Things I Learned From Starting A Business
There is absolutely nothing glamorous about starting a business. Don’t let the lifestyle fool you. Forget about fancy cars, offices, and fat expense accounts. That level of success is rare and never built overnight. In most cases, it takes decades.
It’s easy to get caught up in the dream. And the misconception that after a bit of hard work it’ll all be roses. The fact is — it won't be. And it’s not.
Your biggest supporters are usually strangers
When doing Sales, the first people who will trust you will be Strangers, Friends will be shielding against you, fair-weather friends will distance from you. Family will look down upon you. ~ Jack Ma
Jack Ma once said, “When Selling to close friends and family, no matter how much you’re selling to them, they will always feel you’re earning their money, no matter how cheap you sell to them, they still wouldn’t appreciate it.”
This is a classic example of a poor person’s mentality!
How did the rich people become rich? One of the main reasons is that they are willing to SUPPORT their associates business, taking care of one another’s interests thus naturally they get back more. Get rid of the crab mentality.
Know your enemy, know yourself
If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss. ~ Sun Tzu
The Art of War was one of the greatest books ever written by Sun Tzu. It focuses on ancient Chinese military strategies. Its philosophies became an important strategy for warfare and in the business world.
It’s in our nature to watch our competitor’s patterns and try to anticipate their next move. We look at their branding efforts, their content, and their marketing strategies. We see their social media presence, response theme, and their professionalism. All these aspects allow us to obtain a better understanding of our enemy in an attempt to stay one step ahead of them.
The 3 ‘enemies within’ that will destroy your business
ARROGANCE; “I’m better than you”
Successful or not, you should always be modest, caring and courteous. Never make the mistake of thinking you’re too good to listen to advice and criticism from other people.
EXTRAVAGANCE: “Show them the money”
Plenty of entrepreneurs go a bit crazy when their firms finally turn the corner. Suddenly having cash to burn. They start splashing out on fancy cars and for themselves. At the same time, they lose their sense of proportion on the business side.
TIMIDITY: “Erring on the side of safety”
Success earns you money and status. That means that, unlike when you were on the way up, you’ve suddenly got something to lose. There is an overwhelming temptation to stay safely within your comfort zone. This is to court disaster. Before you know it, your technology will be out of date and your competitors will have pulled ahead because they are still willing to take risks, unlike you.
Companies have to keep evolving and pushing forward to survive and prosper. Avoiding risk is the greatest risk of all. ~ Yoshito Hori
Stop comparing yourself to other business owners
We humans constantly evaluate ourselves, and others, across domains to determine our own social and personal worth based on how we stack up against others. We sometimes compare ourselves to others as a way of fostering self-improvement, self-motivation, and a positive self-image which promotes judgmental, biased, and overly competitive or superior attitudes
You feel like you’re falling behind but comparing yourself to others is a business killer.
When we compare, we’re comparing the best of someone else to the worst of ourselves. Why? Because other business owners aren’t readily sharing their pitfalls and epic fails with us, just the highlights.
Be strong and ruthless
This is a ruthless world; one must be ruthless to cope with it ~ Charlie Chaplin
People will do anything to shake your confidence because not everyone wants you to succeed. You will be tested. It's just the way life is. Stay solid and don’t fold. You’re in control and it’s all in your head.
When is ruthlessness necessary for business?
I don’t think it’s wise to start out with this attitude. Rather it’s is best to trust someone until they give you reason not to.
Be ruthless once someone has made clear plans to hurt you, after all, empires aren’t built with hugs and kisses.
