5 Success Tips From My Entrepreneurship Journey

Here are five success tips that will help ease your load as you embark on this journey of yours.

learn more about Solomon Lacy III

By Solomon Lacy III

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Entrepreneurship is a lot of hard work, and it's not easy to get off the ground. But if you keep at it long enough, there are many successes out there for people who simply try.

I owe my success to the lessons I learned along the way — here are five in particular that have continued to take my business to the next level:

1. Act like the boss

To operate as a true CEO, you must first fire yourself as the assistant. Assistants ask for permission, bosses take charge.

Do you want to be the CEO of your life? Then put yourself in a position to take charge.

Related: 6 Timeless Strategies That Drive Successful Entrepreneurship

2. Stop spending so much time to save money and start spending money to save time

Time is our greatest currency. The money you have grants you more time to be productive and create new opportunities for your business to thrive.

3. Redirect your focus to things with the highest ROI

No decision will pay off more than prioritizing your life to give an extreme focus to those things that produce the highest return.

I'm not telling you what you to do in your personal time, but I am saying the more time you spend focusing on things that will not produce high returns, the longer it will take you to reach your goals.

4. You will face opposition from those close to you — and those who don't know you will become your greatest support

Sometimes people just like to hate or dislike you because they see the success that you have now and feel they deserve the same for work they haven't even put in. This is just one common unavoidable occurrence entrepreneurs experience on their journey. Understand that as transparent as you may try to be, people will try to discredit the hard work you put in because of what they didn't see.

Just add their hate to your motivation tank and keep it moving.

Related: 11 Quotes on Kindness That Every Entrepreneur Needs to Read

5. Make friends that force you to level up

Networking is the one thing that can get you further, faster — more than hard work, sweat equity, where you're from, who your parents are or what they did (or didn't do).

By networking, in just one conversation, you can literally advance yourself two years. Make sure that you are building, nourishing and maintaining relationships that are beneficial to and for you.

Bonus tip:

On this journey, you will have to trust. While this may not be easy for all, learning to trust other people will benefit you a great deal. However, do it smartly and never get burned twice. You need to make sure that you become unreachable to those who had all access to you and abused it.

Why? Because success is simply a window of opportunity. And more than anything on this list, you don't want to waste those opportunities going back and forth with people who don't share your vision.

Related: 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

Solomon Lacy III

Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor

Founder and CEO of Fresh Start Financials Group, Consultant

Solomon Lacy III is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Fresh Start Financials Group. He's formed and scaled businesses; helped individuals, companies and organizations across the globe with credit restoration; and has secured more than $30 million in funding for businesses.

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

Everyone Wants to Get Close to Their Favorite Artist. Here's the Technology Making It a Reality — But Better.
The Highest-Paid, Highest-Profile People in Every Field Know This Communication Strategy
After Early Rejection From Publishers, This Author Self-Published Her Book and Sold More Than 500,000 Copies. Here's How She Did It.
Having Trouble Speaking Up in Meetings? Try This Strategy.
He Names Brands for Amazon, Meta and Forever 21, and Says This Is the Big Blank Space in the Naming Game
Business News

These Are the Most and Least Affordable Places to Retire in The U.S.

The Northeast and West Coast are the least affordable, while areas in the Mountain State region tend to be ideal for retirees on a budget.

Business News

I Live on a Cruise Ship for Half of the Year. Look Inside My 336-Square-Foot Cabin with Wraparound Balcony.

I live on a cruise ship with my husband, who works on it, for six months out of the year. Life at "home" can be tight. Here's what it's really like living on a cruise ship.

Business Solutions

Master Coding for Less Than $2 a Course with This Jam-Packed Bundle

Make coding understandable with this beginner-friendly coding bundle, now just $19.99.

Business News

Mark Cuban's Grocery Store Hack Will Help You Score Cheaper Produce

The billionaire talked about his early days in Dallas when he was strapped for cash.

Business News

American Airlines Sued After Teen Dies of Heart Attack Onboard Flight to Miami

Kevin Greenridge was traveling from Honduras to Miami on June 4, 2022, on AA Flight 614 when he went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious mid-flight.

Thought Leaders

The Collapse of Credit Suisse: A Cautionary Tale of Resistance to Hybrid Work

This cautionary tale serves as a reminder for business leaders to adapt to the changing world of work and prioritize their workforce's needs and preferences.