There is a whole lot of mumbo jumbo business advice on the internet that somehow seem too much of clichés – that is, we hear them every day. This usually comes from successful persons, some of whole stumbled on wealth by virtue of being born in a rich family.
Well, not that their advice isn’t worth taking into consideration, but their processes often seem a little complicated. Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to take that simplest advice from your friend, that entrepreneur who’s catapulted his or her small business into a success.
As a writer, I often scout the internet for ideas, feature stories, and persons I can interview to help them get coverage, and in my endeavor, I stumbled upon one Twitter user calling himself Entrepreneur for Life, you’ve got to admit, the name itself piques interest.
While checking out his profile, I came across his pinned Tweet, which was quite informative, simple, and actionable. Well, his most important business lessons (derived from his experience of 15 years in entrepreneurship and 8 companies) for you are simple; here you go:
- Learn Sales
If you don’t, you won’t have a business, regardless of how good you or your product is. Everything is sales. If you’re not selling your product you’re selling your vision, concepts, and ideas. If you can’t sell, your business is dead.
- It will be harder than you think
Way harder.
Most things take 2 times as long, have 2 times as many problems, and will or might cost 2 times as much as you expect. You need to prepare yourself for challenges. So when they arise you’ll at least have half a chance of not quitting.
- A job is great training for entrepreneurship
Do your job for a reason.
- Save money for your start-up
- Look for gaps in the market
- Build connections
- Build authority
Just don’t sit there and be comfortable.
- Understand the difference between cost and value
This is where fortunes are made. Cost is the price you pay; value is what something is worth. Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have built their wealth on this. Money is made when you identify the gap between the two.
ALSO READ: 10 Pieces Of Advice That Lead To Bad Business Among Entrepreneurs
- You don’t need a genius idea
People see companies like Amazon, Uber and think ‘what a great idea!’ Well, Entrepreneurship is more about finding an industry that is proven and doing things differently/better. Most ideas don’t make great businesses.
- You don’t need to love what you do
Ah, yeah. This is where others might advise the contrary. Thing is that passion businesses are overrated. Boring, unsexy businesses are underrated. Sometimes if you just want to be profitable, you’ll be amazed about how passionate you get about making money.
- There’s no substitute for hard work
Working smart is well… smart, but when starting out you need both. Anyone who is telling you that you can make a fortune working 15 hours per week is trying to sell you something.
- People are great business
The idea here is simple. Attract smart, motivated, hardworking people with your vision. You’ll be unstoppable.
- Start small
Flip, affiliate, selling e-books is a great place to start. Will you make a fortune? No. But you’ll learn a lot, and when you grasp the basics of business you can graduate. As you get better, the game gets bigger.
- Overnight success is real
It just requires years of hard work before it randomly appears. and hard work is you know, hard.
- You won’t have the heart, determination, or mentality for it
Sorry, but it’s true. The road is hard, and most people would be far better off as employees. But the question is, don’t you think you should at least find out?
Well, that’s it! I’ll leave it there for the lessons to sink in. Good luck in your venture