1. Pick only The Best People to join you

This is probably the most important one. Both in a great adventure and in a new business, you won’t be able to go alone. Choose very wisely your partners, employees and suppliers.

2. Attitude beats Expertise

This one is a no-brainer. Choose the people with a great attitude. Expertise will come afterwards. People who help, that want to get involved, that learn, listen and the do more than they should or are supposed to. People that go the extra mile. At one point in time, this extra mile will be crucial for the business and the team.

3. Live for the Moment and make the most out of every second

It’s a certainty that the road will be difficult, that you will struggle, feel exhausted, experience pain and suffer along. Most of the times you will be alone – even at 8000m, you usually climb alone. You have to find reasons and ways to enjoy every moment though.

4. Prepare for the Unexpected even when nobody thinks anything bad will happen

Can you spot signals of possible problems in business before everyone else? A bad supplier, a bad employee, a bad decision, a competitor? You’d better grow this ability. Otherwise, you will be caught unprepared by avalanches of situations you should have seen coming.

5. Don’t join Groups of people without Proven Experience

Just because someone says he will handle a situation doesn’t mean he will. Just because someone says he or she is trustworthy and hardworking doesn’t mean he or she is. You know that already. But do you really evaluate people before committing? Think about trial periods, evaluations that are a few days or weeks long, things that they have to do for the team before being part of it.

6. Don’t be afraid to Dare, but take Calculated Risks

I often say I like to take risks but I don’t like to gamble. Risk taking means handling as much risk as possible, as long as the possibility of winning still outcomes the possibility of failure, or at least that the prize is much more relevant than a failure. Gambling is a game against you all the time.

7. Never feel that you Know too much and can Be less Cautious

Keep your guard up, all the time. Trust people very fast to a certain degree and very slow completely. Entrepreneurs with experience made bad decisions, extraordinary climbers died in the mountains in the most stupid ways. Stay humble and learn continuously.

8. Bootstrap and learn to get where you want with the least amount of Resources possible

Somewhere along the way, in the mountains, you will have to make do without the usual resources. You will have to climb without proper gear, without food or sleep, to reach the top. In your business it is often similar – it’s not about what you learned, saw in the movies or what you have been told.

Find new ways to do things, find 10 times or 100 times cheaper ways to grow, hack everything and become a master of using and re-using resources. Remember, with enough resources, a lot more people can succeed. Will someone else be able to replace you in the market with the same resources as you have? You don’t have the same resources as a competitor already has? Not yet. Until then, find a way!

9. Build you physical stamina and Endurance, the Road to the top is Long

Stay fit, sleep enough, visit the gym much more often that your doctor and your fast food restaurant combined. Run a lot, in the morning or at night, whenever you can. Keep a flat belly – if you cannot dedicate a few minutes a day to stay in shape despite all other things that you have to do, how will you manage the gigantic amount of work and decisions that your business will need every day?

10. Everything seems Easier if you Train Harder than everyone else

Learn at least one hour per day. Read about your field, about the best practices in the world that shape your market, network, discuss with the best people. It’s time consuming, I know, I already heard you don’t have time.. Let go of the distractions in your life and focus on what is really important for the market you address. Always struggle to become the number 1 choice for your clients.

Enjoy the ride!

I always do… and if you want more inspiration and ideas for your business, I recommend you the free resources on Accelerole.