The Daily Habits of 40 Highly Successful Business Leaders

Success doesn’t just happen. Instead, it’s something you plan for. And that requires finding the right balance between those big long-term goals and the short-term objectives that will keep you on the right path.

Supergenius Elon Musk wakes up with one goal in mind: putting humans on Mars. But what does he do every day to turn that dream into a reality? OnDeck decided to investigate. The small business loan provider examined the daily work routines of 40 highly successful business owners.

Like Musk, most of today’s most successful business leaders exploit the body’s natural rhythms to optimize their daily output. In other words, the early bird really does catch that worm. Musk, Richard Branson, and Slack co-founder Cal Henderson are all in the office before 7.00 am. They direct their early morning energy and brain power toward catching up on emails, meetings, and strategic planning sessions. Read more at addicted2success.com.

The Role Model Mindset: Being a Great Entrepreneur Is About Showing Others What’s Possible

When we talk about entrepreneurs, we often think of people who have followed a dream to create a business. They are a group set apart because of their bias towards action — getting their hands dirty and building a company, and because of that, many are role models to the millions of other aspiring founders across the world.

We are not talking about the basic desire to imitate a businessperson because of their wealth and success, but rather about being a role model, which entails a degree of awe and respect for a person’s methods and strategies for building successful and impactful businesses. They do things that others feel are impossible. The world’s best entrepreneurs are not looked up to because of their salaries, but because they do three key things: they solve big global problems, they survive risky situations, and they create with limited resources.

Entrepreneurs dream big, and the role models of the business world rarely start by trying to solve a small problem. They create a product that solves an unserved, acute pain point in the formal economy, and where there are existing informal, unlicensed, or unofficial alternatives, they bring legitimacy and formality to the industry. Role models offer solutions for the mass market, not just the elite, and they focus on game-changing innovations that fundamentally rethink a market and a sector. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

“Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.” ― Sean Covey

15 Success Tips for First-Time Entrepreneurs

Being a first-time entrepreneur can be challenging and nerve-wracking but also very exciting and rewarding. There is no end to the many financial, legal, staffing, marketing, and customer issues that will come up as you launch your business. A‎nd, unfortunately, there is a lot of conflicting advice out there for the aspiring entrepreneur.

First-time entrepreneurs should start a business they are passionate and knowledgeable about

Startups can be quite a grind, so pick something that excites and motivates you. Avoid businesses or industries that you don’t already know a good deal about, as the steep learning curve may hamper your success.

Raise as much startup funding as you can

It’s almost always harder and takes longer to raise startup financing than you think. You must ensure you have a cushion for all the product development and marketing expenses you will incur. In an ideal world, you will have sufficient capital for your operations to break even. Don’t worry about diluting your percentage ownership in the company. Developing a great product takes time and money. Learn about 13 more success tips at allbusiness.com.

Why Texas – Texas Economic Development

Texas is where liberty lives.

That’s why the Lone Star State leads the nation in job creation over the last 10 years and in population growth over the last 14.

As the 9th largest economy among the nations of the world and home to 50 Fortune 500 headquarters, Texas offers a business-friendly climate—with no corporate income tax and no personal income tax—along with a highly skilled workforce, easy access to global markets, robust infrastructure and predictable regulations.

That’s why Texas continually ranks as the best  state for business. CEOs who relocate to Texas cite the differences as “night & day” when it comes to the improved quality of life and good schools, along with the job-ready workforce.

Lower energy costs, together with lower land costs and fewer land-use restrictions, also mean lower operating costs for businesses and a lower cost-of-living for their employees. Learn more at gov.texas.gov.

4 Ways to Expand Your Business Outside of Your Core Industry

What can you learn from a humble chicken nugget about expanding your business? Maybe more than a nibble’s worth of information, so hop in the sales and marketing time machine.

Today, bite-sized chicken bits embraced by a crispy breading seem normal. Forty years ago, they were a tasty novelty offered up by McDonald’s. Thanks to their portability and unique flavor profile, they took off with hungry consumers. In fact, they became a new star on the fast food giant’s menu.

But why did McDonald’s, known primarily for burger-like sandwiches and irresistible shoestring fries take this plunge? The answer: Nuggets were a natural extension of their core industry. After all, they catered to people craving quick, salty, hot meals. The nugget seemed an attractive way to draw in more consumers, especially the younger set and beef-eschewers. Read more at smallbiztrends.com.

How to Use Thought Leadership Content to Grow Your Business

If you own your own business, you know you’re a smart cookie. No matter how long you’ve been running your business, you’ve surely gleaned knowledge about your industry that others can benefit from. This knowledge is gold in terms of helping you attract new business. It’s all a matter of knowing how to transform your knowledge into thought leadership content that you can leverage to attract new customers and clients.

It doesn’t matter if your audience is college students, CEOs, or somewhere in between. These folks consume content online. The key is discovering where they go to learn.

Start by looking at magazines, websites, blogs, and podcasts that cater to this crowd. What sources do you turn to in order to connect with others in your field? You likely can rattle off the top authors or podcast owners in your industry. Rather than looking at them as competitors, consider them potential collaborators. Read more at allbusiness.com.

“Social entrepreneurs identify resources where people only see problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of competence and unleash resources in the communities they’re serving..” – David Bornstein, Author, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas

Social Entrepreneurship Has A Key Role To Play Enabling Our Business Ecosystem’s Recovery After COVID-19

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been slowly making its way up the strategic priorities in corporates over the past decades. But many companies still approach CSR as a “nice to have,” rather than “a must-have.” But as awareness grows over the impact of CSR on the bottom line of successful businesses, the evolution is becoming a necessity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for all of us. It has been humbling to witness how this microscopic virus has disrupted our daily routines and businesses, but it has also shed a light on the harm modern life has put on our planet through pollution and loss of natural habitats. Now, the well-being of people, society, and our planet is at the forefront of everyday practices. The way we do business has changed, and it has accelerated the need of sustainability becoming the core of company strategy, with direct impact on employees, customers, and suppliers.

As a result, corporate sustainability teams are leading the effort to improve internal procedures and operations, as well as think about how organizations can have a positive impact on their surroundings. Read more at entrepreneur.com.

11 Tips to Transform Your Morning Routine and Make Your Entire Day More Productive

Researchers at the University of Nottingham recently published findings from their exploration of 83 separate studies on energy and self-control. What they found will change the way you start your day.

The researchers found that self-control and energy are not only intricately linked but also finite, daily resources that tire much like a muscle. Even though we don’t always realize it, as the day goes on, we have increased difficulty exerting self-control and focusing on our work. As self-control wears out, we feel tired and find tasks to be more difficult and our mood sours.

This exhaustion of self-control kills your productivity, and it makes the morning hours, when self-control is highest, the most important hours of the day.

But the trick isn’t just to spend your morning hours working; it’s to do the right things in the morning that will make your energy and self-control last as long as possible. Read more at success.com.

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’” And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” –Steve Jobs

Exercise Is One Thing Most Successful People Do Everyday

What do Cher, Warren Buffet, and OKCupid founder, Christian Rudder, all have in common? While you might have guessed that they’re professionals at the top of their game, it’s not the only similarity. The truth is that they all have an even bigger commonality among them: they all work out, and they all consider it integral to their success. They aren’t the only ones, either.

Entrepreneurs like Richard Branson (who’s started over 400 companies) have long known that regular physical activity, be it running, lifting, or yoga, can provide you with up to four extra hours of productivity every day. Even President Barack Obama — a slacker until he began running three miles a day as a young man — to this day makes time for 45 minute workouts before assuming his duties. Read more at entrepreneur.com.