With every year that goes by, new rules apply to the world of entrepreneurship and business. These new rules and way of thinking are ever changing as the environment we live in evolves and so do the companies and leaders around us. We have compiled a list of what we believe to be 10 new rules that can help you leap ahead of your competitors.
1- Leverage your network: Networking has always mattered in business, but today, the term networking and its meaning have changed significantly. Social media makes it easier to connect to people, but they are hardly considered part of your inner networking group. People you have interacted with on a personal level are more likely to help you out when in need rather than brush you off. Make sure to leverage your real network often and remember to build it up rather than simply focus on making new Facebook friends.
2 – Think global, act local: Years ago thinking locally was a fatal mistake and making big moves differentiated those who made it from those who failed. Today’s new market place is folding back into “smaller and niche” rather than “large and broad”. Having a long term global approach matters but having a more targeted local approach to your execution will differentiate your ability to win faster. This is no different than the change in mentality around banking after the 2008 recession. More people found themselves attracted to local regional banks, simply due to the more personal approach. Which is something the tech sector is now finding out as well.
3 – Spend more time listening to feedback: Your vision is all that matters and you should never go away from your belief, even if the market shows resistance at times. This, however, should never keep you from listening to the feedback of those who use or buy your products and services. Paying attention to what others say about you is important and necessary in order to survive. It is also important to capitalize on positive feedback.
4 – Great service is about awareness: Long are gone the days when reviews dictated the way we did business. In today’s more service conscious environment, more people expect to receive great service and what used to be considered great yesterday is only good today. Instead of focusing on what your customer say about their experience, simply ensure that you enforce the experience with every interaction and every sale. Reviews are only a reminder that people care, not a measure of success or failure.
5 – Think brand, not product: Too many times do we hear of a product hitting the market and being a one hit wonder. Make sure that your business can be expanded from a product to a brand and that you start specific branding elements right from the start in order to help sustain long term success rather than short term riches.
6 – Focus on economics first: Innovation matters but so does economics. In today’s marketplace too many companies come out of the gate wanting to innovate the world and very few succeed. It is no different than asking a poor guy to help others get rich only to see him give up when he loses his last few cents. A good revenue model is key for a business to be taken seriously these days. Create a sustainable foundation then work hard to build it and enable it to become the change you wish to see.
7 – Don’t be social media centric, be social: For the past 3 years, social media has quickly become an important side of marketing a business. There is, however, a misconception that it has become the only new effective way to market a business. While it holds value, it is important to make sure you do not put all your eggs in one basket and instead leverage social media rather than make your business revolve around it.
8 – Yesterday’s extraordinary is today’s ordinary: With evolving times come evolving expectations. What people remember are those extraordinary times in their lives, not the day to day ordinary things that happen to them. In order for your business to stand out, you have to find a way to do what you do significantly better than your competitors so that others will want to talk about it and more people will want you to keep doing it. Remember that simply doing what you do will not be enough, you’ll have to do more and continuously keep doing it to stay ahead.
9 – Decipher reality from possibilities quickly: While the possibilities are great, the reality is harsh. One of today’s important rules is to be able to focus on what is happening rather than worry about what might happen. Too many empty promises are made, expectations not met, and people left disappointed when you waste your time worrying about items out of your control. Worry about your actions and stop wasting time and energy worrying about what others said they can do for you.
10 – Push harder and faster: The marketplace is global, meaning less people care about trademarks and infringements and no idea will stay without competition very long even when very original. Learn to act quickly and conquer your local marketplace before your competitors. While you may be taking a break, someone else with more time, money and determination will be waiting to overtake what you originally identified as an opportunity.
Well there you have it, our 10 new rules for success in today’s business and entrepreneurship world. Let us know which ones you love and which ones you disagree with…
