Advice for Entrepreneurs
For entrepreneurs the one commodity which is never in short supply is
advice.
I tell entrepreneurs is listen only to the people who have done it because
I believe that the others are qualified only to tell you about how NOT to do
it!
My first advice is to follow your own instincts, not those of people who see
your world differently.
We’re usually too busy with day-to-day matters to take time to consider the
long view, and to listen to our own instincts about where things are going.
Consider scheduling an hour this week – maybe off-site at a coffee shop -
for checking your own educated guesses about what’s happening next in the
world or in your field. Start with the big changes you see or anticipate,
then continue to narrow your focus until you have specific ideas of what you
can do to benefit or learn from these changes.
I recommend to entrepreneurs that every month they create a new list of
people to call.
Call people where you can learn from their experiences who can teach you how
to be a more efficient entrepreneur.
Make up a modest list to start with and consider setting the goal of meeting
with at least one or two people like this per month.
I tend to be very visual. This is one reason why many of us visionaries
don’t like to use filing cabinets or Palm Pilot-type devices: when the
drawer is shut or the device is off, we can’t see what’s in there! We feel
more secure when we can see the material we may want to access.
I have experienced by observing many creative entrepreneurs who stop when
they feel that their work is done when they’re only halfway there; when
their book is written, or they’ve come up with the idea for a film or a
clever new business, for example. I explain to them that it’s only real when
it’s getting into the hands of the end-user; when you’ve overcome the doubts
of the skeptics and enlisted the cooperation of those who can help you get
your project out there and make it useful.
Being an entrepreneur many times is a very lonely place to be in our life. I
ask entrepreneurs who come to me for advice these questions: What projects
have you left half-done? Have a few rejections put you off? Has one of your
friends or families negativity convinced you to abandon the idea?
Often it’s the things closest to our hearts that we leave half-done because
we fear the pain of failure. Isn’t it time you go back to that one ‘crazy’
idea or project and get to work to making it come true?
