6 Keys to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur

successful entrepreneur

The key to Entrepreneurship is setting clear goals and then building the path to achieving it.

As Joel Brown of addicted2success says, “There are 86400 seconds in a day, but this means nothing to you if you don’t know how to use it. Make it count.”

An entrepreneur can also be called a dreamer because the first step is dreaming or desiring to accomplish something specific. Only then an entrepreneur can define the ways to make those dreams a reality.

There are many well-known entrepreneurs in the world, who started with just nothing and today stand on top of the world.

When we talk about famous entrepreneurs, the first names that come to minds are Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. These people have made it big in their lives and has encouraged millions of people across the world. What makes them so successful in terms of wealth, power and fame?

1. It is about being passionate about your dreams.

In 1975, the 20-year-old Jobs and Wozniak set up shop in Jobs parents garage, dubbed the venture Apple, and began working on the prototype of the Apple I. To generate the $1,350 in capital they used to start Apple, Steve Jobs sold his Volkswagen microbus, and Steve Wozniak sold his Hewlett-Packard calculator.

This is the level of passion and commitment an entrepreneur needs to put in towards their dreams. There comes a point in life when you have to get started working towards your dream.

2. Know your customers and foresee their needs.

The customer is king. And every entrepreneur wants to design a product or provide services that can sell. For offering such products or services one needs to understand the targeted customers, their lifestyle, purchasing power, and their current needs. Based on this analysis an entrepreneur can foresee the upcoming demands and design the solution that can better meet those demands.

3. Be a true leader.

Every successful entrepreneur is a true leader. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”, says John C Maxwell.

Clarity of objectives is an important factor in defining the path to be followed. But a job of a leader does not end with defining the ways to achieve the objectives. As an entrepreneur, you not only own the company but own a responsibility to lead your team to show them the correct ways and support them in problem-solving. In this corporate battle, an entrepreneur can find his/her strength in his team, and hence it is essential to encourage your team to give higher endeavors towards company’s objectives.

As an entrepreneur, you not only own the company but own a responsibility to lead your team to show them the correct ways and support them in problem-solving. In this corporate battle, an entrepreneur can find his/her strength in his team, and hence it is essential to encourage your team to give higher endeavors towards company’s objectives.

4. Welcome new ideas from your team.

Your team is your strength, and you can really get some innovative ideas from them. Talk to your team and encourage them to think out of the box and come up with new ideas. Give them a chance.

There is a great story of a successful entrepreneur to prove this point. This story is of Konosuke Matsushita, in 1917, he was 23-year-old young graduate working at the Osaka Electric Light Company. He innovated and presented improved the light socket. Since Matsushita did not have a formal education, his boss did not show any interest in his work, which motivated this young kid to start his own samples in the basement of his house. He extensively spent time in experiments and came up with a battery-powered bicycle lamp and other electronic products. Matsushita Electric, as it was known until 2008 when the company officially changed its name to Panasonic, is now worth $66 billion.

As an entrepreneur, one must value and recognize young talent and give them a chance to innovate with their ideas and knowledge.

5. Focus on sales.

When you are starting up, the most important factor is cash flow, which can be maintained only with consistent sales. Hence for every entrepreneur, it is a crucial to have a go getter attitude and present your product to customers confidently. Kevin O Leary said, “If sales roll in, you validate your concept. If customers are willing to buy your product or service, it proves you have the right idea and now you just have to make it bigger”.

6. Keep patient and believe in yourself.

It is not always necessary that you get the results exactly as expected. Things go wrong with development of the product or there can be other issues. These hurdles are the part of entrepreneur’s life and one has to deal with it while keeping patient.

Those who believe in their hard work, in their team, who never give up on their dreams and keep going, are the ones who write their own success story.

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