Get All Access for $5/mo

6 Important Things One learns After Becoming an Entrepreneur In order for others to believe in your business and your product, it's imperative for you to always believe in your vision more than everybody else

By Ajit Gupta

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock.com

There are no shortcuts in business. In order to be successful in business and life in general, there are certain things that you must know and adhere to. In fact, being an entrepreneur is probably the most difficult job in the world and more so in a country like India where good education (a college degree, at least) and a stable job are considered to be the norm by which everyone must live their lives.

The sooner kids start thinking like an entrepreneur the better. The skills one picks up while starting a small business (even as a kid) - it could be something as small as opening a lemonade stand on a hot summer afternoon - are difficult to pick up in school. Kidpreneurs in this way learn how to adapt to new challenges, how to set their own goals, create a plan to execute on goals and learn their own limitations.

Yet, what's really alarming is that no early education institute in India offers classes on entrepreneurship or business. And while some of the lessons one learns as an entrepreneur are mentioned below they are not all by a longshot. But they're really important and necessary.

1. Always Believe in Your Vision and Intuition

In order to build their startups, entrepreneurs face many different and difficult choices and feel the importance of decision making every single day. It is impossible to know if one decision is right or wrong before you see the results from it. The knowledge and understanding of the business world and the belief in the product you offer are great ways to become more confident in your decisions. Thus, in order for others to believe in your business and your product, it's imperative for you to always believe in your vision more than everybody else.

2. Time is the Most Precious Resource, Use it Wisely

All good entrepreneurs know that time is their most valuable resource. You can't buy it. You can't find it. You can't store it. You can't trade it. But you can always plan things out in a way that it saves you time and you don't end up doing things that are not required.

However, in the beginning, every entrepreneur believes that they can and must do everything in the company. Although this might save many of them the execution time since they come with more experience than their employees. But in the long run, it is always smart to expedite work by delegating it to different people. So you can always save time and concentrate on one thing - sales. Because any founder of a company who is not sales oriented will always fail in the end.

3. Know as Much as You Can About Technology

The beautiful thing about technology is that it changes on a daily basis and due to this people are always in a better position to come out with new products. Since the two pieces are complimentary, it's always important to be aware of newer technologies.

You can look at any new tech today or have seen before or any tech you may have read about. On the day that the piece of technology is released, you are as knowledgeable as anybody else. From that point forward, it is just about the effort to learn it.

If you're one of the few people who know the technology inside out, you put yourself in a unique position to pitch the technology to your customer and see how it might be of benefit to them.

Always remember that new technologies enable change. And whenever there is a change there is an opportunity.

4. Empower Your Team and Celebrate Small Wins

Although many entrepreneurs and founders believe that they should drive their team to their fullest potential, by hook or by crook - it's impossible to create a healthy and working environment if you and your team are not on the same page. Once you start believing in your team in a way that it empowers them to come to work every day with a smile and not a frown, they will themselves add value to the company in a way that was probably untapped in them earlier.

5. Failure is Part of the Journey

Every good entrepreneur should realise that failure is part of the journey. And the fact of the matter is that the reason why only a small percentage of entrepreneurs succeed because they realise the mistakes behind the failure and do not commit them again. Thus, failure is a great way to judge the grit you have to run a business.

Although there may be times when failure will come to you regardless of how hard you work. So, here's where luck plays a huge role. But it isn't the only metric to success. Failure might teach you things that you can Passover and keep in mind while working on another project. And that ability to continue to learn and adapt is what makes a great entrepreneur better than the rest.

6. Keep an Open Mind - the Best of Things Come From the Most Unexpected Places

If something as simple as gravity could be discovered due to an apple falling - you cannot possibly imagine how or when you might be able to stumble upon something as important to you in your life.

Once you start keeping an open mind but also restrain yourself from getting carried away, you start leveling up to becoming a better entrepreneur. There might be days when your knowledge of things might not be sufficient or may be outdated. Thus, pursuant to the aforementioned point on technology - it's always good to have an open mind. Structurally you may be able to avoid a lot of operational challenges. However, that does not mean you're the only great innovator in your team.

Ajit Gupta

Founder & CEO, AJIT Industries Pvt Ltd.

Founder & CEO of AJIT Industries Pvt Ltd, is a hands-on CEO with expertise in growing a business from scratch, transformed a small trading company into a thoroughly professionally managed esteemed organization.  Ajit Gupta boasts of 30 years of vast experience in adhesive & adhesive tapes industry.  Through strategic foresight, determination and drive Ajit Gupta has built a strong foundation for his successful Businesses. He is also responsible for launching the ABRO Masking tapes in India.

A law graduate from University of Delhi and an Alumni of Harvard Business School. Ajit Gupta is a pioneer in adhesive tape industry in India owing to which the man is commonly renowned as THE TAPE MAN of India. His charm, his humility, his habit of putting attention to detail and his quest for knowledge is infectious.

News and Trends

"45% of All Ongoing Hydropower Projects in India are Ours": Patel Engineering

Patel Engineering reported a turnover of INR 4,400 crore in the last fiscal year, with a projected 10 per cent growth for the current year.

Business Process

How CEOs Can Take Control of Their Emails and Achieve Inbox Zero

Although there are many methodologies that leaders can use to manage their emails effectively, a consistent and thought-through process is the most effective way to systemize and respond to emails and is a step of stewardship for the effective leader.

Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

Business News

Former Steve Jobs Intern Says This Is How He Would Have Approached AI

The former intern is now the CEO of AI and data company DataStax.

Leadership

Visionaries or Vague Promises? Why Companies Fail Without Leaders Who See Beyond the Bottom Line

Visionary leaders turn bold ideas into lasting impact by building resilience, clarity and future-ready teams.