You are a seasoned expert in your field. You have taken the courses. After hundreds of hours of preparation, you are ready to become a business leader. However, until you try it, nothing will quite prepare you for becoming a leader. You will experience a lot of trial and error. You will have on-the-job-training as you learn equally from your successes and failures. There is some great news, with the right mentality and lessons learned you will increase your chances of becoming a success. To help you on your journey, we have gathered together a few vital lessons that will help you reach your goals as a marketplace owner.
Business Owners Make Trial-And-Error Work For You.
Far too often business owners skip the all-important step of defining their business model. Like forgetting to apply sunscreen when on vacation in the Caribbean, skipping this step will result in a strong (and often painful) retaliation. Before you embark on your venture, you need to understand the following key components:
- What is your business all about?
- What purpose will your business serve?
- What challenges will your business solve for its customers?
- What can you do to monetize your business?
- What measures will you take to engage with future customers, investors, and competitors?
Through comprehensive research you can answer the above questions to cohesively create a business model that will serve you well. Speaking of research, you should spend some time getting to fully know and understand the ecosystem that you are about to enter, before you start your business. This means that you will need to know your competitors, as well as their offerings, strengths, and weaknesses. The latter information will also help you to set realistic expectations as you formulate a business strategy.
Now, for a few words of wisdom from Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder of Amazon. “Failure and invention are inseparable twins. To invent you have to experiment, and if you know in advance that it’s going to work, it’s not an experiment.” In other words, when the time is right, you need to recognize that your failures can often become the foundation for your greatest successes. Take Amazon, for example. The company took three solid attempts before it was able to successfully get a platform for selling and buying off the ground. The moral of this story is simple: make bold investment decisions that will at best make your business a huge success, and at worst teach you a vital lesson for the future.
Always Prepare For The Unexpected.
While learning from your trial and errors is one of the most important lessons that new marketplace owners need to know, it is equally important to recognize that you must always prepare for the unexpected. One of the ways that you can prepare for life’s curve balls is to know that (in part) your success will be largely affected by your ability to not only attract, but also retain a motivated workforce. As such, you should always find a way to give your employees a stake in the success of your company. Whether it is through bonuses or profit sharing, stocks or promotion goals, there are countless ways that you can encourage employees to actively work towards both the short and long term success of your company.
As you and your employees work to build a successful business, it is important that you build your reputation carefully. In an age where a single tweet can derail a company, you must take the steps needed to ensure that your reputation speaks more loudly than any bad press, negative reviews, or other unexpected curve balls that come across your plate. With this in mind, remember the following words of wisdom:
- Quality is often better than quantity.
- In part, you are who you associate with, so choose your partners and marketplace associates carefully.
- If you don’t promote internal loyalty, how can you expect your customers to become loyal brand ambassadors?
- Trust is paramount to a positive reputation.
- Long-term sustainability will help your business reputation survive the bumps, ditches, and unexpected detours that are sure to come your way.
3 Tips For Long Term Success.
Becoming a marketplace owner is one thing. Building a business that thrives for generations to come is another. Whether you are looking to start, build, and sell a business, or want to create a company that your grandchildren will take part-in, one thing is certain — if you build culture, take risk, and focus on your established long term goals, you are more likely to be successful in your business ventures.
- Obsess Over Customers. — Make no mistake, understanding your competitors is important; however, obsessing over your customers should take precedent. By listening to what your customers want, rather than discovering what your competitors offer, you are far more likely to become an industry leader rather than a lemming. In other words, in order to be ahead of the market, you have to think for yourself. Remember that not every idea will be a success. However, when you try to give your customers what they want, you will not only build a loyal following, but they will be ready to pounce when you do hit that million dollar idea.
- Understand The Pros And Cons Of Passion. — Many entrepreneurs are passionate about their businesses. Unfortunately, passion is often a double edged sword that can slice through a competitive marketplace just as easily as it can accidentally stab you in the back. A recent study found that entrepreneurs who were “obsessively passionate about their ventures” were more likely to feel as if they couldn’t live without their work. This obsessive mentality also lead to a desire to work 24/7, which often led to higher burnout rates. While passion is great, you must remember to be flexible, so that you avoid the costly effects of burnout.
- Build A Culture That’s Right For Your Company. — Company culture is not something that you can pull out of a hat. It is something that must be carefully cultivated and most importantly it must be yours and yours alone. No two companies should ever be the same. Instead, in the words of Jeff Bezos, “We never claim that our approach is the right one — just that it’s ours. … Over the last two decades, we’ve collected a large group of like-minded people. Folks who find our approach energizing and meaningful.” In other words, company culture is equal parts goals, the people who support those goals, and the ability to remain focused on creating a company that is truly unique.
The Bottom Line: Lessons Are Meant To Be Learned.
Becoming a business owner is no easy task. However, through the above lessons you can and will find your own version of success. After all, when you remember that lessons are meant to be learned, you will find that you can more easily apply your successes and failures to achieving your business goals in both the short and long term.