Roman Vasilenko, Doctor of Economics, author of The Success Hunter
Is there a universal algorithm that can guarantee entrepreneurial success? I do not believe there is a single formula. However, years of experience show that certain patterns can be found in the stories of people who consistently achieve the goals they set for themselves.
Over the course of thirty years of professional activity, I worked in the financial department of the navy, built a career in commercial organizations, and eventually began creating and developing my own projects. Observing different people, along with my own experience, allowed me to formulate twelve principles that I consider particularly important for entrepreneurs.
My book The Success Hunter, published by Piter Publishing House, is devoted to these principles. Below is a brief summary of them.
Beginning entrepreneurs often call something a goal when it is actually only a wish. “Become successful,” “start a business,” and “achieve independence” are good aspirations, but they are too broad.
A genuine goal should make it possible to determine unambiguously whether it has been achieved. To do that, it needs measurable indicators and a specific deadline.
For example, instead of the vague intention to increase your income, you can define a target monthly income and the date by which you want to achieve it. Instead of simply promising to start exercising, you can set a goal of preparing for a particular race within a specific number of months.
The more precisely the desired result is defined, the easier it is to turn an intention into a step-by-step action plan.
People rarely develop in isolation from others. Our environment gradually shapes our attitudes toward money, careers, risk, opportunities, and even our own abilities.
If most of the people you know believe that a stable salary is the only sensible source of income, entrepreneurship may seem excessively risky. Among active businesspeople, starting your own company is no longer an exception but a perfectly ordinary decision.
That is why it is important to understand who influences your views and how. By consciously choosing your environment, you also shape your own path to a significant extent.
Over the years, I have encountered a huge number of different concepts and business ideas. Many of them were genuinely promising. But far from all of them turned into viable projects.
There is a huge gap between coming up with an idea and actually making it happen. An idea by itself does not benefit customers, create a product, or generate revenue. All of that emerges only through execution.
That is why a project that has been launched and is gradually being improved is often stronger than a much more original idea that is discussed, analyzed, and postponed for years.
Entrepreneurs need to stop waiting for the moment when all the conditions become perfect. That moment may never come.
You cannot expect your desire to work to be equally strong every day. Your mood changes, problems arise, and fatigue and other circumstances can get in the way.
That is why it is much more effective to rely not on inspiration but on a system. Regular actions built into your daily routine gradually produce a cumulative effect.
A daily workout, reading a few pages of professional literature, working on a project, or making new contacts with clients — each of these actions may seem insignificant. But when performed consistently, the results become noticeable.
Consistency almost always proves stronger than occasional bursts of extraordinary effort.
Mistakes are a natural part of development, and it is impossible to avoid them completely. But that does not mean an entrepreneur has to go through every stage alone and make every possible mistake firsthand.
An experienced mentor can point out things a newcomer cannot yet see. Sometimes a few hours of conversation with someone who has already taken a similar path can save months of making the wrong decisions.
A mentor whose advice you genuinely value is especially important. So asking for help should not be seen as a sign of weakness. On the contrary, the ability to learn from more experienced people is an important entrepreneurial advantage.
High earnings and financial stability are not the same thing. You can earn a substantial income and still constantly struggle with a lack of money.
Financial awareness means understanding how much you earn, how much you spend, what financial obligations you have, and what portion of your income you can allocate to savings or investments.
It is also essential to clearly separate personal funds from company money. This approach allows you to see the true financial picture and make decisions based on figures rather than feelings. Financial literacy does not automatically appear as your income grows. It needs to be developed as a separate skill.
Constantly forcing yourself to do the things you need to do is not the most effective way to move forward. Willpower is limited, whereas a properly established habit can operate with virtually no additional effort.
At first, developing a new habit requires conscious control. But over time, the action becomes part of your normal routine. What once required an effort of will begins to happen automatically.
That is why, when working on yourself, it is better not to try to change dozens of things at once. It is much more effective to choose one habit, establish it, and then move on to the next.
Entrepreneurial activity rarely develops in a straight line. Failed negotiations, mistakes, financial difficulties, poor decisions, and unexpected obstacles are a normal part of moving forward.
When a person enters unfamiliar territory, they do not yet have ready-made tools for solving every problem that arises. That is why difficulties do not necessarily mean that you should abandon your chosen direction.
Sometimes a problem simply shows that you are missing a particular skill. That means you need to understand the issue, gain new experience, and try a different approach.
Mistakes and obstacles do not necessarily mean you have strayed from the route. Very often, they are part of the route itself.
An entrepreneur makes decisions, manages people, works with information, and constantly deals with pressure. All of this requires energy.
Putting off taking care of your health until you have more free time is a questionable strategy. If you constantly live by the principle of “business first, everything else later,” the second stage may never come.
Quality sleep, sensible nutrition, movement, and physical activity help you maintain your energy and capacity over the long term. Health is not something you should take care of after achieving your goals. It is one of the tools that enables you to achieve them.
A business reputation is rarely built through one grand gesture. More often, it is made up of many small moments.
If you agree to get in touch on a certain day, do it. If you promise to send information by a specific deadline, keep your word.
These actions may seem insignificant, but they are precisely what partners and clients use to judge whether a person is reliable.
In long-term business, people whose words match their actions are especially valued. Trust is built gradually, which is why losing it through one serious breach can be particularly damaging.
Success does not necessarily diminish when you share it. On the contrary, knowledge, valuable connections, experience, and opportunities that a person is willing to share can create new relationships and open up additional possibilities.
When an entrepreneur helps others, they strengthen their own reputation. They begin to be seen as someone whom others can turn to for advice or support. Over time, this can lead to new partnerships, referrals, and joint projects.
Beyond the practical benefits, there is another aspect: it is easier for a person to grow when they do not see all their resources as something that must constantly be protected and held onto.
The first major success can play a cruel trick on a person. After achieving a significant result, it is easy to decide that you can stop now.
But a business does not remain successful solely because of past achievements. Markets, technologies, competitors, and customer needs change. Therefore, even a good result requires further development.
Your first million, your own company, a new office, or a major deal are important achievements, but they are not the final finish line.
True resilience emerges when a person knows not only how to achieve results but also how to maintain the ability to keep moving forward.
The twelve principles described above are not a secret formula that automatically leads to success. Rather, they are practical guidelines formed through many years of observation and experience.
Most of them are familiar to people at least at the level of common sense. But knowing a principle and following it are far from being the same thing.
Results emerge when theory is turned into everyday actions: setting a specific goal, maintaining discipline, choosing the right environment, keeping your finances in order, taking care of your health, and being prepared to continue after your first achievements.
So the main principle can be stated very simply: it is not enough to understand what needs to be done. You have to start doing it consistently.
A year from now, it will be your actions today that determine how far you have progressed.
I wish all entrepreneurs not only the ability to identify promising opportunities, but also enough strength, perseverance, and discipline to turn them into real results.