More and more people think of starting their own businesses, in spite of the rather harsh current financial climate. The younger generation, especially, seems bent on breaking away from working for other people, bringing the hustle culture to a full stop and replacing it with one of healthy self-employment.

This is all laudable, of course, but in order to start a business, you need to think like an entrepreneur. In this article we’ll talk about five easy steps that will help you develop it because, in spite of what some say, entrepreneurs aren’t born – they are made.

1. Learn, Learn, Learn

And be omnivorous at it. Learn as many skills as possible and read as many books as you can. For starters, you should focus on topics like finances, personal development and management. These will come in handy regardless of the domain you plan on starting your business in.

2. Start With Small Goals

This can be as simple as waking up at 7 AM sharp every morning or having your breakfast at 8. Being a successful entrepreneur is about 80% the ability to stick to a schedule. Time is money and if you can’t manage your time there won’t be any money for you to manage, it’s as simple as that. Come up with a realistic set of goals and work through it without fail.

3. Get Cozy with Criticism

The main reason why a huge chunk of people are not comfortable with criticism is that they can’t seem to understand that it is concerned with their actions, not with themselves personally. Owning a business is exposing oneself to doubt, fear and failure and you need to learn how to assimilate them, so you can eventually thrive on them.

4. Surround Yourself with Like-Minded People

Let’s say that you want to start a business but your friends are strictly interested in hitting Platinum in League of Legends. You can surely agree that you’re dealing with a conflict of interest. Obviously, you shouldn’t throw your friendship out the window – what you should do is spend time with people that have similar goals, all the more so with those who have a significant amount of experience in entrepreneurship and business. It’s been proved scientifically that it is in our nature to seek people that are similar to us and for good reasons, too.

5. Be Yourself, But Up to a Point

“Be yourself” is thrown left and right these days, but sometimes that’s just as good as “Go ahead and sabotage yourself.” We’re not perfect and there’s much we can learn from others. Be humble and listen to what the people around you have to say. Look what happened to Napoleon, who was so himself that he didn’t listen to his advisors and invaded Russia. During the winter.

Conclusion

Owning a business is no small feat and the life of an entrepreneur is extremely romanticized. Nothing about it is easy. Hopefully this small guide gave you some food for thought. If you want to learn more about finances, make sure you visit FX-List.