10 Important Lessons for Entrepreneurs
Download as PPTX, PDF1 like627 views
The document provides lessons from entrepreneurs on various topics such as not rushing into business decisions, focusing on customer experience, accepting that entrepreneurship requires hard work, building a team with complementary strengths, developing professional relationships, keeping business ideas and presentations simple, exuding confidence, leveraging social media, being accountable, and giving back to the community.
10 Important Lessons for Entrepreneurs
- 2. “Entrepreneurs do not work in an emergency room. Everything does not have to be or feel like an emergency.” -Ashley Kingsley 1 Slow Down Lesson Do not rush. Certainly there is point at which you have to take a leap of faith, but it’s important to not rush the process when starting a business. Approach all decisions with an open mind. Some decisions may lead to adjustments in your strategy that could lengthen the timeline for your new business. Be patient when challenges are presented and timelines extended. Trust your gut. It is easier to make an adjustment prior to a business going live, rather than to adjust a product or service that is already on the market.
- 3. “Everyone is deserving of your time and attention. There is no customer (or person for that matter) that is insignificant.” -Nick Eubanks 2 Customer Centric Lesson Fully understand your customer experience. Whether a product or service, the customer experience must be understood clearly and presented/offered in a way that promotes customer loyalty. Develop a superior customer support model. A support model is key to building a solid customer base. A strong support model will be thought through so, when it is needed, the experience for the customer is exceptional. Customer feedback is the best feedback. Whether good or bad, customer feedback provides a holistic view of how a product or service is perceived in the market. Provide multiple avenues for customers to share their feedback and experience.
- 4. “Being an entrepreneur is hard work. Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.” -Rick Marini 3 Hard Work Lesson Accept the challenge. Starting a business is not easy and running a business is even harder. The tradeoff is the freedom of controlling your own destiny. If you can’t give 110%, entrepreneurship is not right for you. It is a journey. Build on and learn from the challenges, difficulties and roadblocks that are presented along the way. What you will learn creates the best path to success. Have fun. It is important to enjoy the process. Yes, starting a business is hard work, but a healthy balance of work and play are what keep you putting forth the effort needed to be successful.
- 5. “Figure out what your superpower is. Then identify what other superpowers you need for your business to be successful. Build your team around it.” -Cheryl Yeoh 4 Strength Finder Lesson Identify your strengths. You cannot have a successful business wearing all the hats. Based on your type of business, identify your strengths, then partner with others to create a winning team. Do not be afraid to ask for help. No matter what strengths you possess or what strengths your team possesses, there are always challenges presented along the way. All decisions when starting a business are important. If you do not know something, it is better to ask others that have been there before. Never stop expanding your knowledge. You can never be an expert in everything, but you can posses a better understanding of areas you’re not strong in. It can only help you along the way.
- 6. “All lasting business is built on friendship” -Alfred A. Montapert 5 Make Friends Lesson Quality, not quantity. Making business connections is not a contest to see who can get the most. Build relationships that have meaning. Help others and you will get help in return. Never eat lunch alone. You have to eat lunch everyday, so why not use the time as an opportunity to expand relationships and discuss ideas. Build a solid network of entrepreneurs. Sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ make it easy for connecting with other like-minded individuals. Connect with them and lean on them along the way.
- 7. “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” -Steve Jobs 6 Think Simple Lesson Don’t overthink it. Keep your idea simple and straightforward. To many bells and whistles confuse customers. Start simple and evolve over time. Customers hate clutter. Keep the content about your business product or service simple and easy to understand.
- 8. “Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence. -Vince Lombardi 7 Confidence Matters Lesson Delivery reveals the truth. When you are communicating about your business, it’s important to write or speak in a way that exudes confidence. Practice and know your facts. Be a leader. Leaders are decisive about making decisions. That doesn’t mean the decision is always right, but it does mean you took control and showed you’re not afraid of failing. Others will take notice.
- 9. “We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.” -Erik Qualman 8 Social Media Lesson Use it, it’s free. Why would you not want to take advantage of an opportunity to connect with your customers and potential customers? Market your brand and build a loyal customer following. Presentation is key. The way in which you frame your business is extremely important. How do you want to be perceived by visitors.? What does your site say about your brand? Does your site look professional? Take your time and build solid profiles to represent your business. Content should be helpful and engaging. The content you post should be interesting and engage your reader. Topics should lead readers back to your overall business offering. To ensure your content is doing what it is supposed to do, review analytics regularly and make adjustments where needed.
- 10. “Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest.“ -Mark Twain 9 Lesson Be Accountable Admit a mistake. Everyone makes them, but not everyone admits them. If you make a mistake, raise your hand, take ownership and overcome the mistake. You will gain great respect accepting responsibility. Lead by example. Don’t get upset when others show up late for meetings if you’re doing it also. Set the tone with those around you. Others will follow. Build trust. If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. If you say you’re going to return calls and emails, then return those calls and emails. If you accept a meeting invite, attend the meeting. Don’t make excuses – do what you say you will do.
- 11. “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” -Booker T. Washington 10 Give Back Lesson Help other entrepreneurs. Share your experiences with other entrepreneurs. They may learn valuable lessons and it feels good to see others succeed. Volunteer for a good cause. Seek out volunteer opportunities. Not only are you making the community a better place, you’re marketing your brand and name. Become a member of a local board. Sitting beside leaders in the community who are providing feedback, will help you gain ideas to improve your product or service. Again, a great opportunity to market your brand and name while giving back to society.
- 12. We are very excited to soon launch what will be today's most powerful, centralized and far-reaching marketplace for entrepreneurs. We invite you to visit www.BePlum.com today and signup to receive updates on our future launch. Help Us Reach Our Goal of 1 Million Signups