How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur
Is there any guaranteed formula to follow (as the headline suggests?) Of course not. A quick look at the people who have become successful entrepreneurs shows the path they took as unique as they are.
But?and it?s a HUGE but?while their behavior is idiosyncratic, the thinking these successful people followed is not.
A study of serial entrepreneurs, that is those who have successfully started one or more companies, shows that they all follow the same approach. And if it has worked for them, it may very well work for you.
That approach?
1. They REALLY wanted to do what they set out to do.
If you don?t have desire, you won?t give anything your best efforts.
2. They take a small step toward their goal.
Starting anything new is risky. You don?t want to move too far too fast. Everything you have probably read about entrepreneurs says they love risk. Nothing can be further from the truth.
3. After taking that small step, they stop to see what they have learned.
Maybe they learn their initial goal is still a good one. Maybe they market is telling them they need to go in another direction. Maybe they learn that they don?t have the desire any more. Maybe, after considering what they have learned after taking that first small step they realize there is something else they would rather do more. The point is they come to a complete stop and consider everything
4. Once they understand what they learned, they take another small step and go through the cycle once again.
In other words the formula for success (if there is one) is: Act. Learn. Repeat.
Implicit in this formula is that your initial idea is going to morph over time. Initially, Howard Shultz had Italian opera playing as background music at Starbucks. Michael Dell began his company by doing nothing more than assembling IBM personal computer knockoffs. The best entrepreneurs don?t wait to see if their product or service is perfect, because they start searching to see if there is going to be market acceptance.
They take that small step toward their goal. (?I am going to offer the best coffee I can possibly can, within a retail environment that replicates as close as possible what someone would experience if they went out for coffee in Italy.?)
They stop and pause to see what they have learned from taking that small step. (?People love the idea of an upscale coffee shop, but they hate the opera soundtrack. Let?s drop that, and maybe add some oversized comfortable chairs.?)
And then they repeat. (?Okay, the chairs were a success; what else can we add, what should we take away.?)
Act. Learn. Repeat. It's how just about every successful company we know about was built.
To learn more about how to act like an entrepreneur, as well as to find out more about how to use a new entrepreneurial formula called CreAction to work for your goals, please go to www.actiontrumpseverything.com for a free copy of the Action Trumps Everything book.
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