6 LESSONS LEARNED AFTER YOUR FIRST YEAR AS AN ENTREPRENEUR BY GEOFFREY BYRUCH When we look at the life of an entrepreneur, we always use individuals like Mark Cuban or Mark Zuckerberg as examples for the overall field In reality, the truth of an entrepreneur is not mentioned nearly enough The reason for this is that our society craves on instant gratification Simply put, we want things now and we want them fast As much as we would like to see this type of change, especially for an up-and-coming business or company, the reality of it is that success will be a long and arduous journey AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, THERE R E A L LY A R E N O S H O R T C U T S OR MAGIC FORMULAS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THIS TYPE O F T U R N O V E R O V E R N I G H T Y O U H AV E T O W O R K I M M E N S E LY H A R D E A C H A N D E V E R Y D AY U N T I L T H I N G S S TA R T T O D E V E L O P B E L O W, Y O U W I L L F I N D T H E S I X H A R D T R U T H S T H AT E V E R Y INDIVIDUAL LEARNS DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR AS AN ENTREPRENEUR 1 FA I L U R E I S I N E V I TA B L E AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO M A K E A VA R I E T Y O F S A C R I F I C E S NOW AS MUCH AS YOU EXPECT SUCCESS, THERE I S A H I G H P R O B A B I L I T Y T H AT Y O U W I L L E X P E R I E N C E F A I L U R E AT L E A S T O N C E W I T H I N YOUR BUSINESS’S LIFE WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? T H I S H A P P E N S S I M P LY B E C A U S E E N T R E P R E N E U R S ARE CURIOUS ENTREPRENEURS PURSUE THEIR I N T E R E S T A N D PA S S I O N AT A M E A N S T O C R E AT E A N O P P O R T U N I T Y AS MUCH AS CURIOSITY IS A MEANS TO FUEL ENTREPRENEURS, IT CAN LEAD THEM TO F A I L U R E TA K E F O R E X A M P L E Y O U A R E L O O K I N T O P R O M O T I N G A N E W A N I N N O V AT I V E P R O D U C T F O R Y O U R C O M PA N Y A S G R E AT A S Y O U R I N T E N T I O N S W E R E , T H E PAT H I T S E L F L E A D S T O FA I L U R E W H E N T H I S H A P P E N S , D O N O T L O O K AT T H I S A S A C H A N C E F O R Y O U T O Q U I T S E E T H E F A I L U R E A S A W AY T O S E T Y O U R N E W E X P E C TAT I O N S F O R SUCCESS LEARN FROM IT AND ACCEPT IT AS A W AY T O E V O LV E O V E R T H E C O U R S E O F Y O U R CAREER While shows and movies such as Shark Tank and Social Network have displayed an imaginative world of ‘golden tickets’ and easy opportunities, the reality of it is that you will be expected to put in a lot of work if you are looking to succeed in your field Remember, no matter what the name is or what the product, you company and your service is new to the market In order to establish your ideas and your company, your work will never stop EXPECT LONG HOURS AND HARD WORK YOU ARE C O N S TA N T LY L E A R N I N G A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR WILL TELL Y O U T H AT T H E Y A R E N E V E R D O N E LEARNING BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR IS NOT AN EASY TA S K T H AT C A N B E L E A R N E D O V E R N I G H T I N F A C T, I N R E A L I T Y, W E C A N N O T L E A R N S U C C E S S R AT H E R , M U C H O F I T C A N B E AT T R I B U T E D F R O M T R I A L - A N D - E R R O R DECISIONS WHEN YOU ARE WORKING TO BUILD YOUR C O M PA N Y, Y O U W I L L F I N D T H AT Y O U W I L L H AV E N O F R E E T I M E T O S PA R E M U C H O F Y O U R T I M E , I F A N Y, W I L L B E S P E N T LEARNING HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR N E T W O R K , M A R K E T, O R F I N A N C E Y O U R C O M PA N Y AT T H E M O S T O P T I M U M A N D E F F E C T I V E W AY 4 THE TRIALS AND T R I B U L AT I O N S O F MARKETING • When we think of marketing, we think immediately of getting our name out of there • Well for those who have tried, you will find out that the idea of selling yourself is not always that easy • The best way to market is to focus solely on the product and service itself Allow the customers to make the connection of how it can benefit them 5 S T R AT E G Y D O E S N O T E Q U AT E T O SUCCESS • The process of thinking strategically can be a challenge especially when you are starting your company • There are various avenues and options you can take lead you to your objective of establishing your company within its perspective field • As much you want to believe that your strategies will take you to your end goal, you need to realize that you will have to inevitably revise, edit, and change your strategy timeand-time again • This happens because, throughout the course of your business, things will change Because of these unknown changes, you have to be malleable and adaptive to this type of change 6 F O C U S O N W H AT YOU CAN AFFECT • The best way to handle these tasks is by attacking them one at a time • Focus your energy on projects or objectives in which you can have the most impact It is that type of strategy that will allow you to get the most ‘bang for your buck.’ ... craves on instant gratification Simply put, we want things now and we want them fast As much as we would like to see this type of change, especially for an up-and-coming business or company, the reality... DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR AS AN ENTREPRENEUR 1 FA I L U R E I S I N E V I TA B L E AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO M A K E A VA R I E T Y O F S A C R I F I C E S NOW AS MUCH AS YOU EXPECT... or what the product, you company and your service is new to the market In order to establish your ideas and your company, your work will never stop EXPECT LONG HOURS AND HARD WORK YOU ARE C O N