Steps towards leadership modelled after the most successful entrepreneurs

When we read about famous entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Jack Ma, and Jeff Bezos, we are inspired by their stories and wonder how we may become like them.

There are some common things and behaviors that all successful entrepreneurs have, but as we should learn from their success stories, we must also learn from the mistakes that they have made and shared with us so that anyone interested in starting their own business may avoid them. In this article, we will give you some tips that will help you be an effective entrepreneur.

Creating a vision for the company

In the world of entrepreneurship, you must first design a strategy and have a clear vision of what you want your company to be before starting a business. To achieve so, you will have to answer questions such as:

• What is the purpose of founding this business?
• What value will the company provide to its customers?
• What will set the company apart from its competitors?
• What issues will the organization have to address in order to serve the interests of employees, management, and customers as a whole?
• Who customers are likely to be interested in what the company has to offer, and how to attract them?

This way, you will be able to concentrate on the crucial tasks and decisions at hand, as well as hire staff who share your objectives.

Thinking differently

If you look at successful entrepreneurs attentively, you will notice that each one is unique and thinks differently than the rest of the people. For example: There were significant risks when Jeff Bezos decided to sell books online, but as he weighed them, he asked himself, "What regrets would I have about this decision when I get to be 80?" Bezos concludes that, even if the attempt fails, he will never regret making the decision, but he will regret not doing it. With this mindset, he founded Amazon and went on to become one of the world's richest individuals.

Thus, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to look at the world with different eyes than anyone else, see opportunities when others see them as problems, and develop creative solutions to your problems.

Recognizing the importance of teamwork

Without a doubt, every successful entrepreneur recognizes the value of teamwork since it aids in speedy achievement, the exchange of experiences, the enhancement of creativity and innovation inside the company, and the strengthening of bonds between team members.

When "Larry Page" and "Sergey Brin" decided to work on creating algorithms that facilitate searches on the Internet, they sought to implement their idea by forming a team to work with them to implement it, which today has become the "Google" company, which is one of the most technologically advanced organizations in the world. An idea may be invented by one person, but in order to implement it, they need to find a collaborative team.

"We cannot achieve much alone, but we can do so much together," stated American writer Helen Keller, and this is the finest say to explain the significance of this move.

Accepting Partnerships

This is what Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and who has been the richest man in the world for 16 years, advises. Gates was fond of establishing partnerships with successful entrepreneurs, and he never viewed these partnerships as an inability to work alone, but emphasized that cooperation with influential entrepreneurs gave him the opportunity to learn many things, and by doing so, he was able to establish strong relationships with people who would introduce him a helping hand in the future.

It is also beneficial that by taking this step, you'll be sharing responsibilities and duties with someone else, which will relieve stress and tiredness at work. However, to avoid backlash, make sure you include successful people, or at least, people whose decisions you trust.

Considering the constants while devising strategies

As an entrepreneur, you must consider the constants, we do not mean the fossilized thinking, but the elements that are difficult to change, in order to develop a successful strategy depending upon them. Customers, for example, always desire reasonable prices for high-quality products, as well as a variety of choices, and these constants are nearly impossible to change.

"People often ask me what will happen in the next ten years," says Jeff Bezos. This is an interesting question that we are frequently asked. But no one asks, "What will not change in the next ten years?" And the second question is more important to me than the first, because you can only base your strategy on constant foundations" So, take Bezos' advice and consider the things that will not change in order to improve them in your company.

Setting SMART goals

Entrepreneurs should set SMART goals, and although this phrase may mean good goals, SMART goals refer to the following:

• Specific: Set specific and understandable goals.
• Measurable: Your goals should be clear in order to measure them and track their progress.
• Achievable: Your goals should be realistic, not impossible. There is nothing wrong with setting goals that are too challenging or too high, but you must ensure that they are attainable.
• Relevant: Your goals should be aligned with your vision and measure of success.
• Time-bound: You should set a deadline for each goal.

In fact, adopting random, fictitious goals will not get you anywhere; instead, make sure your goals follow these five guidelines to be realistic and useful.

Continuous learning

It is necessary for the entrepreneur to be a voracious learner to have a grasp of many aspects of life, which reflects positively on his work, relationships, and quality of life. Thus, you should study as much as possible to be an expert in your field, and this can be achieved by attending seminars or courses. No need to mention the importance of reading for a successful entrepreneur, and this is what Elon Musk emphasised when asked about his success in various fields, such as electric cars and space equipment manufacturing. He said that he simply reads books and learns from them, and through reading, he learned enough rocket science to found the company "SpaceX," which was recently contracted by NASA.

It is also recommended to read the books of successful entrepreneurs, even if they work in different fields than yours. This helps you learn from their successes and failures and their inspiring stories.

Creating a professional development plan

Professional development is a strategy for growing your organization by increasing market share, customer base, and revenues. This is a critical step in achieving entrepreneurship success. Professional development is a constant goal for all leading companies. You can achieve this by looking at what other companies have done in terms of professional development and applying what you have learned to your own company.

Perseverance and refusal to give up

"You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over". says Richard Branson.

Nothing in life guarantees that one will not fail, but the best way to deal with failure is to try again. Therefore, you must have faith and persevere and not give up. Successful entrepreneurs have all failed at some point in their careers, but what sets them apart is their refusal to give up and their willingness to try again and again. When Thomas Edison's thousands of attempts to invent the light bulb failed, he said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work".