Peter Jones is a serial entrepreneur. He has been successful in the telecommunications and publishing industries among many others. Here are this tycoon’s top ten golden rules to build a successful business.
Rule 1: Have a vision
Dream and dream big. Visualise clearly what success means to you. Set objectives and goals and employ strategies to achieve your vision. Make sure the vision is long-sighted and aim high. When you’re close to succeeding in your goals, your goals will move as expanded opportunities become available.
Rule 2: Use your influence
Lead by example as it will empower staff to come with you and do their job well too. Delegate your work. This allows you to learn from others as well and harness their strengths. It is important to fill in the gap of any weaknesses in your own skillset by utilising the help of others. Finally, delegation will let you work on other parts of the company such as building relationships and developing the business.
Networking, sharing and learning are all valuable tools to an entrepreneur. Use your influence when utilising these three methods to create opportunities. By helping others, you’ll find favours being returned. By influencing them, you can motivate and persuade people to get them on board.
Rule 3: Build your confidence
A certain amount of confidence is needed to start a business and that self-belief is also needed to keep going when under pressure. Self-confidence will let you analyse risk differently to other people. Not having self-belief and not thinking you can do something can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, so it’s imperative to believe in yourself. Do not have too much confidence though as that leads to complacency. Remember, you are always learning.
You can build your confidence in two ways: By gaining knowledge, skills and experience and by changing your perception of failure. When not getting the desired results, don’t see it as failure, but rather treat it as feedback that you can learn from, which will help you in the future.
Rule 4: Make a commitment
Huge commitment is required to be a successful entrepreneur as you’ll probably be working long after everyone else has gone home each day. Commitment doesn’t mean you can’t take a break but it does require good communication and organisational skills. Commit to your vision and act on it immediately. Commit to getting organised so you can plan and deliver effectively. Finally, commit to your business and be prepared to work hard and make sacrifices.
Rule 5: Take action
Having the best strategies, plans and goals mean nothing if you don’t execute on them. Results are vital as an entrepreneur but you can’t have results without action. (Vision -> Action -> Results) Having an action plan is a valuable asset. Map out tasks you can do today to help get closer to your vision. To make something happen requires initiative, the initiative to take action. Focusing on the areas that generate the biggest reward are good places to focus your action. Some of the ways to take action include getting on the phone, going to events and networking.
Rule 6: Aim for results
By achieving the results you’re striving for, you’ll open up new opportunities for even greater success. To achieve results, make sure you set clear, measurable goals and have the focus and energy required to reach them. If you have a business idea, create a business plan identifying each of the component parts that, when put together, contribute to a successful outcome.
Rule 7: Get your timing right
Timing is important not just in terms of when you start a business, but in terms of where your priorities lie in other aspects of your life such as your job, your family and your available finances. Starting a company requires lots of time and energy so it is better to have less distractions and other demands vying for your attention. The right circumstances increase your chance of success.
Rule 8: Persevere
Determination and persistence are key qualities of successful entrepreneurs. Knowing when to persevere and when not to is also key. Failure is experienced at some stage by most entrepreneurs, treat failure as a spur to be more successful in the future. Develop an attitude to keep on keeping on but be prepared to adapt too to grow the business. Be relentless when perusing your goals.
Rule 9: Be caring
Be sure to take care of yourself, of those close to you and of those who have responsibilities and are involved with the business. Your staff are your biggest asset so invest in them accordingly. Provide the means for training, development and incentives for them which will encourage loyalty and success. If you care enough to make your staff feel valued, they’ll buy into your vision. Make sure you are honest, supportive and deliver on your promises to them.
Rule 10: Use your intuition
Despite often being dismissed due to the fact it is not quantifiable, your intuition can be a significant help when making a decision. Gut feelings and instinct should not be ignored. As Steve Jobs once said “Never let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your own inner voice”.
Following these ten golden rules will give you a tycoon mindset and provide a formula for success in business.