Things Successful Entrepreneurs Do

Entrepreneurs, according to some, are a dime a dozen. Everyone wants to be their own boss and set their own hours. Why is it that some succeed beyond their wildest imaginations while others fall sadly by the wayside? What is it that leads people like Siddartha Batra (Mine), Yoel Wazana (Micro Solutions Enterprises), and Elon Musk (Tesla) to do the nearly impossible while ten thousand other businesses fail?

Here are the habits of the successful. These are the tips and tricks that give them the self-discipline, motivation, and strength to build businesses from nothing and become millionaires.

• Enjoy it. If you don't enjoy the work, you can't do the work. And in the beginning of any enterprise, no one has to do more work than the guy who had the idea in the first place. Before you have believers, you have to be one. If you have an idea that could sell, but that you can't enjoy, it's simply not worth pursuing. No good idea succeeds without effort.

• Don't be afraid of failure. It's may be in your future, but if you're afraid of failure, you will likely avoid the very risks and gambles that lead to big returns. That doesn't just include economic returns -- emotional returns are just as important. Do you think Tesla Motors would have succeeded had not its owner loved the idea of electric vehicles so deeply? To love your idea is to invest yourself in it, and that investment, according to successful entrepreneurs, is more important than your startup capital in the early stages.

• Be a know-it-all. By which we mean … know it all. Know how to do all of the jobs that are required to succeed. Learn everything so that, at every stage -- from inception and manufacture or production, to marketing, release and retail -- you'll be able to provide that crucial guiding hand. Your vision is what makes the company's existence a possibility. You can't be shy about that. You're important. You're the boss. So don't be scared to show your employees, partners, or clients the reason that you are.

• Start at the bottom. Start small. You don't get anywhere by taking on too much at once. Keep the biggest dreams in the back while you start with smaller tasks. Prove your idea's viability before you go crazy. If Yoel Wazana had leased MSE's enormous California factory before he finished learning how to remanufacture imaging and printing products in his humble apartment, he'd have gone broke before his company ever had a chance.