Having an outstanding work ethic while being a solo entrepreneur is crucial. Unlike in a company, where the work ethic will be forced upon you, as a solo entrepreneur, you must create one for yourself. Having no strong work ethic means troubles with having success. Having no strong work ethic also means that other solo entrepreneurs – your competitors, those that do have an ethic, will always be one step ahead of you.

Keep in mind that your position is unique. You are not a large corporation where decisions are made slow, but the money still flows. In order to make a living, you will have to hustle and act fast. It’s scary in a way, but it’s also exciting – as an entrepreneur, you get to keep all the “shekels” you make. No sharing with anyone else (excluding the tax office)!

Fortunately, one thing that I am good at today is having a strong work ethic. It keeps me pushing even in the most difficult moments. But it hasn’t always been that way. It’s something I have grown over the years, after having seen what works and what doesn’t.

Hopefully, my top ten strong work ethic rules can help you create your own. If you are just starting the path of an entrepreneur, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to create this ethic prior to actually starting your business. Having one in place will allow you to easily hop over some of the obstacles that inevitably will be on the way.

1. Passion

As I said, it wasn’t always that I had a strong work ethic. No, it’s something that grew with time.

One thing that I noticed with myself and with many other people, is that the more passionate you are about your project(s), the easier it will be to create that work ethic. If you have decided what you want to pursue in life, and you are truly passionate about the subject, then you will have no problems working hard day and night.

I know many people that got into a profitable business niche just to make money. They didn’t give a fig about the subject, and they knew that it will take a long time to see the results, yet they still did it. Guess what happened to them? They worked on the business for a couple of months, and then they dropped it. They had no genuine interest in the subject, which meant no work ethic and therefore no visible results.

Only when you have a true passion, you will care enough to have a strong work ethic and to make progress even when no results are seen.

Recommended read: Am I Living or Am I Alive? – The Question You Must Ask Yourself at Least Once.

2. Small steps

Many people never start anything major because they are scared of how difficult it will be. This is a typical fear that prevents people from having the success that they are after.

However, I always encourage everyone to take baby steps when they need to, one step at a time. I also have days when it feels like the workload is too much. But the way that I overcome these types of problems is by putting my strong work ethic in place. I focus only on the next thing to do, instead of focusing on all things at once.

Each one of us has an inner critic whose job is to scare us. But we also have an inner coach that is there to help us move on. Listen to the latter rather. Don’t focus on all of the problems you have, but rather the problem that you need to fix right now. When that is done, shift your focus to the next.

3. Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today

This one is super simple and probably my favorite rule of all.

Procrastination is ridiculously common in people. Some base their whole existence on the idea that if today is not the deadline of a project, then no reason to work on it now. But trust me, a recipe for burnout is leaving things off until tomorrow. If you managed to pull it off in college, it doesn’t mean you’ll pull it off as self-employed. No, in this case, it may mean not having enough time to finalize your work, which means monetary losses, loss of clients and eventually the full stop of your business.

4. Start with the hardest tasks first

Frome experience, doing work early in the morning, and doing the most difficult tasks first, is the best way to approach the issue.

While in the morning, we are still fresh. We have the capacity to think straight and to think a lot. Use the full power of your brain to accomplish the more complicated problems, and leave the monotonous stuff until the very end. In the evening, our productivity drops dramatically. What’s the point of torturing yourself with something in the evening or night time, when you can do it a lot more efficiently in the morning or daytime?

5. Positive reinforcement

No matter what work it is, work is work. If you don’t allow yourself to rest from time to time, your passion may turn into your torture.

Learn to take pauses and to celebrate the work that you have accomplished. By giving yourself a treat for the work that you have done, you positively reinforce this process. Instead of connecting in your mind hard work to misery, you can connect it to something pleasant.

Next time when you know there is a lot to do, you’ll be happy to do it because you know something great is waiting for you after you’re done with it.

6. Vision and goals

Having a vision of the future is always very beneficial.

In some of my most difficult moments, I remind myself why I am doing the work that I do, and how I will be able to help the world once I achieve my goals.

My advice to you is to create a vision that you will always have in your mind. It is something that will take a long time to achieve, and is something that you are ultimately after. But also have smaller goals that you can accomplish within the next half a year. These goals must all be connected to your life’s vision.

Without a true passion and a vision in life, it will be hard to constantly motivate yourself to keep working hard.

Recommended read: 5 Powerful Goal Setting Tools to Spark Your Achievements

7. Make it public

While some like to keep their work to themselves, others get more serious about it by making it public.

You don’t necessarily need to brag about your future plans to your friends. Instead, tell them about the progress that you are already making. This makes us more accountable for the work we do.

8. Quality over quantity

Some people prefer to throw shit against the wall and see what sticks. In most cases, I am totally against this. In the long run, quality beats quantity.

I am not saying that quantity is never good. All I am saying is that the majority of people go for quantity because it is easier. But if you want to stand out from the crowd and win projects that no one else does, be prepared to go that extra mile to bring outstanding results. This will be noticed by others, I can guarantee that.

9. Knowing that you are making a difference

President John F. Kennedy was visiting NASA headquarters for the first time, in 1961. While walking around the area, he introduced himself to a janitor who was mopping the floor. Kennedy asked what the janitor did at NASA. The janitor then replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon!”

The moral of the story is that each one of us can make a difference. When you fail to see that you are working for the benefit of all human kind, you may not be motivated to work as hard.

Feel your own significance to create a strong work ethic. This fits in tightly with having a clear vision of why you are an entrepreneur.

10. Mistakes are inevitable

One of the best tips that anyone could have ever given me in the context of entrepreneurship would be: mistakes are inevitable.

Most of us fear too much to start anything of our own because of the failure that we are anticipating. On the other hand, many of us do fail in business because we were overly confident and fail to overcome adversity.

No matter what you do, if it’s new to you and you do decide to do it on your own, sooner or later there will problems. Because you are constantly learning, it is inevitable and every solo entrepreneur deals with it. However, what’s important to know is that you should always be prepared, and know that any problem can be dealt with.

Be ready and be resourceful to always find a plan B, a way around your problem. If you have this mindset, you will become an achiever. Remember, everything that doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger. Entrepreneurship is no exception.

These were my top ten strong work ethic rules. If you have one to share, please make sure you do so in the comment section below. I would be more than happy to read about it.

Thank you for stopping by and good luck!

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