What made you a better entrepreneur?
Well, I’ve been an online entrepreneur for more than the last ten years and have been doing good. My journey started with a lot of hurdles. At times there were reasons to give up, and no one would have blamed me. But strong belief in myself kept me going. Not to boast but I am a better entrepreneur than when I started by light-years, for multiple reasons.

Around ten years back, being driven by self-motivation due to a job I hated, my mind was all set to take on the entrepreneurial path. I admit that failure stories of entrepreneurs appeared like a cautionary tale, too. I believe our modern media and reality TV also encourages us to laugh at other people’s failures, which has the unexpected side-effect of making us more self-conscious and afraid of failure.
But fate had different plans. Finally, I decided to start small and go broader as I learn. There were many new things to learn at that time. I followed many internet gurus and books while I kept doing it my way as well. With lots of good and bad experiences, I finally got to hit the first big target: making sales. The journey ever since that point gives me contentment like nothing else and inspires me to do more. I believe the learning never stops.
Okay, that was a bit of my story. If you feel like knowing more, of course, leave me a reply. I would be very pleased to share more.
Moving ahead, here are the seven tips that can help you become a better entrepreneur. These have worked for me as well.
1) Follow Your Passion
It’s simple, do what you like. Don’t just blindly follow someone. For instance, don’t force yourself to work in a niche just because you hear there’s a lot of money in it. If someone is a successful entrepreneur by being into an eCommerce business, and your passion is general business, then follow that. You can adapt and take concepts from other areas once you fully understand the non-negotiables of how you want to succeed.
2) Time Management and Planning
Time is valuable. Use it wisely. Success is inversely proportional to the time you waste. Manage it well by planning. Plan your time as well as budget as it gives you a reliable vision and makes you more confident in setting up goals. Make short and long term plans. Most of all, don’t freak out and try to become a robot with perfect time management. You can relax and watch TV sometimes, knowing you still made good progress that day. Time management is to maintain work-life balance, not to dominate your entire existence with entrepreneur work.
3) Learn From Mistakes
No one is perfect. There is a famous proverb, “To err is human“. Don’t feel bad if you make mistakes. Learn from them and let them reflect as an improvement in you. Do not be afraid to acknowledge or reflect on mistakes, either, or you are doomed to repeat them.
4) Trust Yourself, Take Risks
A problem is half solved if you believe in yourself. Keep faith in yourself as you are your savior. You will fix your own problems and shape your life into exactly what you want. That’s what entrepreneurship is, to me. As an entrepreneur, you need to take risks. Analyze the risk in advance, keep an action plan ready, and move on.
5) Be Social, Outgoing and Friendly
In business, it’s your links to others that work for you. Be social, form professional connections with other people. Reach out to people through social media platforms. Become a known figure in your industry. The better connections your form with others in your niche, the greater your chance of success.
6) Research Your Market Well
Ultimately, it’s the response from the market that is the indicator of the success of an entrepreneur. Keep researching your market over time for your competitors as well as the image, branding of your product. Act accordingly.
7) Value Your Customers by Delivering More Than Expected
If you deliver more than expected, people will like your product. Under-promise, over-deliver. The customer base for a product speaks to its success. Value your customers/clients with good customer service practices as it gives them a sense of belonging. You should also be involving and categorizing customers as best as you can. Often, the very best customers for a product will also become top affiliates, helping sell it to more people for you.
The above are the seven tips that I feel can help you become a better entrepreneur. I believe that every entrepreneur gets better over time, and it’s a question of sticking to it and not giving up too soon.
Among other big names, I owe the credit of me being a better entrepreneur to Timothy Ferriss. That is because of his book “The 4-Hour Work Week”. It is one of the best books on entrepreneurship I have read so far. Though I had been doing good before that, applying the details from the book made me better and lifted me from rough beginner to intermediate levels. It is very inspirational with lots of interesting stories, and a must-read overall. Before doing that, I would suggest you read my honest review post REVIEW: The 4-Hour Work Week.
Best of luck with your future endeavors!
Thanks,
Cleo