5 Pillars of Entrepreneurships: From Start-ups to Giant Techs

“All business investments and business start-ups require high level of optimism. You must believe in the future possibilities of your business along with your products and services. You must have so much confidence in their marketability that you are willing to take financial risk and invest many hours, weeks, and even years to achieve to achieve your business goals, and you must do all this with no real guarantee of success. At the same time, you need discipline to curb your confidence, to remain objective and realistic. Overconfidence in business can lead to business mistakes, financial losses and even bankruptcy.” – Brian Tracey

It’s quite evident from the word above that starting a successful and sustainable business is not an easy task. It requires hard work, self-discipline, commitment, passion (and purpose), confidence (and ambition), to name a few.

“There is no area of activity that demands more self-discipline than starting and operating a business in our current economy.” – Brian Tracey

Above all else, you need to have a heart for your business: To care for it, and even risk your whole life to protect it as you would with your own child. Because indeed, your business is your own child, and most importantly, your life, family and future generations depends on it.

According to Robert Kiyosaki , you must choose a business and/or acquire assets that you love. Because “If you don’t love it, you won’t take care of it. I collect real estate simply because I love buildings and land. I love shopping for them. I could look at them all day long.”

Before you start any kind of business, Robert Kiyosaki advise, “Take time to develop your financial intelligence... Financial intelligence is a synergy of accounting, investing, marketing and law. The rich wants to know a little about a lot of subjects.

The good news is; you don’t need a university degree to be financially intelligent. You can buy self-help books that will teach you accounting, investments, marketing, laws etc. This kind of self-development will increase your ability to earn more.

Or better yet, hire a specialist/expert in those fields to help you establish your business in those aspects. But make sure you also learn something from those experts/professionals.

The first and most important rule of financial intelligence is knowing the difference between assets and liabilities. The former brings money into your bank account, while the latter takes it out.

Generally, “The most important specialized skills are sales and understanding marketing. It is the ability to see – therefore, to communicate to another human being, be it a customer, employee, boss, spouse or child, that is the basic skill of personal success.” – Robert Kiyosaki.

Brian Tracy says “The reason why so many entrepreneurs underachieve and fail is that they lack discipline. They lack the discipline to study every aspects of the business before they commit to it.”

Of all the important business aspects, here are the top five pillars (specialized skills) that distinguishes successful companies or organisations from unsuccessful ones, be it a Start-up or Large Corporations and anything in between.  

1.    Communication

“About 15% of one’s financial success is due to one’s technical knowledge and about 85% is due to skills in human engineering – to personality and the ability to lead people. The person who has technical knowledge plus the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people – that person is headed for higher earning power.” – Dale Carnegie

Communication in business needs clarity of Why, How and What. Why do you want to start a business? According to Simon Sinek, you must start with Why, because “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. This is where a clear vision and purpose of a company is formulated.

The next question you need to ask yourself is How? How are you going to run your business, with who? Because surely you can’t run a business by yourself, business is a team sport.

Lastly, what products and/or services are you going to sell, and where? If you can honestly answer those questions firstly to yourself, then it will be easy to articulate your business ideas to investors for funding purposes and to your customers.

For as much many people work, they also want to find purpose and meaning in what they do. They want to change the world. This now begs the question. What do you and your company stand for? Or what is the mission of your company?

“A company must stand for something. A company can grow big without losing the passion and personality that built it, but only if it’s driven by values and by people. The key is heart. Yes, the key is heart, but the road to the heart runs through the head and storytelling is the vehicle to get there.” – Carmine Galo

That also, needs to be clearly and consistently communicated, firstly with yourself, then with your employees and clients/customers.

Remember, “What people want in life is to be recognized, to be part of something bigger than themselves, to grow and to have made a difference. That difference can come in many forms; by helping others, by touching someone, by creating something that was not there before.” – Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever

2.    Habits

“Some habits, in other words, matter more than others in remaking a business and lives. These are ‘keystone habits’, and they can influence how people work, eat, play, live, spend and communicate. Keystone habits start a process that, over time, transforms everything.” – Charles Duhigg

Before you start a company or business of any kind, it is absolutely necessary to form, start or adopt habits of highly successful entrepreneurs/millionaires or even billionaires.

An Interviewer once asked Warren Buffet - What habits did you cultivate in your 20s and 30s that you see as the foundation of success? He replied and said “You’ve got to be able to communicate in life, and it’s all enormously important.”

To change your behaviour/habits for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself. Change comes from within. If you change your thinking, it becomes easier to change your actions. 

“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” – William James

Your habits as an individual will manifest in the way you run your company and will eventually rub off to your employees.  Because after all, you are the leader of the company, and everyone who works for you will automatically follow adopt your behaviors/habits.

Besides good communication skills, what are the other habits of highly successful entrepreneurs that you can adopt if you yearn to start or improve your own business?

Successful entrepreneurs spend more time, energy and money on education content (books, podcasts, online courses, etc) and less on entertainment (music, movies, and tv). Most importantly, they invest their money instead of wasteful expenditures. 

In a study conducted on American Millionaires about their habits, this is what they have to say;

“About two-third (67%) of us work between forty-five and fifty-five hours per week.”

“We are fastidious investors. On average, we invest nearly 20% of our household realized income each year.

“We live below our means”

“We define wastefulness as a lifestyle marked by lavish spending and hyper consumption.”

“Most of our wives are planners and meticulous budgeters”

In the words of James Clear, an expert in Habit formation and change, “Every habit you have – good or bad, is the result of many small decisions over time. Your life today is essentially the sum of your habits… don’t focus on the results or destination, put all your energy on your habits and routines.

Moreover, “Reward yourself with positive self-talk. Even if it sounds silly, it’s an important part of the habit formation process. Give yourself some credit and enjoy each small win… Remember, it’s not about doing your best work, it’s about doing the best you can on consistent bases.”

3.    Branding

“In addition to clear vision for the organization, the leader (founder of CEO) must have a set of values and organizing principles that guide behaviour and decision making. Everyone must know what the leader and the company stands for and believe in. The job of the leader, then, is to articulate this vision of excellent performance within the constraints of high ethical standards at all times. He or she must walk the talk and live the values and behaviours he or she teaches.” – Brian Tracey

In May 2019, I was elected to serve as Vice President of Public Relations (VPPR) for my Toastmasters Club (Pretoria 2000). It’s been just over a year now since I took up the position and it has helped to spur my passion for entrepreneurship further.

Toastmasters International is an educational non-profit organization that helps its members to improve their communication and leadership skills.

As the VPPR, my main role was branding and marketing not only for my club but Toastmasters International in general. I am responsible for promoting my club events, such as meetings, end year functions, debates, etc, using all kinds of media platforms. This include managing the club website and all social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook).

What I learned from this role is that, before you start any business, you have to draft founding principles, establish guiding values, and draw up a mission and vision statement for your company or organization. These are all essential components of branding. They are all tied to the logo, chosen colours and fonts for the company.

The big successful companies, like Apple, McDonald, audi, etc, have well established logos that make them stand out. This is the reason why we know a car is an audi just from seeing those 4 interlinked rings when its approaching us. This is the reason why we know a phone is an iPhone when its placed upside down because of that bitten apple at the back.

When you hear that a certain company is re-branding, it means either they have found new logo, or drafted a new mission and/or vision statement, or even values that they think will help in driving the business sales and take the company to greater heights. 

“Apple’s core value is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better.” – Steve Jobs. Other Apples’ values include Innovation and simplicity. 

Some companies even have a popular catch phrase. For instances, when you hear someone say, “It’s finger licking good”, You think of KFC. When you hear the phrase “Refreshes like nothing on earth”, Hunters come to mind.

The same goes with colors and fonts. You already know the colours, logos and fonts for Cola Cola company or KFC and McDonald Franchises. They don’t change them anymore because these businesses are highly successful and well established.

In every advertising or marketing campaign (either on TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazine, Social media, etc), these companies ensure that their branding rules are not compromised or violated. Consistency (not only in branding) is very key to business reputation.

The best way to win in this regard is to hire a professional graphic designer to design a professional logo for your company. This also includes the colours and fonts that will be a trademark for your business.

Graphic designers give you liberty to contribute towards the design of the logo, fonts and colours for your company, but since they have knowledge about colour psychology, they are in a good position to choose the right colours, tailored to your line of business, and that will make people more attracted to your company or organization.

4.    Marketing

“You need discipline to identify and determine your ideal customer: the exact person who can and will buy your product or service in sufficient quantities and at the price you need to charge in order to justify going into this area of business in the first place.” – Brian Tracey

Marketing and branding go hand in hand, but branding essentials need to be met first, so that your unique business advertising and marketing campaigns (either through videos or audios) on Social media, TV and Radio can stand out.

Nandos SA go an extra mile and use humour, famously, as an entertainment strategy during their advertising and marketing campaigns to attract more customers and drive more sales. 

Marketing is mostly about trial, error and persistence. Eventually, each business must develop a marketing plan that identify markets and/or potential prospects or clients. The marketing plan, inter alia, must also generates a steady and predictable stream of new leads for your business growth and development.

“To market effectively, you must be clear about your competitive advantage and your unique selling proposition: What is it about your product or service that makes it superior and more valuable for a customer than any other similar product or service being offered today?

Most importantly, you need a quality control system in place in order to ensure every product or service that you sell is of such high quality that your customers are so satisfied that they happily buy from you again – and tell their friends.” Brian Tracey

This loyalty, recommendations and referrals is key to long-term profitability of your business.

With impeccable communication skills, marketing becomes a no brainer. Leverage the power of social media, website and other platforms such TV and Radio - and infuse humour in your marketing campaigns if you can like, Nandos SA or Chicken Licken.

Remember, “nobody is a natural. You work hard to get good and then work to get better. It’s hard to stay on top.“– Paul Coffey

“The average entrepreneur, business owner, or self-made millionaire in America works fifty-nine hours per week. Some entrepreneurs even work seventy to eighty hours per week in the first few years of building businesses. You must be prepared to discipline yourself to put in this amount of time and level of hard work if you want to be the best and get to the top of the field.” – Brian Tracey

5.    Sales

“The most important element in business is selling. Nothing takes place until a sale takes place. All the factories, businesses, offices, and producers of goods and services leap into action only when someone, somewhere makes a sale to someone.” - Brian Tracey

Several business owner and senior executives were once interviewed and asked by a group of researchers, “How important are sales and marketing to your business?” They all replied and said, with no exception, “Sales and marketing are absolutely essential to our survival and growth.

After studying sales and marketing strategies of these business owners and senior executives, it was concluded that a successful sales manager or business owners spend at least 75% of their time working with salespeople, keeping them company when they visit customers to make presentations and sales.

This is the classic tale that emphasize the importance of sales, Titled. “HOW TO GO BROKE”, by Brian Tracey

Some years ago, I started a new business. I developed the product and then began advertising via direct mail, radio, television, and newspaper. I allowed myself to become completely overwhelmed with planning, paperwork and advertising activities. By the end of the year, I was out of money, and my business was almost broke.

At that time, I realized that I had taken my eye off the ball of sales. I then sat down over Christmas and designed a complete sales process. On January 2^nd, I picked up the telephone and began making appointments. Over the next two months of aggressive and focused sales activity, I did more business than I had done over the entire previous year. I saved my business – and my home – and I never lost sight of that focus again.

There, you need discipline yourself to develop a complete sales system and process, from beginning to end, that converts qualified leads into solid customers. This requires that you determine the accurate cost and proper pricing of your products or services.

Finally, when your business is well established and successful, it need to be protected by any legal means. This is where you will need law and accounting from the Financial intelligence formula the most.

Your business is like your reputation, it is a treasure that needs to be solidly established, carefully guarded from all attacks and consistently improved.

“A mine full of diamonds and rubies. You dug for it, you found it, and your wealth is now assured. Guard it with your life. Robbers and thieves will appear from all sides. Never take your wealth for granted, and constantly renew it.” – Robert Greene

References

1.    The Power of Habits: Why we do what we do and how to change, By Charles Duhigg

2.    No Excuses: The Power of Self-Discipline – 21 ways to achieve long lasting happiness and success, By Brian Tracey

3.    Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the rich teach their kids about money – that the poor and middle class do not, By Robert Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter

4.    The 48 Laws of Power, By Robert Greene

5.    The Millionaire Next Door: The surprising secrets of American Wealthy, By Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

6.    Start With Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action, by Simon Sinek