If you're planning to run your business for 10 years or more, then resilience is something you'll want to grow and nurture. The American Psychological Association defines resilience as "the process of adapting well in the face of adversity."

Why is being a resilient, particularly valuable quality for those running a business?

Because according to US Bank data:

• Roughly 20% of small businesses fail within the first year.
• Roughly 33% of small businesses fail within two years.
• Roughly 50%of small businesses fail within five years.
• Roughly 66% of small businesses fail within 10 years.

And the leading causes for these failures are:

1. Cash flow problems account for 82% of failures. Such issues can have different root causes or their combination: lack of a business plan, pricing issues, lack of or poor budgeting, or insufficient financing.
2. Poor understanding of the market, therefore not having the right marketing strategy. Or being too rigid and not changing fast enough with the market needs.
3. Fast growth and with it the entrepreneur not being able to hire and lead proper teams or put systems and structures in place, allowing for controlled growth.
4. Not being prepared properly to be a business owner and, therefore, not being ready to take on all the responsibilities that come with running a business.

I want to point your attention to the 4th reason why the businesses fail.

Why? Because it all starts with you, the entrepreneur, the leader. If you don't continually prepare and grow yourself to run your own business, the other three reasons will happen. If you do – you'll be able to deal with anything that comes your way.

So what can you do to prepare yourself to run a long-lasting and successful business?

Here are a few steps you can start taking now and never stop.

Learn some foundational skills you need to run the business.

Most of those skills fall into the following areas: marketing and sales, time management, strategy, leadership, money management, and technology.

These foundations will serve you no matter what happens in the market. And as you continue expanding them and developing more expert knowledge, you'll be able to stay ahead of the market, predict the needs to change, build highly-performing teams and avert financial catastrophes before they happen.

If I was to give you only one piece of advice, it's this one: never stop learning and investing in yourself. Your business will grow if you grow first.

"How can I learn those skills then Maggie," you ask? There are many different avenues: schools, online courses, mentors, and coaches. There're an in-person, online, group, self-paced, or one-on-one learning? The one thing is sure, you cannot blame the lack of sources and opportunities to learn what you need ad set yourself up for success.

If you're not sure where to start or are interested in hiring a coach, then book a free chat with me here, and I'll be happy to point you in the direction that will serve you best right now.

Work on your mindset

Learning how to have your mind work for you, not against you, is one of the millionaires' secrets. Even when doubt, fear, or self-sabotaging thoughts happen, the most successful know how to get out of the rut and shift their mind to self-belief, confidence, and enthusiasm.

It's easy to get discouraged when the one thing you're working on fails 5127 times. You're thinking: "Are this many fails even possible?" – yes! This was the number of failed prototypes before the Dyson vacuum was ready to hit the marketplace.

And I get it; it's easy to stop believing you have something precious when you get rejected repeatedly (12 times or even more, for example, Stephen King or J.K. Rowling). But yet, some people keep going, and these are the ones that win.

One of the best mindsets you can adopt as an entrepreneur is treating roadblocks as learning opportunities and puzzle pieces to solve. Just like Ray Dalio describes in his book Principles:

By solving the puzzle, I get a gem in the form of a principle that helps me avoid the same sort of problem in the future.

Ray Dalio

Collecting lessons and applying them without beating yourself up will get you closer to success.

Innovate constantly

As you read before, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity. Part of it sits in innovation. Entrepreneurs who have this skill, always look for better ways to serve their clients and run their businesses.

This is where the skills you acquire from self-development help you gain the knowledge of the market, and then the rubber hits the road with you applying all this to stand out of the crowd. That's how you're showing your Ideal Client, you're the only one who can meet their needs best.

Build a support system.

No one can succeed without a proper support system. And by that, I mean two things: people who'll help you and systems and habits that will help you be innovative, consistent, healthy, and enthusiastic throughout your journey.

Who are the people? These will be mentors, coaches, fellow entrepreneurs, friends & family whom you can turn to for help in different things: self-development, sounding board, moral support, or collaboration. Additionally, as your business grows, you'll add employees, suppliers, and subcontractors.

The second part is system and habits, processes, and tools in your day to day that will support you as a business leader growing your business creatively through innovation without being overwhelmed or burned out.

Don't underestimate this part. Enthusiasm and motivation can get you started, but without the habits and routines, you won't be able to keep going consistently. They're vital in building your resilience.

If you're thinking: "Great, Maggie, but what systems and habits do I need now and how they'll help me?" let's talk. My Dream-Plan-Do coaching formula in all my programs empowers you not only with new skills but also with such routines that carry your results to the next level. If you want to know how – contact me here.