Some say that attending college is the goldmine of golden lessons. It teaches you valuable lessons that will give you a solid foundation when you start your career. What if I told you that it’s not the “end all, be all” of being an entrepreneur? There are more lessons out there that you would only learn once you step outside in the real world. Today, we list down the five entrepreneurial lessons college never taught you.
“Done” is better than “Perfect”
These are two very distinct concepts. You may have spent countless hours accomplishing a project while in college. Why? Because you need good grades. In real life, there are no grades to measure your success. Facebook used this slogan, writing it across its walls. For them, a completed task is always better than unfinished ideas.
The truth is, nothing will ever be perfect in the beginning. You need to execute the idea first. Even if your idea is extremely groundbreaking, if you can’t produce sales, there’s no point. It just drives the attention away to your products or services that feed you and your business.
Never stop learning
We’ve already told you in our previous articles that learning is key for entrepreneurs. Even Elon Musk gives credit to reading for his success. Make reading a habit. Not just classical literature. Read the news on different industries, monitor your communication channels, and most importantly, keep tabs on your rivals.
Reading is an essential way to unplug every night, after a long day of running your business.
Remember the Pareto Principle
This is a principle coined by Vilfredo Pareto in 1896. Pareto Principle is a concept is used in describing the idea that successful results have more impact than unsuccessful ones. This concept tells you that you need to review your business.
You need to focus on the parts of your business that give you the most successful results. Stop using the majority of your time on efforts that don’t yield the majority of your results. Discover what your business does best, and stick to it.
Pay Attention to Your Haters
To simplify things, use the doubt of people to improve your service. A young company must impress their first-time buyers and clients. You won’t get referrals from customers who had a bad experience in your business. As time proves, word-of-mouth marketing is always the best method.
Walmart and Amazon are firm believers in this saying. You need to give your customers what they need plus a little more extra. This gives them the motivation to come back over and over again. Ensure customer satisfaction and take note of your doubters, all the time.
Farewell Social Life
There’s a big possibility that when you were in school, juggling academics and social networks was a breeze. If you are a newbie entrepreneur, you would have to give up certain “luxuries”. This might include your social life.
When starting your own business, you are the whole company. The CEO, CFO, HR Manager, CMO, and all positions in between. You would only get a load off when you get the ability to expand your business. If you signed up for this, then it is completely fine!
According to Lori Greiner, a successful entrepreneur, people are willing to work twice as many hours as to when they were in a 9-5 job. Entrepreneurs are expected to make big sacrifices and take calculated risks to launch their business off the ground.
Opinions expressed by AsianBlurb contributors are their own.
