TOP BUSINESS LESSONS TO LEARN FROM SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN FROM ACROSS THE WORLD
Successful businessmen the world over come from all walks of life; different industries, cultures, social and economic backgrounds, and a lot more. But they all have something in common – thumb rules that they follow that makes them stand out from the rest.
Let’s look at some lessons that these successful businessmen have learned from their journeys to success.
Accept failure as part of your voyage to victory
This is a very important lesson to learn as for every one successful venture, there are multiple hundreds of failures. If everyone gave up on every new idea they had, then we still would have been in the Paleolithic age today. For instance, take the example of Hiten Shah, the co-founder of the extremely successful analytics platform, KISSmetrics, who had launched several products that failed completely. According to him, his biggest failure was when he had to invest USD 1 million of his own hard earned money on a web-hosting company and the company never even reached the launch stage. He accepted his failure as a part of the learning phase and considered it to be a step in his growth cycle. This is an important thing to be learned – Gain from the experience and move on for the better.
Have the right mindset and attitude
“Business success is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. And, frankly, most people’s psychology is not meant for building a business.” – Tony Robbins, a successful businessman, speaker, and philanthropist.
Determination and attitude towards what you want to achieve is the making or breaking point of your success. Knowledge of the industry you want to work in is good but having the right attitude is far more important. You can always build on your knowledge as you go along but building your mindset is a whole different ballgame.
Sophia Amoruso, founder of the multi-million dollar clothing line Nasty Gal says, “Don’t give up, don’t take anything personally, and don’t take ‘No’ for an answer; you never know what you’re going to learn along the way. The people who told me no, were the people that eventually told me yes; so don’t forget it.”
Make dedicating yourself to achieving your set goals despite every obstacle, a daily pursuit.
Keep your eyes open at all times!
Keep an eye out for opportunities. This sounds very clichéd but it is true for many successful businessmen across the globe. Dr. Barry Nalebuff, the founder of Honest Tea, saw a gap in the beverage market that couldn’t be filled by the then existing products. The market was overflowing with sugary sodas, unhealthy soft drinks, and plain simple water. He teamed up with one of his students to launch a new product into this already flourishing market. His new venture became popular when Dr. Barry was at a yoga retreat where he chanced a meeting with Oprah Winfrey. He offered her a sample of the beverage which later on got featured in her magazine.
Dr. Barry rightly says, “When opportunity strikes, you have to be prepared for it.”
Many new ventures were started keeping in mind existing consumer problems. So always keep your eyes out for new opportunities. Who knows you get to grab big opportunities at the least expected places.
Never be afraid to start small
There are scores of examples of successful businesses that started as a nonentity but are giants now in the business world. From Dell to Apple to Amazon, there are more examples than we can think of. They all started small but with larger than life visions and goals.
Many people tend to quit before even starting off, and that is out of the fear that they need much more than what they have at hand to begin. As a result, many ideas die out for the fear of ‘starting too small’. If one goes by logic, then starting small is actually safer.
Never fear risks but do look before you leap
Taking risks is all a part of the game. Any business at any given stage is actually a risk, even after it takes off. So, one must never fear taking risks as long as the risks are calculated ones. Taking risks without weighing out all the pros and cons is just unwise.
Time is the most precious resource
Every successful businessman believe in this mantra. We all have 24 hours a day but only a few know how to use each minute to their advantage. And these are those few who reach and achieve their goals. It is not always about doing more but prioritizing every single minute of the day. Set specific and tangible goals and schedule your time in a way that allows you to achieve your set goals.
Build your Network
The importance of networking cannot be stressed upon enough. Success Coach Chris Winfield said that many first time entrepreneurs lose out because they fail to ask for the right help from the right people at the right time. He explains, “Pretty much anything you are going to go through, someone else has already gone through. Pretty much any feeling you are going to have, someone else has already had. Any obstacle, any roadblock, ANYTHING! Someone has come up against them and figured out a way to get around them. Whether it’s reading a book, reaching out, or shadowing someone, get help and then do it better.”
Education is important
Right education is important, no matter what you decide to be in the future. It is an investment that never stops giving you returns. Getting the right education from the right place is thus the key to making your start towards a successful business.
That’s where, the K.R. Mangalam University, one of the top MBA institutes in the country, comes in the scenario! KRMU offers deliberately designed, industry-focused management courses that can help you to be a successful entrepreneur no matter where you set your goals. The courses offered are sculpted to help you in your leadership skills, decision making, time management, strategic problem-solving skills and above all the right attitude to be a winner. Our past placement records speak for the quality of education imparted at KRMU and the reputation it holds in the industry. We are proud to state that most of our alumni are successfully engaged with leading national and international organizations while many have started off with their own successful ventures.
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