The last few weeks I’ve been sharing the top qualities you need if you want success in business.
If you missed those posts, you can read part one here and part two here.
Today is part 3 of this series, and covers 20 final principles you’ll find useful if you want to make it as an entrepreneur…
Principle #46 – Be Analytical About Your Results
In business, analysis is important. If something goes wrong, there are reasons for why it went wrong; and using a careful, well -reasoned approach is the best way to determine what those reasons were. So, instead of invoking magical thinking to avoid the problems altogether, instead focus on the process of analyzing your results.
Principle #47 – Stop Doing Things that Don’t Work
From time to time, you will determine that things don’t work—or at least they don’t work as well as they should. When this happens, you can take one of two paths. The first path ignores the problem and hopes that things get better. And the second puts an end to it by modifying your approach or discontinuing to do the thing that isn’t working. If you want to be successful, you will learn to have the courage to do the latter.
Principle #48 – Find Out Which Forms of Advertising Generate Revenue—And Which Do Not
In business, marketing can do a lot to transform your business. It can expand the audience for your product, persuade the existing audience, or it can provide no benefits at all while incurring massive costs. Those who are successful in business pay attention to their advertising, so they can determine which forms are beneficial and which forms should be discontinued.
Principle #49 – Always Consider the Possibility that You Are Wrong
In most situations, you are probably at least partially wrong (if not completely wrong). This is simply the nature of business. So, instead of brashly declaring your opinion, and then going ahead with or without the blessings of others, open yourself up to the possibility that you have made an error.
Principle #50 – Keep Things Simple
Simplicity is often underrated. In fact, many business owners are prone to believing that if something is simple, then it cannot be true. After all, the world is a complex place, so it cannot be the case that a solution to a problem in business can be simple.
In fact, many of the more successful innovations in business are simple. So, think twice before you taking things up a notch in terms of complexity. Instead, think about using solutions that are simple, elegant, communicable, and likely to work. For example, simple one-page info products like this can boost your profits significantly.
Principle #51 – When Failure Arrives, Accept it, Learn from It, and Move On
Often, in business, we encounter many more failures before we encounter a success. However, if we don’t make an effort to determine why we are failing; and how we might turn that failure into a success, it’s possible that we’ll never emerge with the success.
Principle #52– Avoid Becoming Discouraged Easily
One important difference between those who are successful and those who are not is that the successful do not get discouraged easily. No matter how poorly things appear to be going, they find a way to stick through things until the end. If you want to become successful, you should try to emulate this behavior
Principle #53 – Adopt the Habits of Successful Individuals
Do you know someone at work who is very successful at what he does? Observe his behavior and try to copy it. If he approaches problem solving in a particular way, copy that approach and make it your own. If he has a certain routine that he adheres to religiously, then adopt that, too.
Principle #54 – Ask Stupid Questions if You Really Don’t Know the Answer
People sometimes say that “there is no such thing as a stupid question.” But when you need to ask a question and you think that everyone else knows the answer, you might not fully believe that this is true. But when it comes to making decisions that will determine the fate of your business, it is true. If you don’t know the answer to a question, you should ask, find out the answer, and make your decision based on the correct information.
Principle #55 – Learn and Practice the Fundamentals
If you find that your business ideas and practices are not producing good results, then you should do what the successful do and return to the fundamentals. Think hard about what sound business principles would dictate; and attempt to practice that, rather than constantly attempting to innovate.
Principle #56 – Always Ask for Comments (Be They Good or Bad)
Thick skin is a valuable asset in business. It means not only having the ability to listen to and assimilate praise, but also to brush off direct insults and valuable, but critical comments. If you want to be successful in business, you must have thick skin and you must always ask for comments—be they good or bad.
Principle #57 – Beware of Complacency
One of the things that prevents many people from achieving the best possible outcome is complacency. Once they begin to do well at something in business— be it advertising, inspiring employees, or something else—they take a miniature mental vacation.
That is—instead of ratcheting things up further, they let things play out and contribute nothing additional. The usual end result of this is generally not positive.
So, instead of being complacent, push hard to reach your full potential at every turn.
Principle #58 – Affirm Yourself and Your Choices
In business, you will have to make many difficult decisions. Instead of constantly second-guessing your decisions, take time to affirm your choices periodically, so that you do become overwhelmed by self-doubt.
Principle #59 – Find Time to Give Yourself a Break
In addition to working hard, the successful know to take breaks, too. Without breaks, we have no way to clear our minds, re-energize, and prepare for the task that faces us.
Principle #60 – Prepare Yourself Mentally for Bumps in the Road
Bumps in the road are inevitable in business. Next time you hit one, don’t panic. Instead, ride it out, absorb the lessons, and move forward.
Principle #61 – Foster Transparency in Everything You Do
In business, transparency is an important virtue. It allows us to fully comprehend what we are doing, what our co-workers are doing, and how all of this fits into the same framework.
Principle #62 – Be Decisive
When it comes to business, few things are more important that decisiveness. But what’s important to understand is that, in business, decisiveness doesn’t simply mean making decisions fast. It means knowing how to make good decisions fast. If you don’t do this know, you should make it a point to get better at it.
Principle #63 – Create a Product that People Actually Want to Buy
One thing you don’t hear often from successful people is how they swindled a bunch of people into buying a low-quality product for a high-price. To the contrary, they will usually regale you with stories of how they beat competitors by offering a lower price or a better product.
Principle #64– Do Not Make Questionable Decisions that Will Prevent You From Sleeping at Night
In business, opportunities abound to make questionable decisions from which you can profit. This might involve lying about your product or tricking your co – workers. In general, successful people know not to go this route, but instead to focus on making money legitimately and in a way that doesn’t harm or trick others.
Principle #65 – Streamline Your Business Processes
No matter how efficient you think your business is managed, there are almost always opportunities for improvement. It’s just a matter of finding these opportunities and exploiting them to streamline how your business functions.
Principle #66 – Learn to Deal with and Overcome Stress
In business, stress is inevitable. Competition is everywhere; and it isn’t always obvious what you should do in order to win. If you want to be successful, you have to learn how to cope with stress; and how to prevent it from dragging you down.
