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Get the educational background you need before applying to internships or entry-level positions if you aren’t striking out on your own.

Take personal responsibility, avoid procrastinating, and put your best food forward when tackling projects.

Pursue career paths that you care about and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect.

Give it time and network—succeeding in business is often about who you know, not what you can do.

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Educate yourself. It’s important that you know the fundamentals of your industry, though that doesn’t always necessitate an MBA. A lack of post-secondary education can be a deal breaker for many prospective employers, however.  Everybody has to start somewhere!

Put in after-hours work. Success in the business world means going the extra mile. There are multiple resources available to you online to further immerse yourself in further learning, if you find you’re finishing your schoolwork (or the work at your side job) with time to spare. Never rest on your laurels: think about what should come next.

Seek the guidance of a mentor. Developing a relationship with a professional whose career you admire is one of the more direct and efficient forms of networking.

Apply for internships. When you don’t yet have the experience, use internships to get your foot in the door. Don’t balk at unpaid positions if they can build the bridges you need to succeed in the long-term, and the hours won’t leave you penniless in the short-term. Internships provide many college students their first opportunities to network on the job with working professionals.

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Prioritize tasks. Complete the tasks which will benefit you the most in the long run first. You’ll need to identify the difference between “high-value” tasks (those which will benefit you the most in the long term) versus “low-value” tasks (tasks which may be easier, but will offer fewer benefits).

Stop procrastinating. Avoiding the less pleasant aspects of work doesn’t make them disappear. Building up a huge hunk of the bad stuff to deal with all at once, after you’ve completed the enjoyable stuff, is just going to leave a sour taste in your mouth at the end of a project.

Complete projects. Follow through on the tasks you begin. Finishing one project will teach you exponentially more than a dozen fizzled-out attempts, even if you never want to look at that project again.

Take responsibility. Whether they’ve done well or screwed up, a successful businessperson must be able to take responsibility for their actions. It signals to both employees and employers a willingness to deal openly and responsibly with the tasks at hand. Squirming away from negative fallout your missteps have made endears you to no one, and can have disastrous consequences on the relationships you’ve made in the business world.

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Pursue something important to you. Committing yourself to a fulfilling pursuit allows passion to pick up the slack on those days that you’re not feeling especially driven. Passion doesn’t translate to “fun 24/7,” but it should be meaningful to you in some capacity. The effort you exert should always be on something that will make you proud in the end, or will at least put you one step closer to what it is that you really want to do.

Strike a balance between work and play. Healthy work life balance is essential to long-term success and a worker’s well-being. But as might be expected, when you’re starting out, more ambition means longer hours. Passion for your work will help to keep those hours you spend burning the midnight oil meaningful.

Forget perfection. The more meaningful your work is to you, the tougher this can be, but great, as they say, is the enemy of good. Focusing too intently on creating the perfect, most ideal iteration of that pitch, graphic, or copy can leave you with one excellent piece of work, instead of the ten pieces you needed.

Talk the talk. When you’re beginning a new enterprise, it might feel presumptuous to speak of your career like it’s the real deal. Doing so, however, will help others see you seriously, and will help you see yourself seriously as well.

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Build bridges, don’t burn them. Behaving respectfully, courteously, and humanely to everyone you meet is a good starting point! You never know when you might form a true bond on an unexpected occasion, and find your next business partner, investor, or employer.

Network like a person, not a product. Networking can feel mercenary and shallow when advertised too overtly. Understand that networking is essential to success in most industries, but that you should never forget that you’re forging connections with people. Taking a holistic, human approach to your interactions can make you more memorable down the line when it comes time for hiring; employers might have thoughts not just of “Who do I know that would be good for this copywriting job?” but “What job do I know that would be a good fit for Richard?”

Develop your interpersonal skills. Not only will you need these skills to navigate the day-to-day with your employers and employees, you’ll also benefit from them when you negotiate deals and contracts. Studies have shown that the most successful business people excel in both cognitive and social skills.

Know your customers and clients. Co-workers and potential employers aren’t the only people you should be forging strong relationships with in the business world. Make an effort to develop appropriate relationships with the people who come into your store, use your product, or appreciate your work. Emotions—not prices—are often more of a deciding factor in many purchasing decisions.

Hire wisely. Your employees are your support network, and are necessary to your success. Hire those who are skilled and competent, but also consider how well your employees will mesh together as a team.

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Survive. As a business owner, the most important goal when beginning a new business, job, or craft is simply to survive. If you’re starting your own business or getting in on the ground floor, avoid establishing unrealistic goals for the fledgling enterprise.

Invest in your future. Ever heard the saying “You’ve gotta spend money to make money?” Frugality is advised wherever possible, but only so much that it frees up capital for the more important, more deserving expenses. Those expenses might be the salaries of particularly accomplished professionals you’re hoping to woo, or trade magazines, or simply a nice suit so as to look the part in the company of your colleagues and clients. Aim to invest in future success, not just celebrate current success.

Take calculated risks. New businesses need to survive if they’re going to ever be anything, but all businesses must take on risk of some kind.[15] Stepping outside the norm, either in your role at a company or in the expectations for the industry, is necessary for success in a crowded field. Plan your ventures carefully and hedge as much risk as you can, but be prepared for the occasional setback.

Introduce the unexpected. Successful innovators are held in high esteem in the American consciousness, but actually pursuing unproven ideas can be terrifying. Don’t be afraid of venturing into the unknown—great ideas may be a dime a dozen, but putting in the work to pursue a great idea shows spirit and tenacity.

Embrace failure. Failure illuminates some truth about your methods and goals, however much it may sting. Interpret your failures not as shameful, but as a reason to reflect on your work. Sometimes it’s only through facing the insurmountable, failing, and then struggling to pull ourselves back together that we develop the tenacity our work requires of us.

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If you don’t have a strong enough reason to do something, then it will certainly be hard — and even impossible — to get it done.

Be crystal clear about your “why.” Your motivation will come from doing things you deeply care about.

Figure out a compelling purpose. Ask yourself, does it make me happy? Why did I choose this path? How do I want to make an impact on others?

Whatever goal you want to achieve — whether that be to boost your health and fitness, to save money, to start a business, or more — it’s always good to reflect on your why.

Take a moment to create a list of strong reasons that will motivate you to stay on course even when it gets tough.