Want to know what I think about Lord Alan Sugar on the UK’s Apprentice? Stay Tuned and keep on reading.
Your Destiny is in your hands
I feel just about every one reading this can relate to this bit of advice. “Don’t wait around for action or someone to save you and provide you with work. Just get on with it.” Action is tolerable. Inactions is not. Just go for it!
Recognize Failures
If it seems like it failed or a project is failing? Just keep it moving. If I may offer a little personal advice from my experiences? Even though the world is filled with jerks and judge-mental people who wont value you at the end of the day. Never accept an individuals unfair judgements. Especially those who are not an Entrepreneur. Here are some ways people will treat you poorly as an entrepreneur or just in life in general? They will unfairly judge you. Make snobbish comments. People won’t return you calls, they will purposely ignore your emails. Don’t spend any emotional energy on this. Just keep moving forward. Your bound to land on a success as you move forward.
Seize Opportunities
The truth is personal discernment is key to seizing opportunities. Your gut can communicate when something seems its right and its the right time. If you must pass an opportunity up? Make sure you can revisit it later. However if you have been waiting a long time and something comes your way that seems just right? I would run with it. In the end you could always start over if the opportunity turns out to be a complete waste of your time and resources. I have to give credit where credit is due real fast. I recently was listening to my Chairman/Business Mentor on Anthony’s Sarandrea’s Podcast. I would highly recommend you have a listen. Anthony is 100% legit. And just a solid person to take business and entrepreneurship advice from LISTEN HERE!! And while I was listening to my Mentor and Anthony I stole this short phrase. I love this….”Fail Fast.” Don’t beat yourself up. Keep assaulting forward. Keep running towards your mission objective. I bet you can tell I am old military veteran. Right? Ha!
Have a good work ethic
Let’s be honest with each other, it takes someone willing to live on a couch in their office to be a “ALL IN” start up founder. When your “ALL IN” you sleep on your couch in your office at your business or University. At least thats the way I was raised and how I was taught personal work ethic. This is a little extreme. But it’s how I was taught. I grew up literally on the couch in a spare office in a Medical Surgical College in Kansas City Missouri. I also would spend 6 month’s at a time or longer sailing and living on a small Bahamian island called Bimini. I wanted to be the best barefoot adventurer and absorb as much life experiences as I was able. Work ethic to me means going Balls to the walls 24-7 till you crash from exhaustion. It also means living a lifestyle where a 9 to 5pm office or Corporate job doesn’t exist. But that’s my opinion on what it takes. And thats just how I roll. Ha! Most people want a family life. That’s fine. I get it. But if you ask me? My work ethic is a little extreme. And I feel that’s ok as well. Lord Sugar is literally similar to me that way. Truth is I am ok just living on the job and making my Business, Business Partners and employees, customers or clients my family. Thats kind of basic and crude at best. But working is life. And I may be called dysfunctional for my way of life or work lifestyle. But that’s what it means to me. Work and just keep going. I am not married so I guess I can make this commitment where many can not. But I feel this also does explain my personal passions. Because being a legit entrepreneur involves passion 100%. And personal emotional investments.
Stick to what you know
Maybe I am able to shine a light on this in my own way. If your considering making a investment into a new startup inside the tech space? And the business doesn’t really make sense. Thats a sign and red flag that you should not invest. Understand your investments and how the business works. I do not like Bitcoins and other alternative currency. Forex and the like. It’s just too hazy for my understanding. Another example? Say your an investor and do not know much about how plastic moldings are produced. Do you invest into the new company that will revolutionize the industry? This is historically to risky. And you should always stick to the business you know.
Appreciate your team
Appreciating the team around you should be a priority. Wether it’s quarterly or annually? Make sure to take the time and create opportunities to bond with your team. Have a holiday dinner together, have parties when a employee moves on. This is apart of the positive loving culture you want to build in your company. Everyone on your team is special. Treat them accordingly and I promise you will benefit, grow, and profit immensely from valuing people around you. Your team.
Have Discipline
I have spoken to many business owners who have moderate discipline and hard core non compromising discipline. I myself do not interpret discipline like most. My definition of discipline means something completely different than my girlfriend. It means different things to different people. So here is the dictionary’s definition to clear up any definition miscommunications. Discipline:
- It means the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
- train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.”every month discipline yourself to go through the file”
Track your progress
Ask yourself? How do you measure your success? Do you have milestones you can look to and achieve? What is the metric you will use to monitor your progress along your journey? All important questions for monitoring your goals and achieving long term plans that you implement for your team. We should be very disciplines when it comes to tracking our progress. Are we moving forward? There are so many metrics that need to be applied to our business strategies. Its the smart play that measures our success. It’s good to know or ask where you are? Where your going? And when will you get there? This advice and metrics or progress philosophy. Is honestly solid advice.
Analyze your Marketplace or space
The business landscape is constantly evolving. If your asleep at the wheel of your companies direction and the gas pedal is on cruise control. I would agree it’s very healthy to allow a confidant or number 2 to take over driving your company. As you step back and take a second look at the surroundings in your marketplace. The questions you should be asking are? Are prices going up or going down? Should we be preparing for a different approach or what do we see changing in the business marketplace around us? All fantastic questions to answer. Because in the end we are responsible for our businesses success. We need to look at ways to gain new business. And look at what our competitors are up too. So we can maintain competitive advantages. One last thought here. We shouldn’t be asleep at the wheel and on cruise control. A seismic event may happen that was predictable and we end up totaling our businesses momentum. Great example is Bankruptcy from loss of sales.
Let your product do the talking
This blog and my writing may not be the Wall Street Journal or New York times worthy. However the strategies and experience I provide from my entrepreneur experiences. Will be a superior product than all the other shopify or merch posts many people read. Most of these blogs on entrepreneurship are written by professional writers. Not entrepreneurs. Im a real entrepreneur. Not a polished journalist. The is not the best written blog either. But my product and experience is still a superior product. 100%. I think you will agree most entrepreneur articles are focusing on small business principles. Eagerly trying to convince you to quit your 9 to 5 job and motivate you to go out and start a Ecommerce business. And quite honestly that drum has been beat so many times. Its ridiculous to keep on the path. Selling that same lame regurgitated product. No Sir! No Ma’m!
My blog is all about the journey and offering strategies and information almost all small business websites fail to mention. Entrepreneurship through acquisition. Ross Perot gave me part of my Business education. I am passing a little of that education and experience here for newcomers to the world of Finance. Example of the info products here on my blog? Important questions like? How to secure funding when you don’t know any Bankers? What do you do when your needing partners with the right professional backgrounds? How do you use accountants, attorneys and opportunities to create value for your company and you in the market? You will find answers and information to these professional questions right here on my blog. The Business Individuals I will ask to contribute will be another product that brings massive value all on its own right here on this blog. Some of my friends and business partners will clearly see I am up to something. And probably become very curious. Because they know when “Doc” brings something to the table. It’s gonna be something that adds interesting value. Thank you for reading and I do hope you learned a little or at least found this interesting.
Be sure to check back periodically. Thank you to Lord Alan Sugar for all the informal advice and education he always provides Entrepreneurs.
Godspeed.
JS