Advice From Top Entrepreneurs On Starting Your Dream Business

In this episode of The Pursuit, Kelsey Humphreys produces a short ‘power episode.’ That's because if you’re busy building your business you won’t have time to watch long videos or listen to podcasts all day.

Kelsey has compiled into one episode, some of the most powerful answers given by top entrepreneurs to the question: “What’s the number one piece of advice you would give to entrepreneurs starting out on their dream?”

Entrepreneurs Give Their Answers

Chalene Johnson: Physical fitness authority, choreographer, New York Times Best Selling Author, and entrepreneur.

Read and be a student of personal development and business development. It’s most important to connect with people who have been there and listening to their advice.

Natalie Jill: Sports Nutritionist, functional fitness trainer, businesswoman and weight loss consultant.

Be a student. Every entrepreneur out there leaves trails of stuff. You can always find what we did. We have products, we have blogs, we have videos. We leave all that information out there.

Lewis Howes: Author, entrepreneur, and former professional Arena League football player. He hosts The School of Greatness Podcast.

You’ve got to say, “How can I make money doing this.” Figuring out everything from scratch. Watching what other successful people are doing.

Crystal Paine: Author, and speaker. In 2007, she founded MoneySavingMom, a site that has since grown to become one of the most popular blogs on the web, currently averaging over 1.5 million readers per month.

I said to myself, “What are they doing and how can I implement that in a way that works for my blog.” Then you say “What are they doing well.” You don’t need to do exactly what they’re doing but you can get ideas from them which can also work for you.

John lee Dumas: Entrepreneur and podcaster based in Puerto Rico. He is the founder and host of EOFire, a daily podcast that interviews entrepreneurs 7 days a week.

The smartest thing that I did in my biggest early success was making that realization that I needed a mentor. So I looked out there to the podcasters that were currently where I wanted to be.

That’s so critical. I think so many people go after mentors just because they’re successful at something. They need to be successful at what you are wanting to do. They need to be where you want to be.

Marie Forleo: Life coach, motivational speaker, author and web television host. She is the owner of Marie Forleo International, B-School and MarieTV.

Not being in a race. Being patient and being willing to be small and scrappy and not know what you’re doing. Build it slowly over time. I had a side job for seven years and meet people who go: “Oh my god! It’s four months and nothing.” I go, “Are you kidding me.”

Brendon Burchard: Author on motivation, high performance, and online marketing. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Millionaire Messenger, and the #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive.

Never let your small business make you small-minded. Too many people's vision is caged in their current circumstances or their current competencies—-what they’re capable of. I always say you have to raise your ambition beyond where you're capable of now.

Grant Cardone: Motivational speaker, New York Times best-selling author, businessman, and sales expert. He works with small companies and Fortune 500 companies to grow sales.

The biggest mistake I made in my career was that I thought too small for too long.

Scott Williams: Author and a popular leadership blogger at Bigisthenewsmall.com. He is an accomplished international speaker, and a sought-after consultant with his consulting company Nxt Level Solutions.

It’s all about commitment and asking the right question. I had a number of friends that were doing things simultaneously with me, and the next thing you know they had closed up shop. Or they would say “I tried it”. The next thing you know is, they’re working a nine to five.

So for me the question they were asking is: “What if this doesn’t work?” I always start with the question: “What if it does.” My question all along the way is: “What if this does work?”

Michael Hyatt: Author, blogger, speaker, and the former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Get comfortable with fear. Whenever you’re starting to feel fear, uncertainty, and doubt, reframe that as positive indicators that you’re moving outside of your comfort zone. And as an entrepreneur that’s essential.

Donald Miller: Best-selling author and public speaker. Currently, he helps people live a better story at www.storylineblog.com and helps leaders grow their businesses at www.storybrand.com.

Especially for these young entrepreneurs. The two things they need is:

1. What is profitable and where is your revenue stream really coming from?

2. What are your passions? What are you going to be able to drive for a long period of time?

Chelsea Peretti: Stand-up comedian, actress and writer. She is known for portraying Gina Linetti on the Fox comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

It’s important to try and find your voice and it’s OK to make mistakes. Just keep making stuff. Being passive is the hardest thing because you’re waiting for someone to spot you. It’s easier to write your own stuff.

If you’ve got an eye and an amazing vision and bring a unique approach to the game, then you’re set. It’s not about all the stuff (and the stuff is fun and I love stand I have endless sponsors). The stuff ultimately doesn’t matter. It’s all about your heart and your vision.

Al Roker: Television personality, weather forecaster, actor, and book author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today.

Try to be as curious as possible about everything. Be yourself. At the end of the day that’s all you’ve got. They can take everything else but they cannot take that.

Fawn Weaver: Former business manager-turned hotel general manager-turned USA Today and New York Times bestselling author (Happy Wives Club) and TED speaker.

The number one piece of advice for entrepreneurs that are just starting out: Be prepared to serve.

Bob Goff: Author of the New York Times Best-Selling book ‘Love Does’. Bob also provides senior leadership at Goff & Dewalt, LLP as the founding partner.

The Mark Twain thing, “The harder I worked the luckier I got.” It’s just a lot of hard work.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Entrepreneur, investor, author, public speaker, and internet personality. Now runs VaynerMedia, one of the world’s hottest digital agencies. A prolific angel investor and venture capitalist, and co-founder of VaynerRSE, a $25M investment fund.

Work, patience and the biggest one of all that you can’t leapfrog… self-awareness. You have to know who you are.

Everybody's got ideas. A billion ideas are going to be thought through by people today that could be hundred-million-dollar businesses in six years. But only about four are going to execute on them.

Jamie McGuire: Author who paved the way for the New Adult genre with the international bestseller ‘Beautiful Disaster.’ She’s also topped the New York Times bestseller list with her Maddox Brothers series.

You have to work every day and keep going. Just keep going. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Alicia Shaffer: Discovered a love for making bohemian-inspired headbands and accessories. Founded the ‘Three Bird Nest,’ a shop for women's bohemian clothing & boho fashion.

It’s not all glamorous. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s not fun all the time and it’s a lot of long days.

Jonathan Scott and Drew Scott: The identical twin brothers star in the reality television series Property Brothers where they help home buyers to purchase and renovate “fixer-uppers.”

For us it was that constant effort. Always being told to put in that hard work. When you start growing your brand within your community, within your city and maybe from there expand to something cross the country.

Now with the internet you can get your brand out there and it doesn’t have to cost a whole bunch of money.

KELSEY’S KEYS TO SUCCESS

1. Learn as much as you can

2. Believe in yourself and your vision

3. Be willing to try things and make mistakes

4. Work, work, and more work. Which includes being patient and more work

You can watch more great interviews from Kelsey Humphreys on her Youtube Channel.

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