Posted by JuJuan Buford, Entrepreneur & Writer @JSBUFORD
Any tips for beginners who are entrepreneurs?
The aforementioned question or some variation thereof is the number one question I receive when engaging would be entrepreneurs or those who have already begun their journey. Here are some thoughts off the top or to be completely transparent, here is an amalgamation of responses I've shared that have been helpful to others.
Tip One: It's Not What You Know, But What You Don't Know That Can Hurt You.
It sounds cliche, and it is, but that doesn't make it any less true. If you study those who have achieved and distinguished themselves in any endeavor (a couple names come to mind, like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, President Barack Obama, Serena Williams, Mark Cuban, Gary Vee, etc., etc.,), they are constant learners. Observers of behavior. Perfectionist at their crafts. And you'll find this to be true among most elite performers.
There is nothing more nauseating than sitting in front of a know it all, spewing about their past accomplishments, and who they know. Entrepreneurship is like sports. If you're not growing, learning, finding ways to offer more value, you'll soon be a has been.
If I have to bet on just two characteristics to discern who I'd like to build anything with, I'll take the person with a tenacious desire for learning and a consistent work ethic all day, every day.
Tip Two: You're Going to Get Squeezed.
Work life balance is a lie. Time management is a lie. The perfect schedule is a lie. These lies are popular because they feel good, and when you're an entrepreneur (absent the safety net of a job) you learn very quickly that successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.
Successful entrepreneurs enjoy extraordinary lifestyles, benefits, access, influence, and freedoms. I remember the first time I interviewed an entrepreneur almost two decades ago that earned more in a week - $60,000 - than most earn in a year, however I also remember the stories of hardship, failures, and sacrifice that preceded the financial independence.
The key ingredient in the word extraordinary is located in the prefix: extra. Most are not prepared for the "extra" work, the "extra" sacrifice, the "extra" drive, the "extra" self-motivation, the "extra" everything that is required to effectively launch and take flight, remain on the throttle until you reach a really, really, good altitude and then look back at the fuel expended, and you feel good about the results. In other words, go hard, or go home. Very hard, in the beginning.
Need a good book that clearly illustrates this? Read Grant Cardone's The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure.
Being an entrepreneur means you wake up in the morning, and one of the most important questions you ask yourself is, what are the three to five things I will accomplish today that will make it a masterpiece? It's about priority management.
Tip Three: Accounting. Marketing. Legal.
Accounting. Marketing. Legal. Unless you've gone to school for at least 4-7 years studying these disciplines, and then experienced a couple up and down economies practicing these disciplines. observing how things really shake out when stuff doesn't go the way our business plans lined it up, don't do it yourself.
At the end of the day, the biggest difference between failure and success is access to the right information, allowing you to make better decisions, leading to bigger positive outcomes. Jack of all trades, master of none is not profitable long term. Or Wise.
Practitioners of these disciplines specialize, just like doctors. You wouldn't hire a podiatrist to perform brain surgery, right? So, let's not be coquettish here. Who cares if you're uncle's son's mother in law on the your dad's side of the family is an attorney. You don't want a criminal attorney reviewing tort law documents. You don't want your jack of all trades business attorney reviewing insurance policies. You don't want your accountant that told you it was OK to operate as a DBA in today's world, making marketing decisions for you.
If someone sues you, 99.9% of the time that family, friend, distant cousin thing..... Sure, OK.
I've seen the tiniest errors in judgement destroy good people. I've observed business owners not scale because they are starving the baby, and a competitor literally punches them in the mouth simply because they were better informed. Bad things. Very bad things happen to good people all the time.
Here's a rule of thumb. If you know you need some sort of assistance or resource, and the ONLY reason why you're not securing it, is because of the expense. Find a way to pay for it. It has never been easier to launch a business today because of the access and speed that we all can run at. On the flip side, business and consequences have become all the more fierce.
Tip Four: Live on Passion
Especially, if you weren't born on third, second, or even first base. Those who know the taste of government cheese and Farina get this. No need to explain.
It's not lonely at the top, you have to be prepared to make new friends. Because the people who know you; knew the previous you, not the new you. And if they're not growing with you, people are going to start behaving as if aliens have abducted you. Sometimes, all you may have to remain focused and active will be your passion.
Our interactions are becoming more fragmented, less authentic, less real. People are looking for genuine connections. People and things they can identify with. And as they search, they're becoming more jaded, after being bamboozled by the success veneer that proliferates online. The irony is the information we need to become more and achieve more has never been more accessible, however it is becoming increasingly difficult to sift through the bs.com that is out there. It will be your purpose and passion that separates you, amplifying your message above all the noise.
At the end of the day, no one is going to become passionate about your endeavor, unless you are. You can't fake passion long term. Over the course of time, people come to discern whether you're passionate about solving their problems, or simply to make a buck. And you'll be surprised how many will actually conduct business with you, or simply stick around just to see if you're loco enough to finish what you've started. As your credibility - work ethic, commitment to improvement, showing up, professionalism, good decisions - catches up with your passion, snowflakes turn into snowballs.
JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, a successful entrepreneur, activist, writer, and public speaker. Buford is dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.