Here is the guide to making it as an entrepreneur:
1. NEED – Talk is CHEAP
Saying that you want to be an entrepreneur makes you into a wantrepreneur. Those that will truly make it are willing to give it all up to gain success. Whether it’s food, sleep, friends, and girlfriends thats what the most successful do to get there. The will to be broke & be lost while sacrificing what others take for granted with their 9-5 job is a key element. If you think sleeping on the floor, waiting to have children, and living off of “ketchup & mustard” sandwiches sounds crazy than I think you’re crazy because thats what is the mentality needed to make it.
2. Be one of the BEST
From good to great. You don’t have to be the very best but you should certainly strive to be and let all of your clients or potential future clients know that you are the best there is. If you are passionate about your business it will show through to your clients and the people you work with and that will help to increase conversions. Passion & Effort creates some of the best. One of the greatest examples I like to reference is Kobe Bryant who would sleep for only 2 hours during the NBA Finals and be totally focused on shooting free throws in the gym before game time. His effort led to a remarkable performance which led to winning the NBA Championship. With business more effort in one area does not always translate to success but more often then not does correlate.
3. Good Help is Hard to find but you have to find it.
If your willing to pay for good help once you can afford it thats great but there is nothing better then getting young passionate individuals that are excited to grow with you.
4. You can’t do it alone.
That is true. Get the help as mentioned above but if you are raising capital and need your ducks in a row then you need help from the following:
a. A lawyer
b. Accountant
c. Adviser
A lawyer to make sure you don’t sign bad deals that hobble you forever. It stings to pay certain law firms big bucks even if it is on a deferred basis but this can save you millions in the long run.
An accountant can help you get your finances in order and lower your taxable income and divert expenses when favorable to do so. Accountants can help you maximize the bottom line of your business.
An adviser is the hardest to get. Sounds like the easiest but finding somebody who has been down the road who is ready to guide you for free or pay is not as easy as you would think since everybody has a different vision.
4. Money
It can’t buy you love, but it can buy you visibility. You need to be seen and if you dont have money it’s hard to get press…unless you have a truly awesome product or idea.
In todays world the biggest site aggregators are the buzzfeeds, digg.com, techcrunches, and viral social sharing that goes on at facebook, twitter, and pinterest. So how do you get ahead in todays world? Well having money to create a great product and attacking viral campaigns on these parasite platforms. Look at Candy Crush. They worked on a pay per download basis & got some master affiliates behind them to send massive amounts of downloads until it went viral and you saw everybody sharing their candy crush scores. There are tons of other examples but in today’s world to make it you need passion, drive, effort, a worthwhile product or idea that you can then promote and go on a mission to spread the word. Fake it to you make it works well too.
5. Backers
Look at onlycoin.com they came up with a multiple credit card in one idea. The idea had been done before but never executed with backers until 2013. They did a viral crowdfunding campaign and it went boinkers. People watched the video and believed in it and loved it. They shared it and backed it. Backers are what you need.
6. Sustaining Growth
That’s the hardest thing to do these days. Having a big hit, sustaining and growing. It’s easier said then done.
7. Learn from your mistakes and learn from those who have tried beforehand
I think it’s best to quote Bob here: “We live in a country where no one can admit they’re wrong. If you’re not willing to question every choice, do it differently next time, you’re never going to make it. Three years ago, almost everything I’ve said above would be different. You could go viral by your lonesome, social networking worked. But times change. You once used your aforementioned BlackBerry and were thrilled to get your e-mail on the run, now it’s all about apps. People hate change, but those who are willing to do so win.”
We live in an ever changing world (thanks Paul McCartney). You will be a dead dinosaur if you don’t adapt to the changes and get with it. Advertising is rapidly moving more and more to mobile and the newspapers who are just now realizing that nobody reads the paper anymore and they went online and now they are steps behind mobile platforms. Be on the cutting edge and take chances because you will fail at some things, you will make mistakes but learn from them and grow stronger not bitter.
8. Trends Change Faster now then Ever
Yes people will always love the Dallas Cowboys and electronics but the players continually change and you need to understand whats popular today will more than likely not be popular in tomorrows world. It’s similar to my SEO business. I can rank you for any term today but I can’t guarantee that it will rank next year with the same strategy. Trends are just that trends. Hey is anybody still wearing Jncos and playing with pogs?
9. Get in with the Who’s Who Crowd
Having friends that are writers at the New York Times and editors at the Huffington Post goes a long way when your trying to make it. An entrepreneur can gain serious traction from just one major publication. Once your in and they like you any of your future endeavors can at least be presented.
10. Talk to Everybody
I have a habit of talking to anybody and everybody. Not knowing who you are speaking to is part of the fun. The most powerful man in Los Angeles and I crossed paths at CES and he was probably thinking who the fuck is this kid in a hoodie in my private showcase room acting like he owns the place. All strangers you talk to tout your entrepreneurial venture and see what synergies are there because you just never ever know.
11. Referrals Rock
If you build it they will come. Do a great job and they will come back for more and tell their friends. Anything worth doing is worth doing well so don’t slack off the benefits of doing the right thing far outweigh the drawbacks.
12. Stickiness
Learn to stick around. Make sure people are happy and stay in their face. Emails, Texts, follow ups, sponsored facebook posts. It works if you want to stay sticky but it costs you Dinero.
13. Be nice.
It’s the key to making it. If you’re a jerk, no one’s going to want to work for you, go out of their way to promote you. Constantly say thank you and go out of your way to be appreciative. Everybody loves compliments, not just the act.
14. No Woulda Coulda’s
It’s the most annoying thing in the world to hear people say they were going to buy $500,000 worth of bitcoins at $10.00 but they didnt. If you did you wouldn’t be here to tell us about it. We don’t care about what you could have done. We all zig when your supposed to zag it’s part of the entrepreneurs lessons inspired above. The mistakes you make create strength in your abilities to succeed down the road as long as you have learned from them.
15. It’s not over till it’s over
Enjoy the ride because there is a lot of turbulence on the way. When you think its over it may just be beginning and when your on top of the world with no end in sight the end could be a lot closer then you think. Too many examples both ways to go over but don’t take anything for granted and stay on top of your game, stay focused, and don’t lose sight of the prize.
This post was inspired by Barry Ritholtz and the Lefsetz Letter