Don't Believe Your Own Hype. Instead, Watch for These 7 Indicators of Traction.

Every entrepreneur is quick to tell friends and potential investors about his or her vision of changing the world, about all the customers who have expressed an interest, and about all the other investors who are lining up to get a piece of the action. As an angel investor, I really prefer to hear evidence of credible traction today, not how great things could be in the future.

As a serious entrepreneur, you have more invested than any outsider, so you should be looking for the same evidence and not believing your own hype. Yet I hear the same story so often that I wonder if entrepreneurs really understand what they should be celebrating, and how to measure their progress against these expectations:

7 Key Maxims of a Mindset Focused on Growth

Based on my experience advising entrepreneurs, I’m convinced that success is often more a mindset than a specific set of skills or intelligence. The mindset I’m looking for is one that sees challenges as exciting rather than threatening, setbacks as learning opportunities and that effort and perseverance will overcome any obstacle. Most experts call this a growth mindset.

Of course, that mindset has to translate into a set of specific actions that other people recognize as going above and beyond the fixed mindset. A fixed mindset is when entrepreneurs believe their abilities and market are fixed, and the challenge is to make the best of the hand already dealt. Here are key maxims that I believe indicate a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset:

10 Essentials for Launching a Business While Juggling Your Day Job

The light-bulb just went off. And now you have a million dollar idea. Should you quit your day job? The situation varies from individual to individual, but before you put-in your two weeks notice, weigh the pros and cons of launching a business while holding down a full-time job. I had to do this before I quit my job.

The obvious pro of keeping the job is that you’ll have a consistent income. This will help take care of your bills and debts as you put your new business venture into motion. The main concern about keeping your full-time position is that you’re going to run out of time. Spending 40 hours or so per week at your day job doesn’t leave a whole lot of other time to build your business and have a personal life. The good news is that this is temporary. You may have to do this for no more than a year or so.

I had to weigh in these options when I quit my job years ago. I was scared, much like I'm sure you are. I ended up working for almost a year while I was building my side venture. Now, years later, I look back on the time I spent and wish I would have done it sooner. Here are 10 of best ways to launch your business while keeping your job.