Entrepreneurial Lessons You Won’t Learn in Business School

People out of business schools are all set to launch their ideas into market, thrilled with enthusiasm and perseverance. Business school curriculums try to prepare you for running a business and its challenges. But is there anything they leave out?

Here I will walk you through some of the most important lessons that an entrepreneur requires, which do not find place in any academic curriculum:

1. The customer is not always right

Every business school will teach you that the ‘Customer is always right’, while not entirely wrong. It is high time we revise this practice of blindly worshipping our customers. Please them, but not at the cost of your organizational values and employee comfort. Do not compromise with your product just for the sake of one customer. This is that one lesson you might learn after years of experience. While customer is the king, use your own brains when it comes to decision making.

2. Manage your time well

Manage your time wisely. You should neither engage in trivial organizational issues nor entertain clients with extraordinary demands. Your time is precious and so is your company’s. The time taken up by a big cribbing client can be utilized for two smaller projects. This doesn’t imply that you compromise with quality in any case. Give your best quality output but prioritize your work. And follow this rule for all the departments.

3. Be passionate about your idea

Success follows those who never run after it. In fact it just happens to people passionate about their work. This will enable you to deliver valuable services and products that are not just in demand but enjoy the privilege of being shared through word of mouth. Single-minded devotion drives reputed business houses like Google, Apple, Dropbox, Toyota, etc. to constantly innovate their products and services. Some ideas see the dawn others see the dust. While every business idea might not be rewarding but allegiance to it from germination to execution is worth its salt.

4. Supervise well

Resource handling is a crucial aspect of any business. Whether you run a 500 employee company or 50, the staff is the lifeline of any organization that keeps it going.  Be grateful to your employees and give it back to them whenever needed. The two most important pillars of any organization are the resources and its innovatory soul. Contented employees facilitate growth. Hence be careful when you hire them, as firing employees (however worthwhile they are) demotivates rest of the workforce.
Also keep up the organizational tempo by encouraging engagement activities, if possible participate yourself too.

Businesses that run short of resources should consider outsourcing their work. This is especially convenient if you are located at a remote place where it is tough to find people.

5. Market yourself carefully

While it is good to exercise thrift in all your business investments, don’t be imprudent in picking the right marketing practice. This will not just waste your time and funds but will have a long term impact on how your brand will be perceived.

6. Be there

Take the initiative and when your team dithers motivate them to perform and innovate. A leader shoulders maximum responsibility within a team, irrespective of your team size. What risks to take and what to avoid is your obligation. Don’t take a decision you are not ready to face the consequences however sunny it looks.

7. Create milestones

A wise man always sets goals. Difficulty in predicting factors that impact businesses should not cease you from setting goals. These goals guide your team time and again in your presence as well as absence.
While defining goals is recommended, don’t create compulsive goals. A strict compliance to them may interrupt your present goals. Flexibility should be the virtue of every entrepreneur.

8. Do not fear

The strongest hazard faced by business owners is the fear of failure. Don’t let this fear mar your chance of success. This stops many companies from innovating; and most of them end up being run-of-the-mill businesses. Remember ‘only change is constant’, businesses that don’t take risk, might not fall but they will also lose out on higher revenue prospects.

9. Maintain work life balance

It is great to be passionate for your work and make consistent efforts to keep your staff, financers and customers happy, the necessity of a sound state of mind which is an outcome of balanced personal life is of paramount importance. A sound mind makes sound decisions.

A school can teach you the alphabets but how you read is what you determine by yourself. And the best lessons are learnt from life – some mistakes ensure success in the long run. Go through popular business stories and case-studies; interview the experienced people in your field, you will be amazed to see what juice you get at the end.

Simon Horton is the Founder of ShopIntegrator.com, a Hosted Shopping Cart Store Add-In. His years of experience has helped him setting up this platform. Feel free to reach him out on Google+.