Welcome to the world of business, may your journey embark fruitfully.
You have to keep an open mind to this as it may sound counter intuitive but it actually works. So be patient and be attentive to details and read between the lines.
Are you really mentally ready for this?
A ship is safest on the shore but that's not what it is built for!
First-Up, heartiest congratulations for finally picking up on your life's reckoning and deciding to put afloat your ship into Entrepreneurial waters and uncover new shores.
#1: Business is a great game if you stick to playing within the Rules.
In today's world where financial success is one thing that every one so desires, it is quite easy to get perturbed and loose patience if things do not appear the way they are supposed to, quickly enough...But hold on! Every great vision takes time to culminate and a hack may NOT always be the best foot forward if the vision is to change the world. Entrepreneurship is a long haul. So the word of advice is, avoid inducing yourself in a rat race.
#2: The best way to predict the future is to start making it!
Don't wait for opportunities to knock on your door. Rather go out and make your own luck. Question the regimes and challenge the established.
Always remember that the things you most desire in life are generally found on the other side of fear.
#3: Don't hunt for what you can not kill, and then bury it!
To begin with, this has two possible explanations and both need to be separately put to practice. Try to identify symptom from the disease and then cure it for good...Or as they say: Attack the Problem-Set, and not just the problem.
#4 : If plan A doesn't work, don't worry... There are 26 letters in the English alphabets.
It's often said that great managers hardly leave any space for fate to operate. When going about your business it is a good idea to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Have a back-up plan and then a back-up plan for the back-up plan.
#5 : Bad luck feeds on the fear of it. Good luck feeds on the hope of it!
It is a common observation that startups mostly die by suicide, not homicide. You may find it surprising how often a small problem leads to a kami-kaze, esp. if communication isn't all that clear. On the contrary, even a difficult, or a rather impossible challenge can get conquered by simply breaking it down into small but achievable quantums and conquering them one by one, with team work and clear communication.
#6: When it comes to entrepreneurship, sweat is thicker than blood.
Ok..so you have taken the plunge and all of a sudden you feel stranded and no one, absolutely no one, not even your close friends, sometimes even family members are keen to back you up...
Welcome to the world of entrepreneurship! It may be absolutely devastating to see yourself swimming alone against the tide with no shores in sight...It may demoralize even the most thick skinned.
Don't be...Rather just roll with the punches...because working hard may not guarantee you would become successful, not working hard definitely guarantees that you won't! So until you begin to see the brighter side of life, keep polishing the dull side and just remember, whatever does not kill you makes you an entrepreneur!
#7: A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.
You will possibly run into foes acting as friends. There will always be people without a rule book and those who will nonchalantly try to pull you down seeing you do better than them. They will stab you, impede you, criticize you...just put your head down and take it in. Keep working hard in silence. Let your Lamborghini make all the noise.
Well, that's pretty much the long and short of it :-)
Hope you enjoyed the post and will take something home out of it.
"It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day hard work of running a business and completely forget that while solving problems and building something you can be proud of, you also have an incredible opportunity to shape the future. Even better, you have the chance to meet amazing people and do amazing things along the way. It's important not to get lost among the trees and forget about the amazing, beautiful forest you're planting."--Colin Wright, co-founder of Asymmetrical Press