We recently re-tweeted an interesting article about successful entrepreneurs. Its message was very simple: It takes confidence, passion and drive to achieve your goals. For my Christmas message about success I’m going to share some of my favourite tips from entrepreneurs.
The founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos has some great comments about competition. ‘If your’re competitor focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering’.
Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook co-founder encourages some risk taking in business. ‘The biggest risk is not taking any risk .In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks’.
Daniel Horan has been creating food and farming businesses for 25 years. ‘Simplicity is really important. It’s got to be simple, and sometimes to make something simple you have to really, really study everything about it. It might turn out to be complex, but you have to present it simply, particularly when it comes to people: When people buy something, they don’t want a lecture’.
The road to success is a hard one but, according to teacher turned businesswoman Lisa King, ‘It’s a lot easier if you’re passionate about your business’s purpose. ‘If you don’t love what you do, it’s hard to be successful,” she says. She adds that this helps you stay positive: “You need to maintain your optimism. Once it’s gone, you’re done’.
Lord Sugar has more words of wisdom ‘Never stop learning – it is one of the most important keys to succeeding in business. The business world is constantly changing, so make sure you are willing to learn new skills or you will get stuck in an outdated rut’.
Many peoples favourite entrepreneur Richard Branson has some wise words about looking forward ‘ My mother always taught me to never look back in regret but to move on to the next thing. The amount of time people waste dwelling on failures rather than putting that energy into another project, always amazes me’.
My own message for business owners this Christmas is a very clear one. Invest time, effort and money into surrounding yourself with good people. Good staff and good advisers. Especially your Accountant!
Written by Kevin Begley for the South Warrington News.
