5 keys to succeeding as an entrepreneur

By BBAMarketPerspectives | The Brave New After-World of Bitcoin | 6 Jul 2021

You, the Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is also a creator. An inventor. An opportunist. This is an age of exceptional opportunity with so many possibilities bursting at its seams.

Entrepreneurship is no respecter of seasons. It does not matter if the economy is pandemic-struck or stimulus-driven. It does not care if there are millions of jobs created or lost. It does not care for the age or skin colour of the entrepreneur.

If we are not careful, we can get stuck in a mundane job which leads us to die at 25 whilst waiting till we are 65 to be buried. That is not how I want to get out of this world. At least, not me. 10 years in the same job drawing the same salary? Enriching the same boss? No, thank you.

If this is what you are thinking about, welcome to the club where the starting point is usually exciting but the few steps, incredibly difficult. This is not meant to deter you. It is a truth that you need to embrace at the beginning. It is the fact that you might end up finding ways how to bootstrap what you believe in.

Entrepreneurship is the vehicle for you to realise the power of your potential. And the possibilities are endless.

A lot of axioms have been put out on what entrepreneurship entails but one sticks out to me because of its simplicity:

Entrepreneurship is simply – finding a problem and solving it in a profitable manner.

Here are 5 keys to entrepreneurship. I have placed them in an axiom format to make it “sticky”.

1. Change is the only constant. Disruptions are expected.

2. Think opportunistically, execute strategically – 24-7.

There will always be problems to solve along the way. Be it a nearly empty bank account or staffing issues. Don’t allow the day to

3. Relationships are the networks to life.

Connect, mingle, exchange information and knowledge. You need to find time to network. Don’t huddle and forget this important point.

4. Work around limitations.

You are not the Federal Reserve and cannot print money indefinitely. If you are able to do, get things done for free at the onset. Use tools that help you achieve that. Then when you find a good, sweet spot, keep hammering away!

5. View failure as part of your growth journey.

There are probably more lessons arising from failure than success. Embrace it and learn along the way. Test. Adjust. Align.

An entrepreneurial breakthrough to inspire you.

In 2006, Caveh Zonooz had an entrepreneurial moment and was toying with the idea of helping prominent and important public figures get through their work inquiries in an efficient manner. To do so, his concept was to have a centralised database that collated inquiries from all over and have those who submitted questions to evaluate the questions and rank them in priority.

The prominent figure will only answer questions that receive the highest ratings. Not only would the process create less work for those staffing the prominent figure, the nature of the questions that are pre-vetted would be highly representative of what constitutes as important enough to be attended to. And because the questions are made public, the answers that are approved for public consumption will also be made public, thereby creating an answer archive that can be referred to in case the same question is being raised. Along with his co-founders, they activated the company's website and then-Chancellor Angela Merkel took part about three weeks later, providing three answers each week.

This breakthrough snowballed into a success when this was used by Senator Barack Obama for his presidential campaign, thereby showcasing scalability of the concept. Even German blue-chip stock market companies listed on the DAX started using it as well.

The rest is history.

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Don’t give up. Keep going. You are not alone!

Yours,

Chief Editor

BBA Market Perspectives