In the article I posted last week, highly successful entrepreneurs had wildly different answers for most questions asked, except for 2: their Reading and Exercising habits.  Every single person was an exerciser and a prolific reader.

Brian Kim notes:

It makes sense doesn’t it?  You exercise more, you get more energy, you won’t get sick, you’ll get more things done, etc.  You read more, you have more information to apply.  Knowledge is power.  More knowledge, more power.  Maximize both exercising and reading into your daily lives and it’s no wonder why they are the richest men in America.

Bottom line, make a habit of giving your mind and body a workout and you’ll find that those habits will help you achieve whatever goals you set for yourself, no matter how big they may seem.

Forbes has a great article/questionnaire on the habits and secrets of the wealthiest entrepreneurs.

Questions include:

• What was your first job?
• What was your biggest mistake?
• What is more important: the idea or the execution? What is your advice to young entrepreneurs?
• How many hours a day do you read?
• What motivates you?
• Is there any reason to get an MBA?
• What can’t you live without?
• What is the best part about being the boss?
• If you could be anything else, what would it be?

Read the whole article here.

William Creekbaum:

1. Getting Wedded To an Idea And Sticking With It Too Long.
2. No Marketing Plan.
3. Not Knowing Your Customers.
4. Ignoring Your Cash Position.
5. Ignoring Employees.
6. Confusing Likelihood With Reality.
7. No Sales Plan.
8. Being a Lone Ranger.
9. No Mastermind.
10. Giving Up.

Click here to read the details of each mistake.

Scott Burns:

Citing data from other sources, Mr. Murphy observed that 50 percent of all households with a net worth of $1 million to $10 million were business owners. But 76 percent of those with $10 million to $50 million owned a business, and 89 percent of those worth more than $50 million owned a business.

(via Dr. Cornwall)

One of the most recent third-world success stories has been the use of “microloans” or small loans (usually of $100 or less) to help people start their own business (many times something as simple as sewing or buying a cow to raise).  There’s a new website called Kiva.org which brings this concept to the web and allows people from anywhere to provide the loan. 

Using Kiva, you can provide a loan (say $100) to an entrepreneur of your choice.  This money would then be repaid to you once they are financially capable of doing so.  So, in essence, this costs you no money AND you are contributing to a worthy cause.  Personally, I think this is a brilliant idea.

A Wells Fargo report has found that the average startup was financed with around $10,000, which is dramatically less then first believed. Read more about finding money for your startup.

The Wall Street Journal:

Where can entrepreneurs find office space, a research assistant, mentors and access to reams of market research — all free of charge?

Try your local library.

In an age where Google has become a verb and entrepreneurs have easy access to information from their home computers, libraries have been trying to evolve as well.

Some have seemingly become small-business incubators in their own right: places where cash-strapped start-ups and established business owners alike can gather sophisticated information on a target market, draw up a business plan, bounce an idea off a seasoned executive, or perhaps, even find funding or build a Web site.

While resources will vary across institutions, most libraries subscribe to a number of commercial databases, which can cost thousands of dollars a year.

(via BizOpps)