The Making of a Young Entrepreneur: (Part II) Essential Moves to Make Before Launching Your Business

In my previous blog I spoke about the importance of research, launching a venture with other’s support, and of course, being focused. This blog includes additional moves that you must make that will help you immensely when deciding to go into business as a young entrepreneur. At our BIZNOVATOR Camps, we always stress that making smart and essential moves before launching an enterprise will help you succeed in business.

Understand Your Clients and Team Your Players’ Capacities

As a sports fan, particularly a fanatic of basketball, I want to refer to one of the world’s best athlete and professional basketball player—Michael Jordan. So that you know, there’s a lot of correlation in the moves you make in sports to those that you make in business. Jordan knew exactly what players to count on, and when to depend on them 100% during the crucial moments of a game. In fact, often times Jordan was at his best when he unselfishly passed the ball to his teammates to take the final shot of a game. He’s also known for making his teammates better. One key move, you must make before going into business is—to accept, and to understand that it’s not about you. It’s about the end user, such as your customer and the people that make your business run smoothly. Your team, such as partners, employees and advisors are essential for your business. Recognize that your end user helps pays the bills. In this case, the customer is king!

Focus on “Above and Beyond” Customer Service

A successful entrepreneur understands that servicing your customer will determine your
venture’s longevity. I’m appalled at the number of companies that get away with poor service. One of my favorite service providers is Trader Joe’s, a privately own grocery chain with impeccable customer service. They’ve been known to go the extra mile for their customers. For example, an 89-year-old man was snowed in at his Pennsylvania home during a brutal winter storm. With no access to transportation during the holidays and worried about not having enough food, the elderly man’s daughter called Trader Joe’s to ask if they would deliver. The response was that they didn’t offer delivery services, but given the request and the situation, they would send someone out to deliver whatever she ordered with no delivery fee. They went above and beyond to also ask if the elderly man had special dietary needs that they can bring him.

The takeaway lesson here is that it’s ok to break the rules when you feel it’s most appropriate to benefit your customer. As an entrepreneur, you must be able to act quickly on your feet when having to make crucial decisions that offer superb customer service.

Above All; Persevere—Don’t Give Up

“Despite the impossible odds, victory will still be achieved!” I know from personal experiences that most start-ups on the path to failure will usually fail. However, there are exceptions. Start-ups that I’ve been part of that have made it have been those that can solve a problem, had a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, 100% commitment to their mission and the perseverance to crack the code. I’ve been part of teams where one member at a time started to walk away. On more than one occasion I’ve been left alone to continue to grow the venture. If it wasn’t for passion and never “giving up,” the first small venture that was acquired would have never been sold.

One of the major moves you must make before entering into business is to delete the words – – quit and complacency from your brain. Focus on the problem you’re trying to solve, and the mission you have established for your business. If you didn’t sincerely believe that you could improve the lives of others, or solve the pain points for customers, you wouldn’t be going into start-up mode. When in doubt, rush to call on one of the advisors or mentors that you included as part of your team. Understand that business is about ups and downs, and so are your emotions. Focus on the big wins, not the challenges!

In the next blog, I’ll be writing about the many benefits of entrepreneurship and how you can position your entrepreneurial experiences as part of your success portfolio.

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ABOUT BIZNOVATOR:
BIZNOVATOR is a youth empowerment platform that offers a year-round experience for young people interested in entrepreneurship, social innovation and global leadership. Through our seminars, workshops, summer camps and in school Academies, BIZNOVATOR helps young people to DISCOVER their purpose, TRANSFORM their mindset and CONNECT to their future.  We have recently launched our Online Learning Platform, www.mybiznovator.com which enables young people from all over the world to experience our unique BIZNOVATOR programs. We invite you to join us!

Juan Pablo Casimiro is Founder and CEO of BIZNOVATOR. With more than 30 years of empowering youth and adults globally, Casimiro never misses a moment to teach, coach and challenge his clients to live their dreams. Casimiro was born in Dominican Republic and grew up in New York City.