Elon Musk's 5 Best Tips for Running a Business

Here are five tips to become a successful business owner like Elon Musk.

Elon Musk is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. He's the co-founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX, and has a net worth of over $200 billion. Musk is known for his innovative thinking and risk-taking attitude, and he's often been asked for advice on running a business. Here are some of his best tips.

1. Be passionate about your work

Musk says the key to success is to be passionate about what you're doing. "People should pursue what they're passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else."

2. Take risks

Musk says you need to be willing to take risks if you want to be successful and grow your bank account. In a 2012 interview, Musk said, "Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering" because "there's a tremendous bias against taking risks." Musk believes the biggest risk is not taking any risk, especially in a world that's changing quickly. The only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.

3. Be prepared to work hard

Musk is known for his work ethic. "Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up." Musk believes that in order to succeed, people will need to "work like hell." Working harder than others will improve your odds of success. "If other people are putting in 40 hour workweeks and you're putting in 100 hour workweeks, then even if you're doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve." You have to be prepared to work hard and sacrifice a lot of things in order to make your business successful.

4. Be persistent

Success didn't come easy for Musk. He had his fair share of failures, but he persisted and didn't give up. Musk was ousted from two companies he co-founded, Zip2 and PayPal. Both Tesla and SpaceX were on the brink of bankruptcy as a result of the 2008 recession, and many thought Musk would fail again. Musk learned from his earlier mistakes, and anyone can look at his experiences to find inspiration to reach their own financial milestones.

5. Continue to invest in yourself

Musk's single best piece of advice? "Constantly think about how you could be doing things better, and questioning yourself." By the age of 8, Musk was reading 10 hours a day. He ran out of books to read at the library, so he decided to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. From an early age, Musk constantly focused on learning and investing in himself. He taught himself to program, and by age 12, he wrote and sold a video game for $500. He then double-majored in physics and economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Musk continually invested in himself and his dreams and now he is the wealthiest man in the world.

Musk is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. He has built several businesses from scratch and has helped change the way we live and work. Musk's advice can be applied to any business, and if you follow his tips, you'll be well on your way to success.