 If you're in your 20s, you're not too young to run a business. And if you run a business, you're not too young to manage the business successfully. But most young entrepreneurs do not take their business seriously. As Julian Hall of ultrapreneursaign.com wrote, People will take your business as seriously as you do. Mary Barra rose to the top of General Motors after 33 years at the company. Barra started at the very bottom of General Motors at age 18 when she enrolled in an engineering college sponsored by the company. There she spent half the year inspecting parts at the Pontiac plant. She walked her way up the ladder with smart decision making and willingness to give the company everything she had. Colleagues recall her being the first person in the office every morning and responding to emails after 11pm. In 2013, her dedication was rewarded when she was named General Motors' first ever female CEO. She took on the role in early 2014. She took her business seriously. Do you have a business or a joke? Elon Musk, SpaceX and Tesla CEO, advised entrepreneurs in an interview, you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week if other people are putting in 40 hours' work weeks and you're putting in 100 hour work weeks. Then, even if you're doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve informant what it takes them a year to achieve. Your business is as serious as you take it but if you do not know how to take your business seriously, use the steps below to help you get started. Number one, resume early. Have a fixed resumption time, which should be convenient for you and make all efforts to show up at exactly or minutes before that time constantly. When customers know you will always be there, they will always think of your business first. Number two, dress well. The way you dress is the way you will be addressed. That's a cliche but it's still relevant. Your dressing not only conditions you to take your business seriously, it also tells people that you are in a business, not a fun club. This doesn't have to be expensive, elaborate dressing. Just good enough to show that you're a business person, not a comedian. This equally applies even if you walk from home. Number three, create smart goals. If you have planned your business, then you should have goals you intend to achieve. Short-term goals, medium-term goals, long-term goals, goals you are planning to accomplish each day, each month, each quarter, each year, and so on. This not only builds seriousness into your business, but it also keeps you focused and energizes you to pursue business success rightly. Number four, have a designated workspace. Even if you're just a one-man business and you walk from home, you should have a designated workspace where everyone around you knows they would always find you when they come in at business hours during the work week. Number five, set office hours. What time will your office open? What time will you close? Will you open on holidays? Will there be occasional breaks? All these should be factored into your business plan and also declared to your friends, family members, and customers. Your business will be treated the way it is presented. Number six, have a separate bank account. Your saving accounts belong to you. Your business accounts, which can equally be another savings account, but you don't touch except for business, should be designated. Number seven, monitor your expenses. How do you spend your business money? How much should be invested back into the business? Who is buying what and how much are they paying? You should be answering this in your business plan so you know where your money is going and how to call it back if it isn't going in the right direction. Number eight, use contracts. Contracts are good to make you and your clients know you are committed to this and nothing is going to change it. Contracts save you and your clients from headaches and help you explain what actions to take if any member defaults. Number nine, use invoices. This should keep you and your clients notified of monetary transactions between you two. Documented records cannot be wrong, but undocumented deals can lead to unnecessary business hiccups. Number 10, know your business statements. What's the one sentence that describes your business such that if you needed to explain your business to a prospect in a single conversation, it sticks with him immediately. Find that statement, learn and use it often. Number 11, stop working for free. You should draw the line between building opportunities and letting yourself be taken advantage of. If you're investing your time and talent or skill, you deserve the pay no matter how little. Number 12, invest in yourself. Make yourself better in your business. List things you need to personally improve upon to help you build your business to success. Spending money on building yourself for business success may seem like a waste of money, but it isn't. Actually, the more you grow, the more you earn. Improving your confidence, for example, is not a minus to your business. It is a great plus. Number 13, invest in your business. Spend money on what will make your business grow, equipment, devices, gadgets, seminars and training. Number 14, mention your business everywhere. Talk about what you do, say it to everyone and anyone who cares to listen, there's no reason to be shy about it if you love it and it is your business. Number 15, measure your success. Don't just plan, measure what you're doing. Are you achieving your goals? You should have a day in the month when you do this. Ask yourself serious questions about why you are not making some progress or how you can scale up your success. Number 16, have business cards. This isn't always important, but you never know when you would meet some wealthy individuals who want to lavish his money or a generous philanthropist who is looking to invest in some bright business idea. Number 17, ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask questions from people who know about your business and those who don't but are vast in areas that can profit your business. Hire people to help solve your business problems. You don't always have to do everything yourself or as it often happens, you get burnt out or nothing gets done. Number 18, change what's not working. If something is not working in your business, throw it away. Being too afraid to lose is being too scared to make a profit and push your business forward. Number 19, have a title. What's your title? CEO, MD, general manager, principal? Give yourself a title and don't be afraid to tell your customers or clients to call you that. Call yourself that too often and it sticks. You'll naturally start to behave like it. Number 20, know when to say no. You don't have to work for everybody. You don't have to say yes to every idea. You are not obligated to manufacture every product so feel free to kick a client away. Number 21, always look the part. Successful people take their business, whatever it is, seriously. They dress the part to look the part. They work and talk to look like their business. They resume office earlier than most and would close later than most. Their integrity is impeccable. They built their skill to outperform those of others. They simply treat their business like it's business. How you treat your business will determine how your business treats you. If this video inspired you, like this video. We love you.