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SECRETS TO BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR
Everyone wants to become an entrepreneur but not every entrepreneur is a successful entrepreneur.
What then distinguishes the successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful ones?
Its simple – They know the secrets of successful entrepreneurs and have acted on the knowledge.
If you are reading this it means you are curious as well and want to join the successful pack. Then walk with me
But first who is an entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards.
The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business or procedures.
Before exposing you to the secrets/spicy ingredients to succeeding as an entrepreneur. You need to know how to even become one.
I would advise you to go through the 5 MUST-HAVE IF YOU WANT TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR.
So when you are done with that article you can continue with these I am about to unveil because…
Time has changed and you need far more than the usual you already know if you want to become a successful 21st century CEO.
So the secret entrepreneurial tools needed have been exposed by some successful entrepreneurs and they include the following
17 SECRETS TO BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL 21ST CENTURY CEO
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A good plan
In my last article, I talked about having a good idea. When you have a good business idea, what you need next is a good plan.
A plan is to an entrepreneur as a map is to a traveller. A business plan tells you “How” to go about a new business and make it a successful one.
Any business without a good plan has an 80% chance of failure. You need a business plan to protect the future of your business.
And when you plan you must be thinking:
How to start, where to start, how to raise funds, how to produce, how to sell, how to employ, and how to manage present and future challenges.
A good plan can rescue you from planting a good seed (idea, talent, skill or business) in bad soil.
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Good Feasibility / Survey
Before starting your new business, research on it. Ask questions. If possible, learn from others already doing it.
Experience and foresight will give you a great advantage. Pray and ask God for directions as well.
Find out what makes people succeed or fail in the kind of business you want to start and know how to make yours succeed.
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Action
Some people talk and talk, plan and plan and still, they end up doing nothing. Sometimes too much talk and plan only delays action.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in planning, considering potential failures, discussing funding, and talking in meetings with board members. If all you do is talk, you’ll get nothing done.
Successful entrepreneurs act. You don’t necessarily have to have it all figured out. But that doesn’t mean that you can leap into the abyss without a plan.
The world is full of great ideas, but success only comes through action. Walt Disney once said that the easiest way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.
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Raise Capital
Many people go about looking for money to start a business when they can actually raise money through easier means.
I always advise fresh business starters never to start on loan. A loan should be a last resort for those without business experience. Especially loans with interest.
As a starter, you can raise business capital from Personal savings, earnings/gifts or grants, sell an ill item or personal property, soft loans etc.
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Multiply your capital
Don’t ever eat your capital, rather multiply it: Always add a portion from your profit to increase your base in business.
When the poor make money, they spend all and invest nothing. When the rich make money, they first think of investment before expenses.
Any money you spend may never come back to you. The money invested will always come back to you in future with greater value.
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Do the time
No one succeeds immediately, and everyone was once a beginner. You can’t become an entrepreneur if you aren’t patient and ready to put in the time.
As Steve Jobs wisely noted, “if you look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” Don’t be afraid to invest time in your company.
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Challenge yourself
There are going to be ups and downs, it’s very easy to want to quit when there is no motivation but understand you are your biggest motivation.
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to challenge yourself. No one else is going to push you, so it’s up to you to do it.
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Be passionate
It is very difficult to keep going when you don’t even love and believe in what you are doing. If you don’t love what you do, don’t do it. I truly believe it’s as simple as that.
If you’re not passionate about what you do, you’re not going to have the motivation to keep going when you’re stressed and tired.
As an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to put in long hours and make sacrifices for your business.
When you’re passionate about what you do, putting in the long hours won’t feel like much of a sacrifice anymore.
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Focus
In as much as you are passionate about what you do, it doesn’t mean you must take it with levity. You need a good focus.
The life of an entrepreneur often feels scattered and disjointed because they multi-task and find it hard to focus.
In as much as multi-tasking can be quite necessary, it also needs to be limited because it doesn’t always work.
Humans aren’t capable of it. You think you want to beat time but actually, it lays down so many unfinished projects.
You end up spending more time than you would have if you just focus and do one task at a time and do it properly.
It’s also important to know that too many tasks on your to-do list can make you ineffective and distracted.
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Create a great team
Successful entrepreneurs aren’t successful on an island. We all have a great team and support network behind us.
So you need to hire great partners and I don’t just mean someone or people who can do the job you’re hiring them for.
But rather people with great characters whom you like, trust and respect. Always remember that you can teach skills, but you can’t teach character.
You’re more likely to succeed with a partner than you are on your own. So when you do this, then you are well on your way to success.
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Learn to Take and manage risks
To become an entrepreneur you must be willing and able to take risks while to become a successful entrepreneur you must be able to take and also manage risks.
You should be able to take risks but you shouldn’t take every risk that presents itself. Learn to recognize which risks are worth taking and which you should walk away from.
That’s the Managing we are talking about.
Part of being an entrepreneur is recognizing the risks that you should take. Learn to recognize the risks that will benefit your business and take them to the next level.
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Network
Being a business owner automatically makes you a networker. Many have good businesses but a poor network.
Don’t let networking get in the way of building your business. You need to network if you truly want your business to bloom.
Chances are, if you network with enough people, you’ll bump into another entrepreneur who might have the ideas and connections you need.
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Listen to your customers
No business can survive without customers. In other words- without customers, you can’t have a successful business.
Your customer’s complaints are how you identify your business’s weaknesses.
The day you start losing customers due to bad manners start thinking of closing shop.
You literally need to learn to “sweet talk” your customers as this would be beneficial to your business.
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Work Hard
The idea that hard work is everything in business cannot be overemphasized. You just need to Put in the work if you must succeed.
There is no short cut to true success in life. Any true successful man you see today has put in a lot of work that you can’t see.
Be ready to work hard to grow your business as this is the only way. Wake up early, resume on time and do the needful.
If you can do so much for another man’s business when you are employed, why can’t you discipline yourself to do the same for yours?
Don’t work with levity cause you are the boss of yourself but rather work like you can get fired because you can when things crumble.
Be dedicated, disciplined and innovative.
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Fail but don’t give up
Failure is an option. Yes, I just said that. You fail a chapter doesn’t mean your story is a total failure.
Any successful man you see today has once tried and failed but are we calling him a failure today?
No……why?
Because he might have failed at different points in his life but never gave up and that why he is a success today.
Even the most successful entrepreneurs do experience their ups and downs. The number of downs they experience can even come as a shock to you.
Failure is an aspect of becoming a successful entrepreneur, so you’d better get used to it. It’s better to accept it now than later.
You will fail at some point but it doesn’t make you a failure. Giving up does.
Recommended: Is failure a step to success?
- Learn to Rest
Resting can be very challenging for an entrepreneur because they feel if they are resting they are wasting time.
Well, you are not.
You need to take time off to rest at some point or the other because like Africans would say ‘body no be firewood’.
You might not need time off every day or every week, but you do need to take time off. If all you do is work, you’ll burn out Fast.
We are all humans so we need time off because it allows your brain to roam, to rest, and to think.
Even the most successful entrepreneurs don’t work all the time. Everyone needs time off, so don’t shame yourself for being human and normal.
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Believe in yourself
Lastly and most importantly, learn to believe in your self and your hustle.
People can’t believe in you when they sense you aren’t even confident of your business and this can be more obvious than you think.
As Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.”
Believe that you can succeed, and you’ll find ways through different obstacles. If you don’t, you’ll just find excuses.
CONCLUSION
Finding success as an entrepreneur is definitely not easy, but with these simple tips, I hope it eases your journey a little bit
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