Entrepreneurs are known to be risk takers. They probably take too many risks in their prime lives as entrepreneurs. But those risks are calculated. Some of the most successful ones you know today took lots of risks in the past.
But every entrepreneurial story is different. Entrepreneurs are doers. They start something. Sometimes it’s something big. Most times it is a big failure. Either way they keep moving and stuff done.
“In 1945, as a high school sophomore, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop. Within months, they owned several machines in 3 different barber shops across Omaha. The business was sold later in the year for $1,200 to a War Veteran.” Wikipedia
Buffet started thinking about return on investment very early in life. Not many students think about investing that early.
1. Great entrepreneurs spot solutions in problems.
“A business is simply an idea to make other people’s lives better” says Richard Branson.
Successful entrepreneurs are constantly figuring out how best to tackle obstacles and challenges they encounter daily. Problems they face personally. And frustrations they have identified in different industries and businesses. They don’t see problems but opportunities.
Every great entrepreneur persistently find ways to make ideas and solutions work. Most great entrepreneurs we know today are finding solutions to problems millions of people have. They solve problems people actually have.
When you have a ready market, you can be sure that your solution will solve real problem your target market have. The most successful entrepreneurs are good at spotting people’s needs and creating valuable must-have solutions.
2. They invest in a lot more viable business ideas.
Insanely great entrepreneurs don’t have an end game. They aren’t looking to achieve “enough”. There is no ultimate win when you are an entrepreneur. There is always a better way to do the same thing.
And great entrepreneurs invest in even better ideas as they gain a lot more experience. And they put together amazing teams to work on most of their ideas. They invest viable ideas that can yield even more higher return.
Most entrepreneurs spend much less than they earn and invest their profits in new ventures or better ways to work on the same idea. This timeline of Richard Branson’s business ventures explains it all. You may know his most successful businesses today but he has had lots of failures in the past.
Related: 6 Things Great Entrepreneurs Have In Common (You Might Have Them Too)
3. Successful entrepreneurs invest in their own skills and see it as an investment.
You can never go wrong with investing in yourself. And successful entrepreneurs know that. Entrepreneurs who value self development invest their time each week in resources that will make them better.
They are known to trade their time and effort for increased skills or knowledge. And most of them are self-taught. The world’s greatest entrepreneurs know the value of constant life long learning.
It’s the only way to stay relevant in an ever changing business world. Bill Gates maintains a collection about what he reads here. You may find a few useful for your personal and business development.
4. Great entrepreneurs still own assets that compound.
The first and most efficient way to build wealth is to own a part of a company. The richest and most wealthy entrepreneurs today own large percentages of their businesses. They hang on to every precious percentage of ownership.
Successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Warrant Buffet are still hanging on to their percentages in the companies they founded years ago.
Bill Gates was never going to earn over $70 billion from just programming as a freelancer. Great entrepreneurs continue to invest in long term assets that will pay off in the future.
Related: Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Should Be Able To Answer These Business Questions
5. Great entrepreneurs always play to their strengths.
Successful entrepreneurs concentrate on what they do best. Don’t worry so much about your weaknesses. Play to your strengths. That’s what great entrepreneurs do. They can accomplish everything themselves.
The greatest entrepreneurs you know today have hired some of the best and smartest people in their industries to work on what they can’t do but have to do.
The smartest thing to do is to focus on your strengths whilst your team takes care of every other thing you can’t do but need to do to be successful. Sergey Brin compliments Larry Page. Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak.
Evan Williams and Biz Stone together made Twitter great. And Bill Gates had Paul Allen. People do better when they concentrate on what they do best. You can’t do it all alone and be a great entrepreneur. The world’s greatest entrepreneurs do more of what they do best.
I originally shared this post at Entrepreneur.com here.
