Are there any people in the world who took no action and woke up famous one day? Such a fairytale can be an excellent excuse for laziness, but believing in it will hardly ever bring you any results.
The way to success is always challenging, and you need to make a determined effort to succeed. Let’s see what well-known entrepreneurs recommend you do to succeed.
1. Customers
It’s a great pleasure when your customers appreciate your product and become loyal consumers. Take Apple fans as an example, they sleep near the store overnight so that they can buy the latest iPhone first. Everyone wants to be as successful as Apple. But before customer loyalty, comes a stage of criticism.
The very first people to criticize your product are… No, not your competitors, but your customers. Your business is precious to you, but you make your products for them. That’s why your customers have the right to share their opinion, and you can benefit from their thoughts.
A large share of startups fail because their products don’t satisfy customer needs. Criticism can save a business from failure if you realize your mistakes and correct them in time. An unhappy customer is your source of ideas and inspiration that levels up your business.
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation, philanthropist
2. Listening
If you’re a business owner, you spend the lion’s share of your time on presentations and negotiations. Speaking is an integral part of the entrepreneur’s life, but listening skills are essential too.
Young entrepreneurs are all-fired up, sure of themselves, just like rebellious teenagers who always think that they know everything better than their parents/elders.
However experienced business people deliberate before undertaking any new projects. They prefer to listen to their fellow workers. They also seek advice from third parties because the outside point of view might reveal unnoticed weaknesses in the plan of action.
“Don’t think because you’re a leader that you have all the answers. You should make sure you’re spending as much time listening, if not more, than talking.”
Diana Tremblay, ex-Vice President of Global Business Services Group at General Motors Company
3. Passion
The first person in the company who should be passionate is its owner.
It is unfair to demand passion for the work, product or company from your employees if you feel unconfident or indifferent yourself.
Moreover, any mood is contagious. And since you are a part of a team, you can set the mood trends in your office.
“People can be really smart or have skills that are directly applicable, but if they don’t really believe in it, then they are not going to really work hard.”
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, philanthropist
4. Team Spirit
A company is not only about business, trade, and money; it’s also about people and attitude. We spend ⅓ of our life at work. Just think about it! Would you like to waste your precious hours with people you don’t like?
That’s why it’s important to build a great team of employees. But this is not the only reason. Good relations between colleagues boost team spirit and morale – people cooperate better and achieve better results.
Instead of passing orders and building a dictatorship, you can create a people-friendly environment where each employee knows what to do without extra directives.
“Encouraging a team-oriented culture that is focused on uniting employees behind a shared sense of purpose and a common goal is more effective than offering directives.”
Abby Johnson, CEO of Fidelity
5. Balance
If you want, you can do a lot. Often entrepreneurs have to master a few ‘disciplines’ to run a young business with a small budget. You conduct negotiations, run marketing campaigns, do accounting. The bigger your business grows, the more tasks pile on your desk.
And you accept the challenge – you feel that you must cope with all of them by yourself. Here is how you find yourself spending days and nights in the office, overworked and burned out.
Seek the balance. If your business requires a lot of effort, don’t be afraid of hiring more employees. Although it takes some time to find like-minded people for your team, you will benefit from this decision in the long run. Firstly, you get an expert in your team, and you don’t need to study a new business discipline in a rush. Secondly, you have free time for your family and friends.
“Learn the art of delegation.”
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin group, business magnate, investor
