Starting a small business is hard and running it can be harder. Here are five enemies of business success we would all do well to avoid:

1. “Later.”

This is a way of avoiding personal responsibility for procrastinating, so eliminate it from your vocabulary. As a reminder, write the word on a piece of paper and put a big X through it. Then post it somewhere prominent as a reminder that you’ll never let procrastination be the cause of losing money again.

2. Passion.

John and Paul (the Beatles, not the apostles) said, “All you need is love!” That may be true, but it doesn’t apply to passion. Yes, you should follow your passion, but passion only works if it’s yoked to purpose. So be passionate about reaching specific business goals – because that’s how you achieve success.

3. Patience.

Patience might be a virtue, but when it comes to running your business, a little impatience can sometimes be a good thing. After all, impatience is defined as: eagerly desirous, not accepting delay or opposition, intolerant of interruptions, eager for something expected, dislike of anything that causes delay.

4. Rational.

Don’t be. At least don’t get so hung up on following a rational path that you fail to trust your own instincts. Patricia Routledge, the famous British actress said, “You can accomplish anything if you’re not concerned with the consequences.” So, don’t be reckless, but do operate a little outside the box because it just may lead to irrational success.

5. Failure to specialize.

Do what you do and do it better than anyone else. It’s better to be the best at one thing than adequate at many things. Focus on what makes you stand out and continue to market that. It’s what will gain customers and certainly what will help you keep them.