Just like buying a lottery ticket the odds are a million to one that you will win. Yet, people buy the tickets. Why? It is the dream that they are hoping to fulfill. It is easy money with no work involved. You started a business to fulfill a dream, too, but I would argue that luck has little to do with your success. Luck means that something happened to you. Successful businesspeople make their own luck and are proactive and decisive in how they build their business. Below are 7 tips for how to create your own luck.

1. Have A Dream

It all starts with a dream of being your own boss, retiring early, building something that is yours, feeling challenged, putting kids through college, and paying for other life events, and caring for parents or maybe it is investing in real estate so you will have a stream of income in retirement. Whatever your dream is for starting a business stay connected to the dream. The dream, the vision, is the fuel for your success. It drives the daily decisions.

2. Surround Yourself With Successful People

It isn’t just important to network and build relationships that goes without saying, but I believe the difference is in WHO you surround yourself with. Find others who are ahead of you on the path to success that you can emulate and learn from. This will be instrumental to your success. You will avoid common mistakes and reach goals quicker.

3. Be Inquisitive

Successful businesspeople never stop learning. They ask questions of themselves, their team, and others around them. Solving problems is what property managers do and understanding your client’s pain points, challenges and issues will not only allow you to serve them better but if you ask and listen, you will discover opportunities for new products, services, and new revenue streams.

4. Be A Professional

Whatever your career path is, be a professional at it. Take what you do seriously. Change your mindset and attitude about what you do. If you are just working for the paycheck then you have a job not a career. If you would do it for free, then you have found your calling. I am not saying that you should do it for free but what that feeling or thought tells you is that you are in the right place. Focus on your gifts and grow. Attend conferences. Get professional designations. Get involved in trade groups and on boards to contribute to your profession. Teach if that is your calling. Mentor and become someone that other’s wants to emulate.

5. Systematize Your Business

A true professional is always evaluating best practices and ways to streamline the business. This leads to higher profits, less loss of productivity and a business that can continue without you, the Owner. Use tools of the trade to implement processes, automation, and create a framework for your business. The more systems in place the more you are showing up as a leader and the CEO. You are modeling best practices for your team and leading by example. You are elevating your profession and treating your business as a business.

 6. Have A Plan

You started with your dream, you found others to emulate, you asked questions and became curious about how others do property management, and you became a professional by implementing systems for success. If you don’t have a plan for how to execute your dream you are left with just a dream and no amount of luck can turn a dream into reality when it comes to starting and growing a business. Be intentional and put in place your plan for today and the future. A business plan which includes, operations, sales and marketing, staffing, customer service, accounting and finally your exit strategy.

7. Success Doesn’t Happen Overnight

Success isn’t built on luck but on a lot of hard work. A determination to fulfill a dream. When newbies see a successful person, they often think it happened suddenly, they got a lucky break, that it was easy. I am here to tell you that is the opposite of reality. More than likely, it was twenty years of hard work that lead to being successful overnight. You are all the luck you need. You have it in you to create your future success today. So, do the work and you too can be an overnight success in ten years.