As I read this chapter, I gained more insight into how a successful entrepreneur operates. Johnson continues to lure me into this book with his intricate stories and strategies of how a motivated and efficient businessman handles situations. All of the strategies are interesting ones, and deciding which two are the most important was not an easy choice. I narrowed this blog post down to two strategies that I believe are the most important. I can see myself using these strategies in the future to succeed.
One strategy is entitled, "Ask For Help." Underneath this title is a quote that reads, "Tell everyone what you want to do and someone will want to help you do it"- W. Clement Stone, businessman, philanthropist. When I read this strategy it had a great effect on me. I will tell you why. Before reading this passage, I thought it was embarrassing to ask for help, and that no one successful ever asked for help. It seemed to me that, everyone who was successful knew how to do everything by themselves, and didn't need assistance. I thought that asking for help was a sign of weakness. My recent experiences have taught me that this is not the case at all. I have learned it is to my benefit to ask for help. There is no use suffering and remaining confused, when there is guidance at available at your side. Johnson explains that one of the traits that makes entrepreneurs successful is that, they are not afraid to ask for help. I always knew asking for help was essential, but until I read this chapter, I was a little embarrassed to do so. Johnson stresses that one can still be confident and ask for help, and there is no reason to complete a major task all by yourself. He ties this strategy of "asking for help" into a business where he basically says, if one can't ask for help how can they run a successful business? This made me think about how; the business world is all about networking and potential clients and how in order to network, one will need to seek help from those around them. Johnson’s strategy has inspired me to seek even more help from my peers. For example, math has always been a tough subject for me; I used to feel down on myself when I couldn't complete a problem by myself. However, I have learned to accept that asking for help is okay and will work to my benefit.
Another important strategy that Johnson discusses is “The Business Plan Is Overrated”. He explains that he used to put together detailed documents with graphs, charts, in-depth market research and detailed financial statements. Through experience, Johnson has learned that creating a business plan is one of the last things one should do as an entrepreneur. He says there are three crucial steps one must complete, before executing a final business plan. Here they are in my own words:
Number one: Examine the competitive landscape. Johnson says to research what other types of business are around you, what do they are offer? How can your business be better? I was excited when I read this because that is exactly what my group did when researching other Doggie Day Cares in Brookline. When I read this it made me feel that I was on the road to almost becoming a businesswoman.
Number two: discuss your business idea with potential customers. This way, one can see if their idea would even be put to good use. One should ask questions: Would the service I am providing be helpful to you? What could I do to make my service better?
Number three: Develop a sketch or basic prototype of the product. Johnson explains that one should gather all the ideas for a business and map out all the vital steps.
I will always remember these three strategies and I will use them in the future when I am a businesswoman trying to execute a plan.
Great post! The thing about asking for help is that doing so gets other people thinking about your idea, and this is what you want. Often people feel proprietary about ideas and don't want to share, and that's a doomed strategy. If you can get a good team working on your idea (as you have with the socks idea, by the way), you have a far better chance of success.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're enjoying this book. It's seems quite useful for thinking about how to become the successful business person you want to become.