By Dan Lok, Billionnaire in a Bentley.
How many mistakes do you make in your business? Whatever you do, do not so these 5 things.
Smart Entrepreneurs never micro-manage! Now I want you to remember when you started your business. I remember when I was starting my first few businesses, I was a control freak. I was the King of micro-management. I wanted to know all the details. Because at the beginning of your business career, you are doing everything. You are the Manager, the sales rep, the receptionist, you are the finance manager, you are meeting with people. So you are trying to make sure things don’t fall apart. And so, you have to micro-manage because that’s what you need to do, but after a certain point, that behaviours, even as you grow, stays with you. That’s what you know. That’s what it takes to get up and running. But as your revenue grows, you will hit a glass ceiling! That behaviour as a control freak, does not serve you if you want to go to the next level. You have to let go. So smart entrepreneurs now they are MACRO thinkers. You need to think about where you are going…what’s your vision? That’s your job! Then you recruit talent to help you to execute your vision. You, as a leader, allocate the resources, the capital to execute that vision and help your team to execute you vision. When you micro-managing you cannot do that because you are too close to the details.
Smart Entrepreneurs don’t say yes to everything. At the beginning of your career you have to say yes to everything to every client, because you are still growing and building. But when you get to a certain size, you have to learn how to say no. As an entrepreneur you have to realise that you have a finite amount of time, resources, capital. These are not infinite. You need to learn to prioritise. One of the most important lessons that I have learned in my own career is that in the beginning I had to learn to say yes to everything. But now everything that comes across my table I have to look at it and determine if it fits into my overall vision or is this a distraction.
Smart Entrepreneurs never stop listening to the ideal customers. As entrepreneurs what do we do? What it boils down to is that we solve other people’s problems and fulfil other people’s needs and make a profit in the process. We could not do this if you do not know what our ideal customer’s needs are. You do not have to be the marketing genius. Your customer is the marketing genius. They will tell you what they want, what they like and don’t like and what are they willing to pay for. They vote with their wallets. Most entrepreneurs spend so much time working on the ‘thing’ or making their ‘thing’ better. But they don’ spend enough time listening to their customers. Is this even what they want? Did they tell you this is what they want? Did you get their feedback? Now you might say: Dan, what about Henry Ford when he invented the car Ford Motors? If back then He were to ask what their customers wanted then everyone would say “faster horses”. Well that’s the exception. If you are selling or offering some kind of disruption technology, then you are anticipating the market needs and essentially creating your own market. But this is a very small percentage of entrepreneurs. For most entrepreneurs we are more tapping into the existing needs and existing desires that people already have. That is how we make most of our money. Never stop listening, paying attention to what our ideal customers want and need.
Smart Entrepreneurs focus on profits not just revenue. One of the biggest mistakes I made in my early years I was focusing on revenue, thinking that revenue would solve all problems. I just need to generate more revenue, bring in more sales and if I bring enough sales, all my problems would go away. But this is not true. The bank is not looking at how much revenue you generate. Profit is not an event, it is a habit. If you are not making a lot of profit when you are growing, are you sure that if you scale it are you sure you would make more profit and that it would grow exponentially? It is easy to be overly optimistic on revenue numbers, having a great month on revenue but essentially you are making less profit because you spent more on marketing or need more infrastructure and hence it eats into your profit margins. If you don’t look at profit, it is a very dangerous habit. Focus on profit not just revenue.
Smart Entrepreneurs never stop learning. To this day I still read two to three books a week. I am still a very dedicated student. I just as dedicated to learning as I was many years ago when I have no money. I am always listening to podcasts. When I am driving, working, replying to emails etc, I have educational programmes or listening to successful entrepreneurs playing in the background because I know that it is not about how much I know it is about how fast I learn. In order to compete today, you need to learn and grow. You cannot stop. That’s what smart entrepreneurs do. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is devastation. What you don’t know will cost. So, keep learning and keep growing. Keep reinventing yourself. What you accomplished in the past doesn’t count. What matters is today. The present moment and where you are going in the future.
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Link to Dan Lok’s video on the above subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTDVLdcTY9w
ABOUT DAN LOK:
Dan is a sought-after speaker. According to his official website, he charges $10,000 per hour to address audiences on unlocking one’s financial freedom. He also has a telephone line that connects at a rate of $166.67 for every minute of his talk time. This sum makes him one of the highest paid speakers. He has appeared as a TEDx speaker twice and has featured in magazines and television shows. Although he is very successful, he regrets not being by his father’s side as he took his final breath. He was away closing a colossal business deal when his father passed away. Nonetheless, he is proud of all his achievements so far. Dan Lok net worth Dan became a millionaire at only 27 from his writing, business, and entrepreneurial ventures. Over the years, he has worked hard and is now a multi-millionaire. Presently, his net worth is estimated to be about $74.5 million. Many people often confuse Dan Lok and Dan Pena. Pena is a former business tycoon who resides in Scotland and also inspires many people globally. Read more: https://briefly.co.za/29514-dan-lok-biography-age-wife-companies-net-worth.html
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