Be in a position of ownership
I spoke at the
Untitled from Rollins Center at BYU on Vimeo.
- Be in a position of ownership – my first startup, a baseball umpiring business, taught me this when I tossed my first coach from a game and I took serious heat for the behavior of the other umpire.
- Know your customer – my second entrepreneurial venture bombed because I failed to do this. And I’m talking about getting into their head and knowing what they think, what their problems are, and so much more.
- Become an advocate for your customers – now that you know them, become a voice to which they can look for guidance, advice, and more
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Experience +
Education – One or the other is good, but both is powerful and improves the chances for entrepreneurial success - Know you numbers – without the clarity that comes from numbers, every business is missing out on strategic competitive advantages it could gain
- Know you partners – I learned this in my second startup failure when a prospective partner turned out to be someone much different that anyone suspected. Please refer to 4 Signs Your Business Partnership will Fail for more on this subject.
- Don’t be afraid of the big boys – startups can do it faster, better, and usually cheaper. Never let a big competitor scare or intimidate you.
- Caution: Family Business – Please read 3 Rules Every Family Business Should Live By.
- Services are difficult to scale – time is a limited resource, and selling it has a finite capacity.
- Turn services into products – Read Built to Sell for more information.