I’m often asked for advice on being an entrepreneur. Are you taking the leap with a new business? You might have the basics, but these three tips should be put to use frequently to not only challenge yourself, but to ensure your business is reaching it’s optimal potential.
While there are many lessons to be learned, I can think of specific instances in the past year that these have been again proven true to me and my business, and I do my best to put them to use frequently.
You’re wrong.
You just don’t know how wrong. I like to think of things this way to re-frame my attitude. If I come at a problem with a solution that I assume is wrong, I’m more open to questions, feedback, and input from others. Alternatively, if I assume that my solutions are right, that means others must be wrong, and I’m less open to questioning. A well-placed question can open up a world of opportunity.It is the ability to question one’s own thoughts that enables us to be open to new ideas, and to develop solutions that are better than when they began. This doesn’t mean when everyone thinks you’re wrong, you’re actually wrong – it just means you need a healthy ability to question yourself, and let others do the same.
Warm bodies may be recently dead.
You may have heard it said to hire the right person for the job instead of a warm body. That is quite true, and wisdom worth heeding. Just because someone is available for a job doesn’t mean they’ll be good at it. Just because they apply at the right time doesn’t mean they should be hired. Be picky. Warm bodies doing unproductive work and subsequently being fired are like recently dead bodies – they are there, not adding value, and it’s expensive and messy to move them. Resist temptation. It is better to slow down or let the wheels fall off for a moment than to fill the bus with all the wrong people.
Just because you’re “in charge” doesn’t mean you’re good at it.
Being an entrepreneur has a certain appeal to non-entrepreneurs because of the perceived power it presents to be in charge of others. But being an entrepreneur is sometimes about stepping out of your own way. You may be good at a lot of things, but you’re probably only great at one or a few things, just like everybody else. Often, entrepreneurs think that just because they had an idea and connected one dot to another, that they are endowed with superpowers – they are better than everyone else in the company. The truth is, as an entrepreneur, one of your greatest tasks is to understand what other people are good at, and get them connected up with what the company needs. If you’re really great at everything, you’re probably wrong. But if you believe you’re really great at everything, you probably don’t agree with Tip #1, so none of this applies to you, anyhow.
Have a great business year, and connect with us at ThinkerProfit.com
Jason Todd