Owing in part to a smarter younger generation than previously, and also thanks to the rise of the internet and the additional ease which it has brought with it, there are more businesses being created each year, than ever before. Whilst you could argue that this is healthy, so many young men and women looking at creating their own successful enterprise, it has also created a fierce environment where only the strong can survive.

With so many people dreaming of the kind of business success that Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Marc Leder of Sun Capital Partners have found, it is important that the reality is also understood. There are more business going out of business than ever before, and if you want to survive that, here are the tools which you’ll need.

Thick Skin

It would be nice if we lived in a world where you can be nice to everyone in business and they will respect you, where you could sell on street A and allow your friendly rival to sell on street B, but this is just not the case. There are only so many consumers in the world and when the amount of businesses in existence rise, the computation for those dollars can become incredibly fierce. Underhand deals, slander and aggressive tactics are all things that you may have to live with and you will need thick skin to survive.

Tenacity

If you ask any of the world’s leading CEOs what their biggest successes were, they may need to think on it, ask them what their biggest failures are and they will be able to tell you in a heartbeat. This is because the world’s very best leaders in business were aware that their failings only made them smarter and stronger and that they had the tenacity to get up, dust down, and go again. Your business career is highly unlikely to be smooth sailing and you need to be able to have the courage and belief that a setback is only a hump in the road to success.

Belief

Surviving in business is largely about the belief you have both in yourself and your business, without true belief, you cannot expect anyone to believe in you, be that customs or colleagues. This starts within you and if you don’t believe in something but you do want to be a success in business, it is time to cut and run for something which you do believe in.

Relationships

The old adage of being nice to people on the way up or else they’ll kick you on the way down is so true in business and in order to succeed, you must build relationships, and maintain them. These include relationships with other leaders, with other colleagues, with customers and with important clients. The fact of the matter is that you don’t know who you will need, or for what, until the time comes, and when the time does come, you will need allies in your corner.