BY MARTIN ZWILLING, FOUNDER AND CEO, STARTUP PROFESSIONALS@STARTUPPRO

For Inc.

Photo:  Photo: Getty Images

After years of working in small businesses as well as large ones, I’m convinced that you shouldn’t expect to get it all right the first time, and learning how to run any business is more a result of practice and experience than just academics. Therefore, I often recommend to entrepreneurs and business professionals that they not get too frustrated with initial failures or give up too soon.

Of course, there are some basic principles that people in all careers follow today in maximizing their success, including discipline, determination, learning from mistakes, and practice. If you are into instant gratification or overnight stardom, then starting and growing a business may not be for you. Just ask any one of the big winners in business today, such as Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos.

Here are the key recommendations I offer all my clients for learning and moving forward in the business arena, based on my own experience and listening to business leaders and professionals in technology, as well as services:

1. Define your success objectives early and don’t stray.

Don’t be easily distracted from your goals, and don’t expect business success from a random walk. If you don’t know where you are going, it is highly unlikely that you will ever get there. Stay motivated and positive on making every iteration get you a step closer to that desired destination.

Successful people find that setting goals and objectives provides motivation, rather than waiting for other incentives, such as easy cash or living free. Yet I find that motivation takes you only so far. Goals, when used correctly create habits, which drive true success.

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