The 1 Thing a Business Leader Must Do to Succeed

Sadly, 25% of businesses fail within their first year and an astonishing 70% of businesses fail within ten years. So, if you're thinking about starting a business or you've recently made the leap, how can you optimize your chances of success? What is the single most important factor in determining your success? I asked this question of 10 successful business leaders from the Young Entrepreneur Council, and their answers are below, followed by mine:

1. Build A Strong Leadership Team

We used to invest in technology. Then it was marketing. Then we woke up and realized it was all about the people. Bringing in the best, seasoned, Director/VP-level talent over the past 18 months has really helped the owners bring the company's goals back in focus. Do your systems, workflow and technology always need to be evolving? You bet. But at a certain point in company's growth, you will NEED an experienced leader helping you architect those things if you want to go to the next level. - Andrew Loos, Attack

2. Have A Great Mindset

Your mindset drives so much in business: the risks you take, opportunities you pursue, challenges to tackle, confidence level and vision. The great thing is that even if you have doubts and fears now, your mindset can change and grow with you as an entrepreneur. The things that once terrified me are now easy to manage and I understand much better why entrepreneurship is an excellent avenue for personal growth and development! - Kelly Azevedo, She's Got Systems

3. Execute

Hands down, continuing to execute to accomplish your goals is the single most important factor in making your business a success. Without continual execution, businesses sink. However, executing on the right goals will not only keep you from sinking, it will help you excel. - Stacey Ferreira, MySocialCloud

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4. Have a Passion for Change

At Star Toilet Paper, we have a deep-seated yearning to change the world and that is what we are doing and will continue to do. Each and every week, we have a weekly email that we sign off with, "Let's change the world and disrupt the status quo." Having an internal team slogan like that really helps bring out the best in us and continues to fuel our passion. - Bryan Silverman, Star Toilet Paper

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5. Create Value

Purchase decisions almost always come down to value --- customers must realize a benefit from working with your business. That can mean a multitude of things, such as cost savings, convenience, reliability, increased quality, etc. Effectively providing value is integral to the long-term success of your company; not only does it assist in retaining your current customers, but also provides the highest-quality referrals you can ask for when attempting to gain new business. - Charles Bogoian, Kenai Sports, LLC 

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6. Work With Clients Who Share Your Beliefs

Being ourselves and working with companies who share our beliefs is everything. We believe design makes a difference and we look to work with companies who agree. We also work with companies who know the people inside the building are what counts. Working with companies with soul has been the key to our success. - Chuck Longanecker, digital-telepathy

7. Focus

It's so tempting early on to chase after every interesting idea and business opportunity. Learning to say "no" or at least "not yet" is paramount to every entrepreneur's success. Focus on what's most important. Your customers and investors will thank you for it eventually. - Ryan Buckley, Scripted, Inc.

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8. Serve Your Customers

By providing your product or service in a fast, convenient, and friendly way, you'll establish your business as one built for the long term. Any unsatisfied customers should be compensated to ensure they'll still consider you for future business. Happy customers are everything. - Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

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9. Remain Unsatisfied

I am famous internally for saying "we're almost there" when referring to the business. The truth is that "there" is a constantly moving goal post. As a team, we have a positive but relentless and never-satisfied attitude, which in turn results in our company always pushing for better and never being complacent. - Lauren Friese, TalentEgg

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10. Hire the Right People

I was telling my team just last week that regardless of how much we market or sell, if we don't create good products (in our case, websites), then we can't progress. It's people who create those sites, so hiring the best developers (or widget makers, or whoever makes your business succeed) is vital to keeping the engine of your business running. - Hassan Bawab, Magic Logix

These are the single most important things a leader must do to succeed in business according to ten successful young entrepreneurs. But wait - there are 10 different factors listed above! So which, in fact, is most important?

My answer to this question:

Focus is the single most important factor in determining your success as a business leader.

Focus means understanding what your priorities are in any given hour, day, month, quarter or year. Focus means knowing what's most important - product, service, hiring, fundraising, sales or innovation, and then concentrating on that one thing. Focus means knowing what's not as important in any given time period. Without focus, it's easy to wander - it's easy to become reactive instead of proactive - it's easy to fail. With focus and determination, you and your team will understand what's most important, and help you execute - to success. So that unlike that 70%, you can beat the odds and maintain a successful business over time.

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Now it's your turn. How important do you think focus is for leaders in determining business success? How important do you think the other factors listed above are? What do YOUthink is the single most important factor in determining whether a business succeeds or fails? Let me know in the Comments section below, please share this post with yournetwork, and here's to your success!

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Dave Kerpen is the founder and CEO of Likeable Local, his current focus. He is also the cofounder and Chairman of Likeable Media, and the New York Times bestselling author of Likeable Social Media and Likeable Business.To read more from Dave on LinkedIn, please click the FOLLOW button above or below.

The Young Entrepreneurs Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched#StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

How to Dress for Success Today

I'm warning you: Based on conversations about this topic at my office, you may find this post to be controversial - you may totally disagree with me. You may even find it to be trivial. But with nearly 1.8 million college graduates this month to soon be looking for work, this seemed as good a time as any to talk about a question that's not so trivial to anyone looking for work: What should you wear to a job interview? And then once you have a job, what should you wear to work?

When I interviewed for my first real job after college, at Radio Disney in Boston, Massachusetts, I went into the interview in a full suit and tie, dressed to impress, or so I thought. Unfortunately, it was a hot September day and I was fifty pounds heavier than I am today. And unfortunately, I had a bit of a sweating problem back then.

I thought I had aced the interview. In fact, I did ace the interview. I received an offer via a phone call from Peggy Iafrate, who would become my boss and one of my early mentors the very next day. Concluded Peggy:

"We loved everything about you Dave and can't wait for you to start. Well, just about everything. Please, oh please, lose the jacket and tie."

I got the job - but not because of what I wore - in spite of it. Through most of the years since then, I've been fortunate enough to be the boss, and help set the dress code for the office, and it's always been a casual or business casual setting. I've also interviewed dozens if not hundreds of job applicants, and I've seen many men and women dressed uncomfortably formally - (and a few dressed uncomfortably informally.) Conventional wisdom says to dress up formally for a job interview. But I disagree. Through the years I've come to this conclusion, truer today than ever before:

At a job interview, you should dress comfortably and (at most) a little more formally than the rest of the office.

At a job interview, you're trying to show the organization that you'd fit in there. If you show up dressed casually and everyone else is dressed more formally, you won't fit in. That's the easy part that everyone gets. But equally true is the converse: If you show up as a man in a three piece suit or as a woman in a formal pantsuit, and everyone else there is casual, you also won't be fitting it. If a job applicant to one of our companies comes in a suit and tie, it shows that he didn't research the culture of our office - and it counts as a strike against him. Why take that risk?

Two years ago, my daughter Charlotte had a boy in her class who wore a suit and tie to school every day. It was a second grade classroom, and yes, at first, I thought Trevor was adorable. But eventually, I came to believe that his parents were doing him a disservice by letting him go to school like that every day. He didn't fit in, and on hot days with no air conditioning in that classroom, he couldn't have possibly been comfortable.

Do you want to be a Trevor, at a job interview or beyond?

So what's the solution?

Before an interview, ask the recruiter or people at the office what the unofficial dress code is. Then come in, wearing comfortable clothes, and dressed similarly, (or just a little bit more formally) to what everyone else is wearing. You'll fit in, and you'll be comfortable and confident throughout the interview.

Remember, too: It might seem like the interview - and getting the job - is everything - but in the long run, it's just the beginning. You want to work at an organization where you'll fit in and feel like part of the culture for a long time - after all, you spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else.

If you like to dress casually, do you really want to work somewhere where formal wear is expected? If you like to dress up, do you really want to work somewhere where most people dress down?

The best solution?

Decide what dressing for success means for you- and then find an industry and organization where - at the interview and beyond - you can be comfortable, successful, and fit in with the corporate culture.

Want to work in a suit? Interview at organizations that'll support that - where it's part of the corporate culture.

Want to work while dressed casually? Interview at organizations where that's the norm.

Want to work at home in your underwear? Luckily for you, more than ever before, there are telecommuting positions and work-from-home positions available. But in that case, it's probably best to get a bit more dressed up for your interview.

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Now it's your turn. Many have told me that it's always better to be dressed as formally and fancily as possible for a job interview - do you agree or disagree with my thoughts here? How do youdress for success at job interviews and at your job - and what doyou recommend to others looking for a job? Let me know yourthoughts in the Comments section below, and be sure to share this article with anyone in your network looking for a job soon.

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Dave Kerpen is the founder and CEO of Likeable Local, the cofounder and Chairman ofLikeable Media, and the New York Times bestselling author of Likeable Social Media andLikeable Business. He usually wears a jacket and orange sneakers. To read more from Dave on LinkedIn, please click the FOLLOW button above or below.

Thanks to Ness Pacheco for the photo above and to Jonathan Greenberg, Jen O'Neill, and Phillip Morgan from the Likeable Dentiststeam for modeling.

8 Things Productive People Do During the Workday

Forget about your job title or profession – everyone is looking for ways to be more productive at work. It’s time to set down your gallon-sized container of coffee, toss out your three-page to-do list, and put an end to those ridiculously long emails you’ve been sending.

Experiencing a highly productive workday can feel euphoric. But contrary to popular belief, simply checking tasks off your to-do list isn’t really an indication of productivity. Truly productive people aren’t focused on doing more things; this is actually the opposite of productivity. If you really want to be productive, you’ve got to make a point to do fewer things.

Recently I spoke with project management and productivity genius Tony Wong to find out the secret to a more productive workday. He provided me with some excellent insight into what he and other like-minded productive individuals do during their work week.

Harness your productivity by taking note of these eight things:

1. Create a smaller to-do list. Getting things accomplished during your workday shouldn’t be about doing as much as possible in the sanctioned eight hours. It may be hard to swallow, but there’s nothing productive about piling together a slew of tasks in the form of a checklist. Take a less-is-more approach to your to-do list by only focusing on accomplishing things that matter.

2. Take breaks. You know that ache that fills your brain when you’ve been powering through tasks for several hours? This is due to your brain using up glucose. Too many people mistake this for a good feeling, rather than a signal to take a break. Go take a walk, grab something to eat, workout, or meditate – give your brain some resting time. Achieve more productivity during your workday by making a point to regularly clear your head. You’ll come back recharged and ready to achieve greater efficiency.

3. Follow the 80/20 rule. Did you know that only 20 percent of what you do each day produces 80 percent of your results? Eliminate the things that don’t matter during your workday: they have a minimal effect on your overall productivity. For example, on a project, systematically remove tasks until you end up with the 20 percent that gets the 80 percent of results.

4. Start your day by focusing on yourself. If you begin your morning by checking your email, it allows others to dictate what you accomplish. Set yourself in the right direction by ignoring your emails and taking the morning to focus on yourself, eat a good breakfast, meditate, or read the news.

5. Take on harder tasks earlier in the day. Knock out your most challenging work when your brain is most fresh. Save your busy work – if you have any – for when your afternoon slump rolls in.

6. Pick up the phone. The digital world has created poor communication habits. Email is a productivity killer and usually a distraction from tasks that actually matter. For example, people often copy multiple people on emails to get it off their plate – don't be a victim of this action. This distracts everyone else by creating noise against the tasks they’re trying to accomplish and is a sign of laziness. If you receive an email where many people are CC'd, do everyone a favor by BCCing them on your reply. If your email chain goes beyond two replies, it’s time to pick up the phone. Increase your productivity by scheduling a call.

7. Create a system. If you know certain things are ruining your daily productivity, create a system for managing them. Do you check your emails throughout the day? Plan a morning, afternoon, and evening time slot for managing your email. Otherwise, you’ll get distracted from accomplishing more important goals throughout the day.

8. Don’t confuse productivity with laziness. While no one likes admitting it, sheer laziness is the No. 1 contributor to lost productivity. In fact, a number of time-saving methods – take meetings and emails for example – are actually just ways to get out of doing real work. Place your focus on doing the things that matter most as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Remember, less is more when it comes to being productive during the workday.

What’s your secret to productive workdays?

About Ilya Pozin:

Founder of Ciplex. Columnist for Inc, Forbes & LinkedIn. Gadget lover, investor, mentor, husband, father, and '30 Under 30' entrepreneur. Follow Ilya below to stay up-to-date with his articles and updates!