Are you ready to really commit?

Just about everyone who has earned a paycheck daydreams about running their own business.

It might be the Friday you asked to have off and your supervisor turned you down.

It could be during the week you wanted to have for vacation but someone with more seniority grabbed it instead.

Or it could be while watching the clock at 4:55 p.m., 4:56, 4:57 … waiting for it to hit 5 p.m. so you can be free.

For the millions who cast off those shackles to become their own boss, they quickly realize that you are trading one set of pressures for another. Instead of one boss, you have many bosses – they are called clients or customers.

When your work day is done, it is not really done because running a successful business means continually reviewing strategy, finding new customers, sometimes recruiting talent and always, always learning.

It is the very, very rare business that just takes off right away. The vast majority is a long slog through rejection and despair to reach sustainability.

If you want to be successful, then you need to commit yourself to a few realities.

1) Learn to not fear “no.” You will hear no in a lot of different ways, both polite and blunt. View each “no” as a learning experience, what can you do, say or offer differently next time to get to yes. And in business, you have to get through a lot of rejection to get to success. So each “no” is a step closer to “yes.”

2) Focus on systems, not goals. If you set healthy goals and you have a couple of bad days, you can easily get discouraged and eventually walk away if you do not have systems to follow. If you want to write a book, set a writing schedule. If you want to sell a product, set a number of sales calls or communications you’ll make every day.

3) Be consistent. This is where you decide if you have a hobby or a business. A business takes focused, day-to-day effort. Even on days you aren’t feeling it, you get up and do it. A hobby is for fun … it’s something you put aside when you get bored.

4) Be passionate. If you aren’t really into the service you are offering or product you are selling, people get that and it’s easy to say no. Passion comes through … and it allows you to take that no and move on. If you passionately believe in your business then the next person always is an opportunity because it’s their loss if they don’t hire you.

5) Make friends. Networking can be tiring and you may meet hundreds of people before you truly find someone that can help you further your business. It’s just like fishing, the wider net you cast the more chances you have of making good connections.

6) Don’t be a know-it-all. Very, very few have the innate ability to manage all aspects of a business. Realize quickly where you are an expert and then find mentors to help improve your weaknesses. No one wants to help someone who comes across as having all the answers. In any conversation, the person doing the listening is the one who is learning.