Successful Entrepreneurs: How to be Awesome !!!

from Entrepreneur.com 11 June 15 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand, author of Fountainhead & Atlas Shrugged. Whether or not you’re a fan of Ayn Rand, these words speak to the very core of an entrepreneur — a person who creates something where there wasn’t something before. It’s about taking control and making things happen on your own. It’s about being awesome. The business world provides examples of what it means to be an awesome entrepreneur. It’s about creating something people need, assembling a kick-ass team & making money at it — all while being your awesome self.

1. “But first, be willing to fail”, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. While leading Apple, co-founder Jobs learned a thing or two about failure. Dismal sales of the Apple III and its follow-up — a computer Jobs pushed for – called LISA – caused Apple to lose nearly half its market to rival IBM in the early 1980s. “Sometimes the market, the people & the idea aren’t right – but you have to move on, & try again,”

2. ”Bust your Ass: billionaire Mark Cuban of Shark Tank. It’s one thing to have an awesome business idea. It’s another to have the commitment and drive to bring that idea to market successfully. Mark says business owners better be ready to hustle. “It’s not about money or connections — it’s the willingness to outwork and out-learn everyone when it comes to your business.

3. “Don’t just chase the Money”, FourSquare founder Dennis Crowley: “If you want to start a company that’s going to be awesome, don’t base it on a product or service that you think is great – simply because you hope that it’ll make money. They key is coming up with something that people learn they can’t live without. The money will follow”.”We built FourSquare – literally for ourselves and for our group of 10 friends. And it turns out that when you build things that 10 of your friends like, their friends like them and their friends like them (and so on)- and then you suddenly get to millions of users,”.

4. “Hire a Team of awesome people”. Microsoft founder Bill Gates: He is a tech genius, but when starting Microsoft, one of his priorities was to build a team of awesome people. Working with smart, passionate people who work well together, can help you accomplish your goals faster and more efficiently. :Being able to bring in different people who were fun to work with and figuring out how to get those people, those broad skills, to work well together has been one of the greatest challenges.”

5. “Find your Mind Mentor”. Tumblr founder David Karp: Even awesome entrepreneurs sometimes need to bounce their big ideas off someone they can trust. For David, the now popular blogging site Timbler was his vision. In the early days, he hired Marco Arment as Lead Developer to help with coding and other back-end duties. But Karp often used Marco as a sounding board. “I often served as his Mind Mentor – an Idea Editor,” Marco said. “David would come in with a grand new feature idea, and I’d tell him which parts were not feasible or impossible, which tricky conditions & edge cases we’d need to consider, plus which other little niceties & implementation details we should add.”

6. “Always be Optimistic”, Richard Branson, Virgin Group. No one wants to work with a dictator or a bully. Successful entrepreneurs find a balance between being aggressive in business and treating those who work with/for them with respect & gratitude. If companies or individuals you deal with don’t respond to a positive approach, they might not be the right people to do business with.”I hope we are successful at Virgin because we engage with everyone in a positive, inclusive manner rather than in an aggressive, combative or negative way”.

7. “Reject Rejection”, Real estate entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran – Shark Tank. “Aspiring entrepreneurs, even awesome ones, may hear many ‘no’s before getting that all-important ‘yes’. When looking for an investment, RE Mogul & Shark Tank star wants to find an entrepreneur who won’t stop at ‘no’. “Pushy people always deliver”. She has learned that from experience. “They want it so bad, that they don’t give up till they get it”.

8. “Always be Yourself”. Video Game entrepreneur & Skate-boarding icon Tony Hawk. For the Birdman, it’s because his work is something he loves. “I found this way of expressing himself in something that was creative but also athletic,” he says. “I didn’t care that it [skateboarding] wasn’t that popular. It gave me an identity that stood out from everyone else, so that made me feel good.”

Comments: What would you recommend to be successful Entrepreneur?