Do you know the seven things about being an entrepreneur that nobody tells you, but should?
You don’t know, and you don’t care, you say. What you do know, is that you have a great idea that will make you rich. All you need to do is get some funding and sell the company shortly after.
Sound about right?
It’s wrong.
All wrong.
And it’s not your fault. Venture capitalists have hijacked the meaning of being an entrepreneur. Greed and a fast buck are the new values promoted to entrepreneurs.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or thinking about becoming one, let’s go back to basics.
There are seven things about being an entrepreneur that you need to know. Master these seven areas and you change lives for the better and unlock your sweet success.
Who am I to say this, and how do I know?
I was that kid who started his EdTech right out of school with no money, experience, or team. I had no business being in business.
Failure became my new BFF. It was my passion and grit that kept me in the game long enough to find success.
Thirteen years later, I became an “overnight” success when I experienced a 9-figure exit.
What made the difference?
Let’s leave the theory for the classroom. Instead, let’s take a deep dive on what being an entrepreneur is all about.
Success is knowing both what to do and not do.
Seven principles took my EdTech from “zero to hero.”
What are these seven principles?
Keep reading.
Do You Want To Retire Rich And Happy? Find And Solve A Painful Problem Affecting Many People
Life is a continuous exercise in creative problem solving Michael J. Gelb
Being an entrepreneur has you passionate to solve a painful problem. The problem is big and affects many people.
Help enough people get what they want, and over time you’ll be in a position to get what you want.
Notice the order. Helping people is first. You’re second.
A quick story.
Despite having no money, experience, or team, I had a 9-figure exit with my EdTech.
Shortly after my exit, I become involved in a healthcare company. This time I had the money, experience, and the same team.
It didn’t take long for the healthcare company to experience seven figures.
To be clear, it was seven figures of losses.
What made the difference?
My passion for the healthcare company was money, not solving problems.
Read and prosper from, “Why You Need Passion And Belief To Unlock Your Sweet Success.”
Being an entrepreneur is finding a painful problem you’re passionate to solve.
Your passion is what keeps you in the game when you experience so-called failures.
The problem is so painful that people are happy to pay you to take their pain away.
How do you become rich and successful?
Find a painful problem affecting many people and being passionate about solving it.
Being an entrepreneur is doing one thing most people don’t do. Do you know what this one thing is?
Keep reading.
Being An Entrepreneur Is Tuning Into The World’s Best Radio Station: WII FM
True and lasting success is meeting the needs of others – Jeffrey Feldberg
Being an entrepreneur is tuning in to the world’s best radio station, WII FM: The What’s In It For Me radio station.
The best Pedigree, education, and skills pale in comparison to finding and giving “what’s in it for me” to people.
How do you find out the “what’s in it for me” factor with people?
Ask one question: What keeps you up at nights.
A quick story.
It took my EdTech, Embanet, three years to find its way and make a difference. Success was steady and slow.
Know this and know this well.
What makes you successful today won’t keep you successful tomorrow.
Read and prosper from, “Stop Losing And Start Winning When You Put Yourself Out Of Business.”
As Embanet was becoming successful, technology became easier. There would come a day when Embanet wouldn’t be as relevant (or profitable).
One customer forever changed the destiny and fortunes of Embanet.
On a routine call, I asked my customer the “what keeps you up at night?” question.
The answer led to the creation of Embanet 2.
Embanet 2 became so big it made Embanet 1 look like a rounding error.
Why did Embanet 2 become big?
Embanet 2 solved the “what’s in it for me” and delivered the solution in world-class style.
Being an entrepreneur is knowing what people want and giving it to them in a way that takes their pain away.
Being An Entrepreneurs Means Embracing Failure As Your New BFF
Every failure is a step to success – William Whewell
Being an entrepreneur means embracing failure as your new BFF.
Modern entrepreneurship has erased the critical role that failure plays in success.
Read and prosper from, “How to Welcome Failure For Spectacular Success.”
Ultra successful entrepreneurs experience massive success after, you guessed it, massive failure.
Your success as an entrepreneur depends on how you deal with so-called failure.
How do you deal with failure and prosper?
Your passion keeps you in the game so you can practice your five to thrive:
- Feel the pain, respect it, and let it pass.
- Tomorrow is a new day with a new opportunity.
- Own your actions and accept responsibility.
- Review what happened, what you’ve learned, and how next time will be different.
- Move forward, knowing that you’re stronger and wiser.
A quick story.
Embanet 2 became the ultimate success and experienced a 9-figure exit.
In the beginning, Embanet 2 failed for two years.
What was the saving grace?
Failure is the marketplace telling you what doesn’t work.
Every failure helped fine-tune both the offering and approach.
Over time the offering of Embanet 2 became in sync with the market place, and success poured in.
The price for success was two years of heavy lifting and burning through most of the savings from Embnaet 1.
Was it worth it?
An absolute Y.E.S.
Failure provided the training ground and best practices needed to welcome spectacular success.
Being an entrepreneur means embracing failure and learning from it. Know that tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities.
Being An Entrepreneur Is Recognizing That It’s Lonely At The Top. Here’s How To Deal With It
It’s lonely at the top, so you better know why you are there – John C. Maxwell
Make no mistake about it. For entrepreneurs, t’s lonely at the top.
Is it lonely at the top?
Let’s take a reality check.
Speaking to your employees about issues, both personal and business is off the table.
At the best of times, family and friends won’t understand your situation. At the worst of times, family and friends don’t care and may not want you to succeed.
What’s an entrepreneur to do?
Recognize that having people who can hear your issues and support you is key to your health and success. Your success not only depends on a support circle, so does your mental and physical health.
Enter the mastermind group.
A mastermind group is two or more people whose only agenda is your success. As your mastermind group is there for you, you’re there for your mastermind group.
Read and prosper from, “Want To Be Spectacularly Successful? Join A Mastermind Group.”
Remember King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?
Arthur and his knights were a mastermind group.
Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey credit their success to a mastermind group.
A mastermind group is your personal board of advisors.
From business to personal challenges, your mastermind group keeps you out trouble.
Ready for the next success secret of being an entrepreneur?
Keep reading.
Want To Be Happy? Forget About A Balanced Life, And Aim For A Blended Life
You will never ‘find’ time for anything. If you want time, you must make it – Charles Buxton
Being an entrepreneur is understanding that there’s no such thing as a “balanced life.”
Striving for a balanced life puts you one a road called “frustration,” leading to a dead-end called “burn out.”
Being an entrepreneur, a successful one, is welcoming the idea of a blended life.
A blended life recognizes that your business and personal responsibilities happen together.
My business partner is a master of leading of blending both your work and life.
A quick story.
My partner and his family decided to have a “workcation” and drove from Orlando to our company in Toronto.
Throughout the two-day drive, my partner was on long conference calls with myself and the team.
Sounds great for my partner who passes the time, you say, what about his family?
The answer is that something of something is better than something of nothing.
My partner and his family had a choice. One option was my partner leaving his family and flying to meet up with myself and the team, as was often the case. My partner’s trip was busy from morning until night as we made the most of his visit over four days.
The other options were for my partner and his family to be together. My partner was working until he wasn’t. The family understood this, and they all blended their time.
How did the blended trip work out?
Brilliantly.
My partner and his family enjoyed many magic moments that they’ll remember for years to come.
Being an entrepreneur, a successful one, recognizes that a fulfilled life is a blended one.
Being An Entrepreneur Is Firing Yourself So Your Company Runs Without You
Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement – Daniel H. Pink
Being an entrepreneur is knowing that your company must run without you.
How does your company run without you?
Fire yourself as fast as possible.
Read and prosper from, “Why You’ll Be Happier And Richer When Your Company Runs Without You.”
Why, you ask?
You get back your life and enjoy a lifestyle when your company runs without you.
Your team revels in the fact that they have upward mobility and rewards with you out of the way. Talk about a great tool to attract and keep top talent.
And by the way, with the right team in place, your profits will increase.
Having your company run without you allows you to play to your strengths.
Read and prosper from “Play To Your Strengths If You Want To Be Successful (And Happy).”
Your “free” time allows you to find new markets and ensure your company is here for the long-term.
Should you decide to sell your company, your value increases. A lot.
Keep your company forever or sell it tomorrow. Either way, when your company runs without you, it’s a win-win.
Being an entrepreneur unlocks fulfillment and success if you say “no” to one thing.
Keep reading to find out.
Say “No” To VC Money And “Yes” To Bootstrapping For Lasting Success
‘No’ puts distance between you and the wrong influence – Jim Rohn
Being an entrepreneur is saying “no” to VC money and “yes” to bootstrapping for lasting success.
The allure of VC funding is the belief that it is quick money for an easy ride.
My Rockstar entrepreneur, there’s nothing easy about success that lasts.
True entrepreneurship has your company act like cockroach startups.
Read and prosper from “Cockroach Startups: What You Need To Know To Succeed And Prosper.”
While you’re at it, enjoy “Why You Need To Bootstrap Your Business And Not Raise Money.”
A quick story.
My EdTech, Embanet, had no business being in business. Embanet’s competition was well funded and run by smart and experienced people.
Despite the odds, Embanet dominated the industry.
Why?
Embanet lacked resources but was rich with resourcefulness.
Resourcefulness trumps resources. All-day. Every day.
It was Embanet’s resourcefulness, like a cockroach startup, that found a better way. The better way was usually doing something faster and less expensive.
Resourcefulness plunged Embanet into new markets which created the 9-figure exit.
Saying “no” to VC money forces you and your company to find and solve a painful problem affecting many people.
Resourcefulness forces your company to develop a culture based on resilience.
Just because you can write the check, doesn’t mean you should. In fact most of the time you shouldn’t write the check.
Cockroach startups can grow into industry giants with massive success. Once you’re successful, you have choices which include outside financing.
Being an entrepreneur is acting like cockroach startups in the early years.
Do this now, and you’ll thank me later.
Conclusion
Want to live a fulfilled and successful life? Master the seven principles revealed in this article.
Who am I and how do I know?
I was that kid who started his EdTech right out of school with no money, experience, or team. I had no business being in business.
Failure became my new BFF with no end in sight. It was my grit and passion that kept me in the game long enough to enjoy a 9-figure exit.
What made the difference, you ask?
The seven principles about being an entrepreneur that I’ve revealed.
These seven principles were born out of years trial-and-error and countless dollars spent.
Master these seven principles, and you unlock the floodgates of sweet success.
Along the way, you’ll solve painful problems you’re passionate to solve. You’ll change lives for the better. After helping enough people get what they want, you’ll get what you want.
Are these seven principles about being an entrepreneur a “shortcut” to easy money.
Not a chance.
Master these seven principles about being an entrepreneur. In the process, you set yourself up for a lifetime of success and fulfillment.
The great news is you have everything you need to be successful. Right now.
Start with the first principle until you master it. Move on to the next until you’ve mastered all seven.
You can do it. I know you can.
Here’s to you and your success!
Your Biggest Raving Fan,
Jeffrey Feldberg
Today, Feldberg's passion is helping you extract your deep wealth. The 90-day Deep Wealth Mastery program helps create a solid foundation for three areas: increasing profits to enterprise value and optimizing post-exit life. Deep Wealth Mastery offers strategies and insights drawn from Feldberg's rich experience. The strategies from the trenches get results. Jeffrey's vision is to increase the social fabric of society one entrepreneur at a time.
Learn more through https://iapdw.com/prosper
