Entrepreneurship is not tailormade for a special few. Having an IQ that surpasses Einstein isn’t a requirement to succeed in his field. It doesn’t have anything to do with age or family background either.
The truth is, entrepreneurial success is something you can obtain at any age, regardless of your family background. It all boils down to abiding by these simple rules in any fashion your little heart desires.
Don’t allow depression and recession to terrify you
Whether you like it or not, comfort is and should be a taboo word for entrepreneurs. Today’s successful entrepreneurs are those who learned to be at ease with their own skin. They started and conquered at the worst times of market contractions.
Of course, it would be ideal if there wouldn’t be room for depression and recession, but you know life doesn’t work that way. What you can do is just see these two things in two different lights— that depression and recession aren’t so bad at all. They might be pretty painful but perhaps essential as an eye-opener for healing and recovery.
It’s necessary to remember not just the damages and costs depression and recession can bring but also their benefits. Don’t let such a situation scare you. Let it inspire you to reach your full potential.
Constantly stay in creation mode
What made millionaire’s hefty amount of money was their innovative mind to create something better for people. However, one brilliant idea doesn’t suffice long-term success. It takes continuous creation of something “new” and “appealing” to keep success. If you don’t look for alternatives to doing things better, or you will be left behind the cruelty of time.
Only 1% of the PR firms earn every buck you pay them
In all honestly, only a few public relations firms will leverage all the money you pay them. Most will profit from the penny you pay them to give you a strategy that doesn’t actually work to benefit from you again, saying you need to “re-strategize.”
Rather than hiring expensive public relations experts to manage your company’s public image to appeal to audiences, be your own PR. Social media is humungous, so you can surely make it big on your own by utilizing networking platforms to reach out to the public.
Not knowing how to do that isn’t a valid excuse. There’s a lot of articles and video tutorials online on how you can make it work without others’ help.
Distribution is everything
No matter how excellent your product is, nobody will care about your product if you can’t mass produce it. Hence, if you have a top-notch product, you need to have a strong distribution channel. Without it, you will never thrive.
Either create a distribution channel for yourself or have a contract with those who can do the job for you.
The feedbacks of some critics are worth millions
Harboring big ideas and dreams sometimes comes with a flaw that is often overlooked because of the eagerness to push through what’s in the mind. Entrepreneurs are usually encouraged to ignore those with something bad to say since negativities can stray path wildly.
However, contrary to this widespread belief, you need to lend ears to your critics. Although it is quite true that nothing would be achieved with a pessimistic mindset, ignoring criticism can be a recipe for trouble.
Surrounding yourself with 24/7 negativity will only poison your mind, drain your ideas, and put out the spark you have. Yet, that doesn’t mean you should ditch every critic. Simply hearing out someone with sincere concern can save you money, heartache, and time. Criticisms can be worth millions.
Win people over
Not-winning-people-over quotes are flooding social media networks like Instagram and Facebook. There’s some truth to it, but it doesn’t work that way for businesses. People are the lifeline of an enterprise, so you need to win people over.
Sweat everything
As an entrepreneur, you shouldn’t worry or stress yourself over every minor matter that comes your way. Well, this is what others say, but actually, you should. If you’re in a business world and you don’t sweat everything, you might get in trouble.
Imagine having your secretary tell you that there’s something wrong with your company’s finances, and you tell her to have someone solve the issue for you because you’re tired or maybe you’re too loaded. If that person fails to fix the issue for you, it will be you who will greatly suffer the consequences, so sweat everything!
Discover your blue ocean
Don’t enter a contested market space but find your own space and create new demand. Instead of swimming in an ocean full of people battling in a head-to-head competition, explore new oceans that can offer you large-scale opportunities for fresh ideas. Swim in a completely different ocean from others.
Have control over anxieties of life
Anxiety is inevitable since it is part of being an entrepreneur. There are so many things to get worried about — perhaps, marriage, personal life, family, running out of money, missing special events, and a lot more. Sometimes it may even feel like you’re letting everyone down.
Worries in life are often born from looking too much far ahead in the future. Stay in the present. Live your life in the now and only focus on things you have power over.
Focus on the prize when you want to quit
Entrepreneurship is not easy. No one would probably say it is. There will be times when it seems like everything is not working anymore. There will be times when your defeats and failures will cloud you.
But hey! Don’t forget the reason why you started in the first place— the prize you want to take! Resell your vision to yourself over and over again.
Celebrate with all haste
Celebrate every single milestone, but those celebration doesn’t need to be expensive. Instead of going to Vegas to carouse for landing big clients, make your celebration as simple and fast as possible. A pizza for snacks will already do.
Your words matter more when you’re small
The way you stand up for your words matters so much, especially when you’re just starting out. Be careful about the promises you make. For instance, you borrow money and say you’ll pay it back on the 28th of the month. Pay off the amount earlier than expected.
The way you live your words can greatly impact the way people perceive you as an entrepreneur and as an individual. It can be the determiner of your reputation. Make sure not to break any promises, or people will not trust you the next time around.
Be aggressively patient
Patience is crucial in reaching goals. Once you learn the importance of patience, you will be able to stop worrying when things take longer than you initially like. Patience makes it simpler to live since it reduces negative emotions, allowing you to be calmer and more open to changes.
Ask for help
Sometimes, asking for help causes a big hurt in the ego. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who want to run at their own phase and who don’t want to owe anyone something.
To run a business, you will need a lot of help. Thus, without setting aside your ego and asking for assistance, there’s a high probability that you’ll lose your business. Remind yourself of this overly used maxim by Dennis Brown, “No man is an island. No man stands alone.”
