chase after, and that’s a good thing.

But sometimes we are in such pursuit for opportunities that we don’t acknowledge the opportunities at the door. Some of them knock on the door but then leave because no one opened the door.

When opportunity comes knocking, open the door. Naturally, not all opportunities will come to you, but some of them do. Some of them seem plain obvious. Maybe you discovered the opportunity and forgot about it. Then the opportunity comes knocking. If the opportunity is worthy, then open the door.

Not all opportunities are created equal. Leaders end up saying no more times than they say yes. However, at some point, all leaders pick a few opportunities that they will focus most of their time on. If you explore but don’t do anything, then you aren’t utilizing any of the opportunities.

#4: Confidence

Leaders are confident in themselves and their abilities. No matter what the world says about them, leaders don’t care. When you are confident in yourself and what you do, you approach your work differently. Instead of wondering if your work means anything, you ask yourself how you can produce better work for the world.

Confidence in oneself removes the barrier of self-doubt. It is a barrier that holds back too many people. When you are confident, that barrier goes away, and then you can show the world what you’re made of.

#5: Productive

Every leader is an expert on productivity. When I think of productive leaders, it doesn’t take me long to think of Jack Dorsey. He is the CEO of Square and the interim CEO of Twitter. While he’s the CEO of both companies, Dorsey works for Twitter for eight hours every day. Then he works at Square for eight hours every day. That’s as productive as productivity gets.

You don’t have to make that kind of commitment to be a leader. But there are small things you can do each day that will move you closer to becoming a leader:

Plan out your day the night before. Leaders don’t leave any day to chance. Every night just before bed, they plan out what they will do the next day. Write what you want to do for the day on a sticky note. Then leave that sticky note by your computer and go to bed.
Be happy. Listen to the right music, reconnect with yourself, and do things that you enjoy. If you are not happy, you will be miserable. People don’t become leaders by being miserable.
Do a little each day. Rome wasn’t built in one day. But if you do something every day, it becomes a habit. I started playing the piano again last August. It felt awkward. Now it’s November and I play the piano every day by habit. I can’t imagine a day without it.

#6: Not Drunk In Their Success

Leaders are proud of their work. They admire what they do. At the same time, they don’t brag on their success. Not all leaders look like leaders to the naked eye. They don’t like taking credit but love what they do.

During his postseason run, Daniel Murphy quickly became one of the most admirable players on the Mets. If you needed a Mets player to hit a home run in the 2015 postseason, you eagerly waited for Daniel Murphy to step up to the plate.

He was in a great position. Many people in the same position would have bragged without end about hitting that many home runs in the postseason. Murphy doesn’t brag at all. He will talk about all of his other teammates and the opposing players. He won’t get to talk about himself and that is by choice. He thanked Jesus for those home runs. You don’t have to be a Christian to recognize Murphy’s strong character.

If you want to watch any baseball player’s postgame interviews, watch Murphy’s interviews.

Leaders are successful, but they don’t get drunk in the success. They don’t boast. Some leaders may state their credentials to boost their credibility. Leaders do it in a way that isn’t boastful. People who aren’t leaders turn it into a self-absorbed conversation.

#7: Willing To Take The Blame

Leaders may be role models, but they mess up. While we like to envision leaders as people at the top of a metaphorical Olympus, leaders are people too. They make mistakes. What separates a leader from the typical person is the ability to own up to a mistake.

Most people prefer to play the blame game. “Who can I reasonably blame so I get this responsibility off my back?” The blame game, in reality, merely produces a superficial sense of security.

Even if you get away with the blame game, the problem doesn’t really go away. You can make the same mistake again. It’s only a matter of time before the blame game catches up to each player. The blame game is just like a fight to the death video game. At some point, you lose.

Leaders take responsibility for their mistakes. This decision makes the leader a role model for employees and other people as well. People are so sick of the blame game that they love it when someone takes responsibility. However being too politically correct and over exaggerating the apology diminishes the effectiveness of that apology. Just a simple sorry will do.

In Conclusion

Leaders possess characteristics that set them apart from the crowd. They love what they do with a passion. They are role models who inspire other people to take action. Leaders are the inspiration for next generation’s leaders. They lead by example and aren’t afraid to take action.

Which characteristics do you think make up all leaders? Which of these characteristics do you see most often in leaders? How do you define a leader? Sound off in the comments section below.

5 Entrepreneurial Lessons I Learned From Running

October 30, 2015 by Marc Guberti 2 Comments

This is my last year in high school. There are moments when I look back at the past three years. Before I went into high school, the only time I ran was on the soccer field. Now I run every day, and in some cases 14 miles on a given day.

My business also looks a lot different now than it looked when I got into high school. This blog didn’t exist. Most of the content I wrote went towards my Yugioh Blog. To think that was a little over three years ago.

So why am I bringing all of this up? I believe that running had (and continues to have) a strong impact on what I have been able to do (few things build commitment more than waking up at 6 am to run 14 miles at 8 am). If you want to become a successful entrepreneur, consider adding a daily run to your schedule. Many successful entrepreneurs such as Jack Dorsey run often.

Running builds a sense of commitment while providing lessons about life along the way. Many of these lessons can be applied to entrepreneurship. As I got faster and did more with my business, I was amazed with how many parallels existed in the runner’s mindset and the entrepreneur’s mindset.

Here is a taste of what I have learned from running for a little over three years:

#1: Have A Team

In business, there are three teams:

Accountability team
Team of helpers
Team of promoters

Running teaches you about all three of them.

Accountability Team

No matter what mile you are on, and no matter how fast you are, it is easier to walk than run. It is tempting to go for the easier option. But when dozens of teammates are running beside you, walking is no longer an option. Having a team increases your accountability and can make a challenging workout a fun one.

Team Of Helpers

Coaches like to have big teams because a big team creates more depth. This depth is important in competitions because the more athletes there are on a team, the more points it is possible for a team to score.

Each athlete has the potential to score a number of points on an individual level. All of the points athletes score as individuals or relays count towards the team’s total number of points. A team with two athletes on it is very likely to get outperformed by the team with over 100 athletes. Even if the two athletes are better than the 100 athletes on the other, the depth of the larger team means more team points than the team with the two athletes.

The reason why teams win championships is because many athletes contributed to the final team score. There are some athletes who stand out, but it’s typically many athletes scoring some points that leads to a win.

As an entrepreneur, it is tempting to handle the workload all by yourself. The solopreneur lifestyle sounds cool and flashy when in reality it holds people back from their true potential.

Being successful as a solopreneur is like trying to win a track meet in which you are the only person on your team and all of the other teams have dozens of athletes. It’s just as unlikely as running across a busy highway with blindfolds on. Possible, but very unlikely.

Team Of Promoters

It’s easy to learn about this type of team in your every day life. Just listen to conversations and see what topics are brought up. Rumors and news are the two things that often spread the most. My teammates and I have conversations during our runs. As we talk about different topics, word-of-mouth marketing is in action.

#2: You Need To Be With People Who Are Better Than You

My biggest improvements as a runner came with other runners were ahead of me for most or all of the race. I kept up with people who I wanted to stay with, and seeing people in front of me gives me a stronger incentive to sprint the final straightaway.

I use this straightaway to get as close to the people ahead of me as possible. Sometimes I pass them and sometimes I don’t. Either way, I get a better time.

When I have a bigger lead and no one is in front of me, I tend to go slower. I look back to see where everyone else is (a big no in the running world). When no one else is in front of me, I often find myself doing the absolute minimum to win the race. I almost never run better times but instead go for placement.

This common approach is sufficient for scoring points, but it is not good enough to running faster times.

The people you surround yourself with will either raise your bar or lower your bar. If you are the most business savvy entrepreneur on your team, then you raise the bar for your entire team. This responsibility results in your bar getting slightly raised.

However, to raise your bar higher, surrounding yourself with people who are better than you is critical. When I run with people who are better than me, I get better times and higher quality workouts. Ever since I started partnering up with other experts to create and market training courses, I got better results. I learned more things about marketing and course creation that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own.

Talent is contagious. When you constantly surround yourself with people who are more talented than you are, some of that talent is going to spill into your life too.

#3: Take Rests To Avoid Burnout

To someone outside of the running world, it seems logical that the person who runs 365 days every year will be faster than the person who only runs for 300 days every year (assuming their typical workouts are the same).

Someone inside of the running world understands the person who ran for all 365 days in the year will actually be slower than the person who only ran for 300 days in the year (which is still very impressive). Runners get faster when they do workouts. However, taking long breaks after a few weeks of hard workouts also leads to faster times.

Contrary to popular belief, Olympic runners never run for all 365 days of the year. After intense workout schedules, some Kenyan runners take more than two months off. And the Kenyans know how to get great times. Their top athletes have broken numerous records. If an athlete wins a marathon or Olympic event, and I don’t know who the athlete is, I will always guess that the athlete is a Kenyan. That’s how good they are.

The most successful entrepreneurs put in a lot of work, but they also take long rests to avoid burnout. Even Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer who at one point worked for over 130 hours every week understands the importance of taking breaks. She takes a one week vacation from her work every month.

Working 365 days per year doesn’t lead to successful entrepreneurship. It’s a trap that typically results in your business consuming your life. When business consumes too much of your life, it can also consume your happiness.

#4: Always Strive To Do Better Than Before

EVERY passionate runner goes into a race wanting to run a faster time. It’s natural for a runner to want to run a faster time. At some point, this desire gets encoded into our DNA. Just like any runner in his first year, I saw significant improvements in my times. With each improvement, I always wanted to run a better time during the next race.

It is this part of the runner’s mindset that makes settling with current progress an impossibility. No matter how much my mile time improves in the upcoming winter track season, I will want to run a better time during my spring track season.

This runner’s mentality also became a part of my entrepreneurial mindset. Every month, I always strive to get better results (subscribers, revenue, followers, etc) than the previous month. All businesses want to do better this month than last month, but there is a difference between wanting something and striving with a burning passion to do something.

After a few runs, there are few desires that will surpass the desire of running a better time at the next event than you did the last time you ran the same distance.

#5: Know Yourself

Every runner has a different body. Most of them fall into two groups: long distance runner or sprinter. I am a decent sprinter at best, but my real strength is in distance events. Therefore, I would focus on my strength so I could better contribute to the team’s success.

Knowing your body also means knowing when you need a day off or a shorter workout. Runners who don’t know when they need to rest or take it easy risk getting injured.

Entrepreneurs need to know what they are good at so they can focus on those areas. Not focusing enough time on your strengths can result in missed opportunities. Another thing all entrepreneurs need to know is what they want from their own businesses. Identifying what you want is the first step towards getting what you actually want.

If you want to make a certain income from your business or achieve a certain level of influence, then make that clear to yourself. Once that is settled, pursue that goal to its completion.

In Conclusion

Running is a great way to get stronger and stay in shape. The surprising benefit of running is that it can teach you many life lessons and strengthen your mindset along the way. Running is a critical part of my life but also a critical part of my business’ success. The work we do is only part of the equation to success. For me and other entrepreneurs, running is a significant part of that equation.

Do you run? Are you going to start? Do you see other parallels between running outside and running a business? Sound off in the comments section below.