How To Be A Successful Entrepreneur

Playing To Your Strengths: The Way Forward

An entrepreneur will generally succeed because they know exactly what to do in the given situation to appeal to the market they are targeting. No-one has the time to know everything about everything. You will find that the people who are truly successful are those who have seen fit to specialize. They know whereof they speak, and they stick to what they are good at. Some people call it “being aware of your own limitations”, but really it is more about playing to your strengths.

A good entrepreneur will see the money making opportunity in the things that they are interested in. People spend so long in life working in jobs they do not like because they just applied out of sheer desperation to get a job that paid the bills. This is – sadly – inevitable. But if you can spot a situation that you can turn into a money-making opportunity, you can make sure that you do not have to take a bad job ever again.

Knowing your strengths – and playing to them – is important for any potential entrepreneur, because a lot of the problems happen when people get bogged down in the gray areas where their uncertainties lie. It is (of course) important to be able to cover as many eventualities as you can. This is where a good base of contacts will be invaluable. If you have a good base of contacts, bring them in on deals where they can help you – obviously for a percentage.

If you do not have a large contact base, there has never been a better time to start. Look for people who really know their market, who have a level of expertise in areas where you do not. Think of the area in which you are specializing, and then think of related areas. Do you know enough to deal with these areas as an expert would? If not, do you know someone who does? And if the answer to both of the above questions is “no”, then you need to bite the bullet and enlist someone in a “consultancy” capacity. You can find this someone by asking around.

Being an expert in one area will allow you to make money. Whatever that area is, you will find that there are some people who just cannot get their heads around it and either need expert tuition in the area - or just someone to do it for them. This is where entrepreneurs make their money – by servicing a need, filling a gap in a range of skills. Partly, experts really depend on having the confidence to spot that their skills are needed.

Letting yourself get bogged down with areas and details – however relevant you may see them as being – where you really do not specialize will prevent you from playing to your strengths as you can. And consequently it will prevent you from making as much money as you could.

First Published on: Feb 21, 2009 on EntrepreneurJourney.com