Do you dream of starting your own business? Have you wondered what it takes to be a truly successful entrepreneur? It all starts with your mindset. Entrepreneurs who are successful at turning their passion into a stable business have a mindset that gets them results and keeps them going long after the average person would have given up.

Joel Devidal, an entrepreneur and CEO of SMEJapan.com has a proven track record of growing companies fast in short periods of time. Beyond his experience as a founder and CEO, Joel uses his knowledge of the IT space to serve as a CTO to a mobile company and advises other businesses on how to grow with purpose and be set up for success in the future.

Below, Mr. Devidal shares 6 key aspects from to thinking like a successful entrepreneur.

1. Time is Money:

If you’re going to succeed as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to avoid any time wasters. No spending countless hours browsing aimlessly online or fiddling with games on your phone. Use your spare time wisely to further your business ventures. In the beginning, getting a business established means a lot of early mornings and late nights.

2. There Are No Shortcuts:

People who only chase a dream are always waiting for their big break, or some shortcut to make things happen. Twenty-five years later, they will likely find themselves still working at the same job, just waiting for retirement to come. Successful entrepreneurs, on the other hand, take action to turn their dreams into reality, bit by bit. They realize that there are no shortcuts in business. Nothing is going to land in your lap. It takes hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

3. Make Those Tough Decisions:

In the past, if you’ve worked for a boss, you might have been somewhat involved in the decision-making process, or perhaps not at all. Ultimately, most of the final decision-making rested on your boss’s shoulders. When you work for yourself though, you make those tough decisions now. You are the final chain of command. You are the boss. You need to be able to accept accountability for your choices, whether good or bad and own up to them.

4. Stress Can Be Positive:

Most of the time, stress is a negative influence on a person’s life. But, some forms of stress can be positive, such as the pressure to meet a deadline on time, which employees to hire or fire, if you should sign that questionable contract, and so on. Successful entrepreneurs use these types of stressful situations to their advantage to help them take the best course of action.

5. View Employees as Assets:

“Each employee should be viewed as a business asset. Your employees can make or break your business,” stated Mr. Devidal. Take the time to get to know each employee one-on-one and become a mentor to them. Treating them with respect will give you loyal employees that genuinely care about the business, rather than feeling like they are just another faceless number.

6. Expand and Grow:

While one business is excellent, more than one is even better.  Prominent entrepreneurs use excess revenue from one company to expand and grow into an entire chain. Remember, huge chains like Walmart or Starbucks all started with just one location and grew from there into global enterprises. Although you may not be aiming for the worldwide market, the same principle can be applied to local and online businesses as well.

If you want to build a business that works, getting into a successful entrepreneurial mindset is the first step on the road to a lasting venture.

Read Also:

• Are Entrepreneurs Born or Raised That Way?
• Victor Mitchell, Prominent Entrepreneur, Lists 5 Ways to Be More Effective in Business