Entrepreneurs are all about the grind, the revenue, and the success. But sometimes, new entrepreneurs get stuck in what they think they “should” do and leave a lot on the table. 

I’ve seen so many people getting burned out of entrepreneurship before even making money. And this is because they are doing what they “think” they have to do instead of what they really have to do. 

If you take a closer look into the routine of different successful entrepreneurs, such as Andy Frisella, Tim Ferris, Gary Vaynerchuk, Joel Marion, Tai Lopez, and others, you will see a common characteristic: they work by systems. They understood the importance of habits early on and they worked their butt off to create systems that allowed them to complete the task that they needed to do every day, without putting their health or their business at risk. 

And this is something actually really simple. Once you create a habit, it isn’t something to think about anymore, it’s just something that you do. Everyone’s journey is different and every business requires their own different set of skills, but there are some systems that are common to every successful entrepreneur. 

Here are the top 5 and how you can use them to set the base of your entrepreneurial career:

1. Power 5

This is a concept that is very common among successful entrepreneurs. Sometimes we get caught up in a lot of different tasks during the day that aren’t getting us any closer to our ultimate goal. 

In order to avoid this, the power 5 method encourages you to write a list every day of the five most important things that you need to complete that day. It needs to be stuff that you wouldn’t normally do if you didn’t propose to do it. For example, writing a sales funnel or making a certain amount of calls.

This method is basically a way to put into perspective what is really important and what is not that important. If you write this information down, you are putting yourself in a situation where you know what you have to do. 

This is something that requires some thought upfront. What are the 5 tasks that you need to do today to move you towards your ultimate goal? Once you figure it out, write them down and try to make them your priority for that day.

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” – Stephen R. Covey

2. Schedule

Many people are entering the entrepreneurship world looking for the freedom to work whenever they want and escape their 9-5 job. Yet, the truth is that if you don’t make a schedule for yourself, chances are that you won’t be as productive as you should be in order to build a successful business. This doesn’t necessarily need to be any specific time period or amount of hours, but it needs to be something you know is going to move you a step closer to your ultimate goal every single day. 

3. Fitness

I haven’t heard a single successful entrepreneur talking about how much time they get out of not exercising or not taking care of their body. As an entrepreneur, you need to understand that you can grind as much as you want, but if your body collapses because you aren’t taking care of it, it will be all for nothing. 

You don’t need to spend two hours per day at the gym or to have a super strict diet, but you do need to take some time to exercise and to eat healthy. 

By having fitness as your top priority, you’ll have more energy, vitality, and a clearer mind when you get back to work. So at the end of the day, taking care of your body is an investment in your own business. 

4. Learn

The best investment you could do is to invest in yourself. Successful entrepreneurs are always learning something new by reading books, going to conferences, applying for courses or masterminds, and listening to podcasts. They care about getting better at their craft. 

Invest time in educating yourself. Make it a priority in your life. It’s true that sometimes we can feel like we don’t have time for stuff like this, but take it as what you are doing that’s differentiating yourself from your competitors. It might not show instant results, but if you make it a daily priority, it will pay huge dividends down the road. 

And if you are just getting started, you don’t even need to spend a lot of money on it. There are tons of really great books on entrepreneurship, finance and personal growth that aren’t that expensive, and dozens of free podcasts and articles that can help you get closer to your ultimate goal. 

“Income seldom exceeds personal development.” – Jim Rohn

5. Tempo

Knowing the tempo of your business is crucial. This can be the difference between a business succeeding and a business falling flat. Every business, in every stage of its life, has a different tempo, and you need to recognize it. 

Some entrepreneurs fail because they think that entrepreneurship is the way to go from a 9-5 to working from the beach in just a couple of months. Others fail because they think that they need to go all-in and pull up 20 hours shifts every day until they consume themselves. 

Entrepreneurship is a long game. And you need to adapt to the different stages of it. Some stages are gonna require you to grind to a level of exhaustion, but you gotta make sure that you are reserving some energy for the rest of the game. Grinding extremely hard for 6 months is worthless if you are going to drain yourself and not be able to stay in the game for 6 more months. 

In entrepreneurship, there’s a time to grind and a time to relax. Even in the stages where grinding is key, make sure that you don’t burn yourself out. Sometimes, taking some time off work can actually help you be more productive and reach your ultimate goal at the end.

Are you already taking care of these? Which are other keys that you think are crucial for entrepreneurs? Share your thoughts with us below!