Young entrepreneurs started their businesses early in their careers because of their unwavering ambition. Learning from and gaining insights from mentors who have already achieved remarkable goals can be such a great way to thrive.
If you are a young entrepreneur and have not been able to connect with a mentor, here are some tips for inspiration and a boost to your motivation:
Don’t be Afraid to Invest Time
Everything needs time to be figured out. No one succeeds overnight. Every successful person was once a beginner. People can easily be pressured by the success of certain people nowadays, but what they don’t see is what is behind the curtain. Steve Jobs wisely noted, “If you look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” Behind every seemingly instant success story that we see online are often years of hard work, perseverance, and learning from failures.
Find Good People
Birds of a feather flock together. Find those who have the same values as you and those who want to succeed together. Surrounding yourself with good people will shape you into who you are, so be careful when choosing your own tribe. Charles Munger, an American billionaire businessman, said, “Surround yourself with the love of friends and family.” This is because these people will motivate you better for success. However, success does not only come when surrounded by those amazing people. While it is important to find the good ones, you yourself must take action and be dedicated to achieving the goals that will determine your success.
Put People First
Entrepreneurship is not just about products or services; in fact, it is mostly about people. One will not succeed when doing everything alone. By putting people first and gaining connections, you will build a great team that will help you reach success. Richard Branson, founder of The Virgin Group, believes that “When it comes to business success, it is all about people, people, people.” He said that in order to create success, bringing people together is important because they are the ones who will define the vision and deliver results.
Hire for Character
A person could have all the great qualities on paper but be arrogant and feel like they are above others. People with good characters are irreplaceable, especially those with humility. They make good leaders and team members, as they will inspire others and make the work environment more comfortable. While a person needs to flex their own qualities in the interview, never mistake this for arrogance. The presence of people with humble qualities who are confident can be felt and they instantly draw attention when entering the room but they never raise their voices or make efforts to draw attention to themselves.
Provide Tools
An entrepreneur should work smarter, not harder. Investing in the right tools will make any job easier and you won’t have to waste so much time. Bill Gates, an American business magnate, software developer, and co-founder of Microsoft, once said, “If you give people tools and they use their natural abilities and their curiosity, they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much beyond what you might have expected.” This is because using tools avoids mundane tasks that are repetitive and gives space to generate ideas that might bring value to the organization.
Embrace Your Fear
It can be a struggle to face fears, especially fears of failure, faced by many business leaders. This fear often involves a shift in mindset. Successful people use this fear as a drive to succeed. It is fine to experience multiple failures since they are evidence that you tried. Bob Iger, an American businessman and CEO of Disney, said, “There is no science in creativity. If you don’t give yourself room to fail, you won’t innovate.” Once you overcome the barrier of fear, success will be in front of you.
Have the Right Focus
It is a wise thing to do to focus on one single thing, which should have been a priority. Not having the right goals and focus can waste too much time and resources. Entrepreneurs should set the right strategy for maximum impact and success. Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American industrialist and one of the richest Americans in history in the 19th century, said, “Concentrate your energies, your thoughts, and your capital. The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket.”
