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It’s estimated that some ninety percent of startups fail. That is a pretty daunting statistic if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner launching your new venture. Thankfully, only about one in ten fail during their first year. The majority of the failures actually occur in years two through five, when the reality of the situation sinks in and some of the initial excitement is gone.

Yet, against all odds, some ten percent of startups succeed. They are successful not just for today, but for the long term too. Clearly, they must be following some tried and true formula for business longevity as they navigate the difficult and challenging moments in the beginning and emerge to thrive and grow. To fully understand the direction your new business should take, it’s helpful to know the four characteristics that successful startups share.

Owners Got the Education They Needed

You need an incredibly well-rounded, professional education if you want to be able to guide your business through the turmoil of the early years. As a new owner, you’ll be constantly wearing different hats ranging from operations and finance, to human resources and inventory management. A degree program can give you the training and education you need. If you need to come up with the money to pay for your degree, consider taking out student loans. This will allow you to pay for most of the expenses associated with college. You can get the training you need up front, and pay your student loans back over time.

Brilliant Business Idea That Disrupts the Marketplace

In order to become a startup success, you’ll want to come up with a shining star of an idea that helps disrupt the marketplace. Brand-new business models and concepts that reinvent how we do things can establish new ways of making money in dull markets. When you create a model that eliminates the middleman or introduces friction-less commerce into the transaction stream, you’ll set yourself up for a successful product launch and own that business space. You’ll be able to set up a completely new form of enterprise that makes money by eliminating inefficiencies in existing ways of business.

Have a Cohesive, High-Energy Team

It’s not enough to just have a great idea and hope to succeed. You’ll also need a stellar team of people who truly believe in what you’re doing. They should be professionals who have the drive and determination to see things through no matter what stands in their way. While drive is incredibly important, you also need a cohesive team that brings a lot of energy to moving as one. The term well-oiled machine applies perfectly in this case, as you want the efforts to seamlessly and powerfully move you towards your goal.

Constant Desire to Network and Innovate

To be a successful startup, you need to have those who are constantly learning and willing to innovate. They should approach problems in new ways and be open to seeing solutions by visualizing with new eyes. Instead of coming at things in the same ways as everyone else does, they should be innovators. One of the best ways you can develop these innovative skills is to network and brainstorm with others in the company, or with industry peers. When you are enrolled in your degree program, too, you’ll find that networking with fellow classmates or professors opens you to new and higher levels of perception and understanding.