Just last month, I was blessed with an opportunity to speak with some extremely high-achieving entrepreneurs whom I so admire. What an experience it was. I previously wrote about raising your business thermostat by surrounding yourself with the right people, but now my thermostat is set at an even higher temperature. Oh my goodness!

The first realization that really struck me was, as amazingly successful as they are, they still have the same kind of challenges as I. Yes, they are all super talented, but they still use the same marketing techniques as many of us use to grow their business. No magic pill. Very basic stuff over and over.

But I’ve also discovered they have some habits and mindset that the rest of us do not necessarily have, and I’d like to share the specifics here since they made a huge impact on me.

1. Successful entrepreneurs manage fears.
   We see successful people launch new programs and products, one after another, and it seems they are doing that very effortlessly, right? No, they do feel fears to do something new to take their business to the next level all the time, but they *know* that fears can easily stop them from growing. Successful entrepreneurs do not allow their fears to get in the way by recognizing and managing them.
2. Entrepreneurship is in their blood.
   I met a couple who just came out of their retirement. They had enough money from their last business to live on for years to come, but they were not satisfied with their life without running a business! When they talked about their plan for their new business, their eyes were twinkling with passion. I am convinced that it would not take long for them to get their brand-new business off the ground.
3. They never say, “I know that.”
   While it’s so obvious they have amazing expertise, they are always willing to learn from others. They respect others’ knowledge and experience so much.
4. Each of them works with a coach.
   We tend to think successful entrepreneurs must have “figured it out” already, but I found out that was not the case. They say they are still figuring it out, and seek guidance and accountability from their coaches.
5. Investing in themselves is a high priority.
   Especially in this economic climate, I often hear people say, “I’d love to do XXX, but I can’t afford it.” Successful entrepreneurs, on the other hand, will make every effort to make it a reality if they see the XXX is a great investment that would benefit them or their business in the future.
6. They constantly look one step ahead.
   I was trying to pick somebody’s brain about this idea of hiring some VAs so that I can help more clients while growing my business. His comment? “If you are going to have to supervise these VAs, you’ll end up spending time managing them, and at some point, your business will stop growing as long as you are stuck in that role. I would hire somebody who can manage them for me so that I would be able to grow more.” Speak of one step ahead!
7. They love to partner up with others for joint ventures and masterminding.
   They seem to have a habit of looking for ways to partner up with others. “Oh, you would be a great fit for this project that I’m working on!” or “Maybe we can do a cross-promotion.” type of conversation was taking place everywhere.
8. They make a commitment, and will not let it wear off.
   People go to motivational events or read great business books and say to themselves, “I commit to take action on this great thing I just learned!” But just like typical new years resolutions, the commitment very often disappears in the universe within a month. Successful entrepreneurs do not let that happen. They stick to it, and if it’s hard, find a way to keep themselves accountable.

Are you ready to start building these habits? We all know breaking old habits is not as easy as it seems, but it’s totally doable.

I know I’m ready.

I belong to a wonderful Virtual Assistant community called AssistU, and a couple weeks ago, its Southern California Chapter held a 2010 kick-off luncheon meeting. There were 6 of us, and we ended up talking and talking for well over 3 hours, discussing our business challenges and sharing great stories over authentic Chinese dishes. I happened to be the newest VA among the group, and learned so much from everybody. These are all professional ladies who take their business very seriously; the word “excuse” is simply not in their dictionary. They all hold super high standards.

Did I get motivated by talking to these ladies? You bet! Did the conversations with them help me stand taller as a business owner? Absolutely!! It was like raising the thermostat setting for my business. I realized then that I had probably started feeling a bit too comfortable about where I was in spite of my desire to grow my business by leaps. We all know that changes are not always comfortable, right?

Now that I own my business, I realize the importance of surrounding myself with the right people more than ever. Here are some ways that I discovered to do so to keep raising the biz thermometer:

1. Network with the right people. There are many ways to network with other business owners, but it’s also easy to end up networking with people who will not really help you grow. You should try surrounding yourself with people who are already where you want to be, or whom you can grow together with. Great places to find these people include seminars of your specific interests, social networking sites, or very specialized meetup groups.
2. Join or start a mastermind group with like-minded people. While many people are revisiting the knowledge shared in Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich these days, more and more mastermind groups seem to be popping up everywhere. I believe the key to joining/forming a mastermind group is to find members who are really willing to contribute to other members. Otherwise, it’s easy for the group meeting to turn into a “let me complain about my business” session, and that would simply be waste of time.
3. Find a coach. A coach will guide you to keep taking steps to get where you want to be. The right coach will always keep your best interest in mind and push you to constantly to raise your business standards.
4. If you are not sure about hiring a coach right now, start with finding an accountability partner. That could be your friend who is also trying to grow his/her business, or somebody who is a bit ahead of you in their business. Have a weekly call about business challenges and goals, and keep each other accountable for taking actual actions to get closer to those goals.

Then look into a mirror, and say to yourself, “I’m worth it,” because you are!