March 6, 2018
Young Entrepreneurs Need to Focus on Action, Not Talk
By Achim Neumann
Every young entrepreneur needs to follow a guideline that will assist in helping them to become successful. Many of the elements in any plan of action can seem counterintuitive, but they have proven over time to be very effective. With this in mind, here is a list of the most important elements of this guideline.
Focus Your Activities on Innovation
Many think that companies like Google, Facebook, and even Microsoft became so successful because they were managed by and received creative input from the smartest people on the planet. Although there is no doubt that the senior management of these companies are brilliant, but they are perhaps no more brilliant than the senior management at many failed startups. In fact, many executives at the most successful tech companies were part of senior management at failed startups at one time in their lives. So what was the difference at the companies that have global success, compared to those companies that did not succeed?
Companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft built their businesses on innovation. Each of their products and services innovated an existing product or service that had become out of sync with the needs of the marketplace. This is great information for young entrepreneurs to utilize in their businesses. Always put your focus on innovating and find those Industries where innovation has stagnated because they create the biggest opportunities.
Focus on actions not words
Too many companies today spend too much time filling out a management team that covers every conceivable area of their business. What this does is that it creates layers of bureaucracy that convolute processes within the company. The exact opposite is the key to success. Instead of placing a brilliant person in every available job slot, use the strategy of sparse management and let those holes be filled in with action. In other words, things like Innovation will be forced to occur within product development rather than a series of 100 meetings about innovation if there is no VP of Innovation at your company.
Every successful entrepreneur has several mentors
Successful entrepreneurs recognize the importance of having a wise and seasoned set of mentors with whom they can exchange ideas and seek guidance when they are challenged. It may seem surprising, but successful and seasoned executives love to help guide those individuals who are trying to change the world. The key is that when you approach one of these individuals, you must be clear about what you need, and what questions you would like answered. This way you don’t waste their time and they are able to quickly give you quality feedback.
Always act like a start-up
Startups assume that everything will be hard, and that everything will keep breaking. As a result they are always on their toes, and prepared with a back-up plan. You should always assume that nothing in your business is stable, and that each period of growth will be followed by a new set of challenges that threatens to derail that growth. Always act like a start-up.
Learn how to pitch your company to money people
You have to become very articulate at explaining the benefits and vision of your company to those who can provide capital to help execute your vision. When you read about an entrepreneur receiving a large amount of money from an investor, you can be sure that that entrepreneur was able to get the investor to envision a world that is made better because of his company’s products or services.
The vision of that world must have been made crystal clear and compelling, and most importantly attainable only with the assistance of the entrepreneurs company. With this in mind, use all your spare time to constantly re-imagine your company and then become articulate at describing it.
Focus on these very important areas of your business and you will become a market leader.
About A Neumann & Associates, LLC
A Neumann & Associates, LLC is a professional mergers & acquisitions and business brokerage firm having assisted business owners and buyers in the business valuation and business transfer process through its affiliations for the past 30 years. With an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, the company has senior trusted professionals with a deep knowledge based in multiple field offices along the East Coast and has performed hundreds of business valuations in its history. The firm’s competitive transaction fees are based on successfully completing transactions. For more information, please contact A Neumann & Associates at 732-872-6777 or info@neumannassociates.com