Andrew Griffiths is a Cairns,
Australia-based serial entrepreneur and the author of 12 best-selling
books on starting, managing, and growing small companies. An
Entrepreneur, Author, Mentor and Speaker has shared his insights into
what it takes to be a good entrepreneur.
1 Don’t Listen To The No-sayers
You have to ignore the no sayers and still
do what you want to do. Being an entrepreneur means being independent,
but it doesn’t mean being an island. I’ve noticed that successful
entrepreneurs seek out successful people so that they can learn from
their strengths and their weaknesses. What they don’t do is listen to
critics, naysayers, and doubters. If you want to be successful as an
entrepreneur, seek out the successful ones and learn everything you
possibly can from them. Don’t allow yourself to listen to the negative:
“It’s too risky”... “You don’t have the talent” ... “It will take too
long” ...“No one’s ever done it that way before”... “You must be crazy.”
These are the most common “words of wisdom” thrown at entrepreneurs, articularly
during the startup phase. The negative input from these naysayers will
keep you up at night questioning everything about your vision and your
company. The best thing you can do for your sanity and your success is
to avoid them, and if you can’t avoid them, don’t listen to them.
2 Have A Vision
Find out your why to get out of the bed in
the morning. Check in with your purpose on a regular basis. Sometimes
your vision changes and you need to find out your why again.
Entrepreneurs have a vision and a sense of being right that goes beyond
the norm of those who are drawn to leadership roles in large
organizations. They know they have a better way, a better idea, and can
build a better product, and they know they’re in the minority—and that’s
where they’re most comfortable.
3 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
You have to make it work and entrepreneurs
these days have it much easier to walk away from a business.
Entrepreneurs are impatient and entrepreneurs stop before their business
becomes successful. Entrepreneurs have to niche down and own that space
and if you do that everything comes your way. Another mistake
entrepreneurs make is they don’t embrace storytelling in their business.
Consumers want to know the person that is behind the business. For
example: entrepreneurs have to ask themselves, What floats your boat as
an accountant? Get better at telling your story. Entrepreneurs have to
be different and stand out.
4 Adversity Is An Opportunity
The truth is that adversity can serve as
both a learning experience and a masked opportunity. There is an
offsetting opportunity in every adversity and every obstacle. The trick
is to develop the habit of automatically looking for the positive in
every negative situation. Each new learning experience makes it that
much easier the next time around. In the words of Richard Bach, “That’s
what learning is, after all: not whether we lose the game, but how we
lose and how we’ve changed because of it, and what we take away from it
that we never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a curious
way, is winning.”
5 Fundamental Rules
Have a high level of integrity and never
harm your reputation. Reputation will feed you. Be very careful who you
partner up with. Your brand is part of you. Be hugely respectful with
people. Be in constant improvement. Be sowing seeds for the future. Be
patient for the long term. Have an extraordinary network. Help people
get what they want and you will get what you want.
6 Master Empathy
To minimise personal bias and really put
yourself in the user’s shoes takes a great deal of empathy. Not by
asking them what they want, but by really observing and understanding
who they are and what they actually do. Put yourself in the shoes of
other people. It’s not about you, but how you can help the people
listening to you. From a public speaking speech or a podcast interview,
how can you help the audience you are providing a service for? You are
serving the audience. Ask how can I help these people?