6 lessons learned after your first year as an entrepreneur by geoffrey byruch

When we look at the life of an entrepreneur, we always use individuals like Mark Cuban or Mark Zuckerberg as examples for the overall field.. As much as we would like to see this type of

6 L E S S O N S L E A R N E D A F T E R Y O U R

F I R S T Y E A R A S A N E N T R E P R E N E U R

B Y G E O F F R E Y B Y R U C H

When we look at the life of an

entrepreneur, we always use individuals like Mark Cuban or Mark Zuckerberg as examples for the overall field

In reality, the truth of an entrepreneur

is not mentioned nearly enough The

reason for this is that our society craves

on instant gratification

Simply put, we want things now and we want them fast As much as we would like to see this type of change,

especially for an up-and-coming

business or company, the reality of it is that success will be a long and arduous journey

A S A N E N T R E P R E N E U R , T H E R E

R E A L LY A R E N O S H O R T C U T S

O R M A G I C F O R M U L A S Y O U

C A N D O T O M A K E T H I S T Y P E

O F T U R N O V E R O V E R N I G H T

Y O U H AV E T O W O R K

I M M E N S E LY H A R D E A C H A N D

E V E RY D AY U N T I L T H I N G S

S TA R T T O D E V E L O P

B E L O W, Y O U W I L L F I N D T H E

S I X H A R D T R U T H S T H AT E V E RY

I N D I V I D U A L L E A R N S D U R I N G

T H E I R F I R S T Y E A R A S A N

E N T R E P R E N E U R

1 FA I L U R E I S

I N E V I TA B L E

A S A N E N T R E P R E N E U R , Y O U W I L L B E A S K E D T O

M A K E A VA R I E T Y O F S A C R I F I C E S

N O W A S M U C H A S Y O U E X P E C T S U C C E S S , T H E R E

I S A H I G H P R O B A B I L I T Y T H AT Y O U W I L L

E X P E R I E N C E FA I L U R E AT L E A S T O N C E W I T H I N

Y O U R B U S I N E S S ’ S L I F E W H Y D O E S T H I S

H A P P E N ?

T H I S H A P P E N S S I M P LY B E C A U S E E N T R E P R E N E U R S

A R E C U R I O U S E N T R E P R E N E U R S P U R S U E T H E I R

I N T E R E S T A N D PA S S I O N AT A M E A N S T O C R E AT E

A N O P P O R T U N I T Y

A S M U C H A S C U R I O S I T Y I S A M E A N S T O F U E L

E N T R E P R E N E U R S , I T C A N L E A D T H E M T O

FA I L U R E TA K E F O R E X A M P L E Y O U A R E L O O K

I N T O P R O M O T I N G A N E W A N I N N O VAT I V E

P R O D U C T F O R Y O U R C O M PA N Y A S G R E AT A S

Y O U R I N T E N T I O N S W E R E , T H E PAT H I T S E L F

L E A D S T O FA I L U R E

W H E N T H I S H A P P E N S , D O N O T L O O K AT T H I S A S

A C H A N C E F O R Y O U T O Q U I T S E E T H E FA I L U R E

A S A WAY T O S E T Y O U R N E W E X P E C TAT I O N S F O R

S U C C E S S L E A R N F R O M I T A N D A C C E P T I T A S A WAY T O E V O LV E O V E R T H E C O U R S E O F Y O U R

C A R E E R

2 E X P E C T L O N G H O U R S

A N D H A R D W O R K

While shows and movies such as Shark

Tank and Social Network have displayed an

imaginative world of ‘golden tickets’ and

easy opportunities, the reality of it is that

you will be expected to put in a lot of work

if you are looking to succeed in your field

Remember, no matter what the name is or

what the product, you company and your

service is new to the market In order to

establish your ideas and your company,

your work will never stop

3 Y O U A R E

C O N S TA N T LY L E A R N I N G

A S U C C E S S F U L E N T R E P R E N E U R W I L L T E L L

Y O U T H AT T H E Y A R E N E V E R D O N E

L E A R N I N G

B E I N G A N E N T R E P R E N E U R I S N O T A N E A S Y

TA S K T H AT C A N B E L E A R N E D O V E R N I G H T I N

FA C T, I N R E A L I T Y, W E C A N N O T L E A R N

S U C C E S S R AT H E R , M U C H O F I T C A N B E

AT T R I B U T E D F R O M T R I A L - A N D - E R R O R

D E C I S I O N S

W H E N Y O U A R E W O R K I N G T O B U I L D Y O U R

C O M PA N Y, Y O U W I L L F I N D T H AT Y O U W I L L

H AV E N O F R E E T I M E T O S PA R E M U C H O F

Y O U R T I M E , I F A N Y, W I L L B E S P E N T

L E A R N I N G H O W T O I M P R O V E Y O U R

N E T W O R K , M A R K E T, O R F I N A N C E Y O U R

C O M PA N Y AT T H E M O S T O P T I M U M A N D

E F F E C T I V E WAY

4 T H E T R I A L S A N D

T R I B U L AT I O N S O F

M A R K E T I N G

• When we think of marketing, we think immediately of getting our name out of there

• Well for those who have tried,

you will find out that the idea of selling yourself is not always that easy

• The best way to market is to

focus solely on the product and service itself Allow the customers

to make the connection of how it can benefit them

5 S T R AT E G Y D O E S

N O T E Q U AT E T O

S U C C E S S

• The process of thinking strategically can be a challenge especially when you are starting your company

• There are various avenues and options you can take lead you to your objective of establishing your company within its perspective field

• As much you want to believe that your

strategies will take you to your end goal, you need to realize that you will have to inevitably revise, edit, and change your strategy

time-and-time again

• This happens because, throughout the course

of your business, things will change Because

of these unknown changes, you have to be

malleable and adaptive to this type of change.

6 F O C U S O N W H AT

Y O U C A N A F F E C T

• The best way to handle these tasks is by attacking them one

at a time

• Focus your energy on projects or objectives in which you can have the most impact It is that type of strategy that will

allow you to get the most ‘bang for your buck.’