10 traits found in successful entrepreneurs and explains how you can adopt them

From my many years of experience in this industry, and due to meeting so many professionals via my training company, I know, firsthand, what traits and habits are seen consistently among those who have made a success within aesthetics.

The biggest mistake made in this industry is to concentrate on business strategies and tactics, without first addressing YOU! How can the same two people attend the same training and, a year later, one has made a real success of it and the other has done absolutely nothing?

It all starts with you: your personal habits, your personal traits, your daily rituals, your mindset and your attitude. That’s why I’ve titled this article ‘Building the machine’.

Let’s talk about the 10 traits I’ve found in successful entrepreneurs that have helped them Build Their Machine.

1. Do You Really, Really, Really Want It?
I see so many medical professionals keen and eager to get into this industry. They attend my training, where they are given an action plan and are offered free, unlimited support.

When I follow up with these delegates, 80% haven’t completed the action plan or used the free support. When I ask them why this is, they come up with myriad excuses, such as not having enough time, saying that the pharmacy took a while to get back them or that they still haven’t decided which indemnity company to use –the list goes on and on.

One of my many mentors said to me, you either have ‘stories’ or ‘success’ you either have ‘results’ or ‘reasons’. If you really want it, you would make the time, you would be proactive in your area, you would follow up with the pharmacy, you would stop procrastinating about your indemnity. You would just do it. That’s only if you really want it!

If you feel you don’t have enough time or are procrastinating, it shows that you don’t really want it because you are not making it a priority. My advice would be, stop now, stop wasting time and money, stop getting stressed about it. Aesthetics is not for you!

2. Have Passion For The Process/journey
I’m sure you have all heard that you need to be passionate about aesthetics, or in fact, any business you go into, to make it work. I agree with this but it’s only 50% correct. As well as being passionate about your speciality, you also need to be passionate about running a business. This is where a lot of people go wrong. They love treating patients and transforming their lives, but are useless at running a business.

You are running a business, not a charity or a hobby. It’s essential you are passionate about being a business owner. In Michael Gerber’s book, The E-Myth Revisited, he says that the single biggest mistake technicians (people excellent at their core skill) make is to become business owners (entrepreneurs) because they think this is a natural progression. Just because you are gifted at producing results (which is essential), it does not follow that you would make a great business owner.

Are you willing to give up family time, holiday time, evenings and social time to run your business (which includes tasks such as ordering stock, answering emails, organising payroll, dealing with suppliers, networking, sorting out insurance, etc.)? You will be doing all this on your own when your first start, so you need to have a passion for the process of owning and running a business.

3. Build The Machine – Get The Right Fuel
As many of you know, I’ve recently been on a fitness and detox regime. I’ve stopped drinking alcohol, stopped consuming processed sugars, reduced my carbohydrate intake and exercise at least six hours every week. I can’t tell you how much of a difference it’s made in my energy levels, memory and self-confidence. And I don’t mind admitting, that as a result of fuelling myself correctly, I am making more money than ever before. Make sure you are getting the right fuel and looking after yourself before you look after others. We all the know the dangers of burning out and the high stress levels associated with an unhealthy lifestyle.

4. Remember Tomorrow
This mantra has helped me considerably in my business and personal life. Just consider the actions or the non- actions you are taking today and how this will make you feel tomorrow.

Health – eating that chocolate cake today. How will you feel tomorrow when you step on the scales?
Business – not writing that blog or phoning a potential new lead. How will you feel tomorrow when you look at your bank balance?

Personal – losing your temper and shouting at your kids or partner. How will you feel tomorrow when you see them the next morning? Always remember tomorrow.

5. Stay In The Game
Let’s imagine when you were at school. Despite having a dozen children in front of you, you waited patiently for your turn knowing that, eventually, you would be served.

You didn’t say, ‘ok, let’s leave the queue and come back in 10 minutes’ (only to find that the queue has got longer).

But this is what people do in business. They don’t stay in the game long enough to get the rewards; they chop and change.

One month they’re offering injectables, the next it’s skin, and the month after that it’s a new gadget. You can only win the game if you are still in the game.

6. Channel Something
We are all concerned with what everyone else is doing. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that this is a competitive and saturated market. Instead of doing a BMW (Bitching, Moaning, Whining) about it, use this to your advantage. I want to crush the competition, so I’ll go that extra mile. Channel any anger you feel about a situation into making yourself more valuable to your marketplace.

7. Do One More
Be exceptional. Offer more than what is expected of you. You can do this in all aspects of your life.

• See one more patient
• Send one more email
• Do one more rep in the gym
• Do one more hour of business work
• Spend one more hour with your partner/kids.

8. Be Where Your Feet Are – Be Present
I find this difficult to do. We have so many distractions – things on our mind, emails to answer, phone calls to make – that our mind starts to wander. You need to focus and concentrate where your feet are.

If you are undertaking a consultation for a new enquiry, give this 100% of your attention and focus. Do not let the mind wander. Let the patient know that they are the only person in the world you are concerned about.

If you are meeting a supplier, give them 100% of your attention and focus. Do not be disturbed or take your mobile with you to the meeting. In Nigel Risner’s book, The Impact Code, he advises: when you are in the room, be in the room.

9. Chip Away – Commitment And Consistency
Let’s say you have a tree in your garden you want to chop down. So, every day you wake up and the first thing you do with your axe is chop at the tree five times. Then the next morning you do exactly the same: wake up, chop at the tree five times with the axe. If you repeat this every day, eventually, the tree will fall down.

It’s because you were committed (every day you chopped the tree five times, you did not miss a day) and you were consistent (you didn’t chop another tree or use a baseball bat, you stuck with the same axe at the same tree).

Business is like chopping the tree:

• Know what you want – the tree to fall down
• Get the right tools – axe
• Commitment – stay focussed with the task in hand Consistency– do the task every day and stick with it until it is complete.

10. Have A Starter Ritual – Ignition Switch
When you are in work mode, be in work mode. We all suffer from delaying things, procrastinating and doing the minor things first that will have little impact on the success of our business.

I have a starter ritual similar to that used by sprinters when they start a race. They have set rituals that they rarely deviate from, and you can clearly see that they are in the zone.

I have a necklace that I touch and this tells me and my brain that I am work mode. Nothing will disturb me or get in my way until I finish the task at hand.

Over time, every time you touch your necklace you will automatically get into work mode and be in the zone.

Original Article can be found here

BTC courses will provide you with templates, mechanisms and all the know-how you need to make KPIs work for you and your business. Call 07711 731173 or email [email protected]

Call 07711 731173 or email [email protected] for more information on why you should choose BTC to help you achieve a successful aesthetic business.