The 9 To-Do's of Successful Entrepreneurs

In addition to courage, respect for people, smart work, and persistence, there are 9 points on which an entrepreneur must focus to achieve success.

 

 

1. Know your purpose 

Before you jump into a new business, learn everything about the market. Ask yourself, what are you looking for? Why do you do it? Where are you going with this business? And what is your vision of the business? This will let you know what is the best way to manage your business. Take into account that how we manage a business in which we see our children take the direction of the company when the time comes, is very different from the way we manage a company that we are expecting to sell in the future.

Related articles: Why you must link your personal goals with your business?

2. Take your project seriously from the first day

You must create a financial system, and establish a strategy that will take you from point A (now) to point B (your vision of the business). Define your niche, and how you will reach and satisfy your customers. Finally, the most important, define everything that is your business and what is not. This will allow your business to have an essence, and not to get lost looking for other opportunities that are nothing more than distractions and a waste of time for your company and its resources.

3. Know your business and your network

The growth of a company is related to the growth of its network. Understand what your network can do for you and you for her so that your business grows. Be ready to sell your business to others at all times in a clear and simple way. Please note that sometimes 30 seconds could be the most you can get to convince a new customer or investor.

Related articles: How to Develop Your Network To Grow Your Business

4. Learn your weaknesses

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Work on your weaknesses, get a mentor and find people who complement your competencies. In order to maximize the synergies generated by a multidisciplinary team you should promote the diversity of profiles.

5. Know what you're doing and keep it simple

Do what you know to do, using business models that you do not understand does not lead to anything, otherwise, you will find yourself wasting your time and increasing the risk of failure given the way you execute your idea. In other words, Do not make a simple idea into a complex, the best way to guide a company is with clear ideas.

6. Focus on what you do best

Do not try to offer thousands of products and services if you are not really good at any of them. “Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly” (Plato).

7. Measure everything

You cannot manage what you do not measure. Understand the key metrics of your business. Some measures you should use are standard and apply to all businesses, such as those made in the Financial Statements. Others focus specifically on your business, products, and services to understand the behavior of your customers. Focus on being able to measure the performance of your decisions and your business strategy. All the information you capture should not only be capable of explaining the company's past but also where the business is heading.

8. Do your best for your company, not for your ego

If you try to build a startup think like one. Be attentive to the costs, do not waste the money of the company on plush offices, new cars, and travel, and reviewed twice each expense. Focus on understanding the importance of your company's cash flow and how to improve it. Finally, instead of bragging about having a business and being an entrepreneur, focus on working on your success and show it with facts.

9. Ask for advice and listen to those around you

When you have problems do not hesitate to seek advice from others, rely on your team, friends, family, and other entrepreneurs, people like to give pieces of advice, as they feel in a certain way in power and at the same time flattered. So listening carefully to what they might say, is better to learn from the experiences of others than from our own mistakes.

Likewise, be very attentive in listening to your customers and employees. No matter if you're sure to be right, take a moment and listen, you never know when a brilliant idea can emerge. You need to appreciate the criticism of others is there where you can find factors for improvement. Dissatisfied customers are often the best source of insights for the company.