https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/top-35-under-35-saica.jpg [ad_1]
Entrepreneurship is a mysterious creature; so much is written and said about it. A starting point for exploring the meaning of entrepreneurial triumph is to look at the idea of success itself. At the simplest level, success is the achievement of a specific goal, but success means different things to different people. It’s logical to assume that everybody wants to be successful in terms of their own individual goals. Ultimately, nobody plans to fail.
In trying to understand the paths to successful entrepreneurship, it’s tempting to reduce its attainment to a linear process. Much of the research into what makes some entrepreneurs successful is based upon studying the super successful ones. The idea is to then instruct people to replicate the behaviours of the successful.
However, this approach disregards two important issues. First, different entrepreneurs have very different goals. What might be success to one measure is failure on another. Second, it disregards the very real phenomenon of survivorship bias. By studying ‘survivors’, in this case successful entrepreneurs, we immediately exclude all data relating to failure. By doing so, we assume a ‘survivor’s’ success is a direct result of their specific attributes or actions. This does not prove that failures did not happen.
“I prefer to view entrepreneurial success by focusing on the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what’. An entrepreneur’s ‘why’ is their own personal definition of success. My curiosity was the stimulus for my ‘why’, which was to ascertain what it is that makes an entrepreneur,” says Abed Tau, director at Thamani Financial Solutions and co-founder of Tuta-Me.
Related: From Local To Global: Bruce Mackenzie CA(SA) Shares Top Tips On Being A Successful Entrepreneur
Through this process, he was able to fashion his own version of entrepreneurial truth. His ‘why’ ultimately led him to his ‘how’.
1. Forget about comfort
One of his early realisations was that comfort is the enemy of success. “Comfort suggests lack of difficulty. Lack of difficulty may seem appealing, but without challenge, there is no catalyst for positive adaptation. Without difficulty there is no immediate need for innovation and change,” he says.
2. Focus on hiring GREAT people
Abed embraced discomfort when he started his business, Thamani Financial Solutions. In running his business, he soon came to the conclusion that people are not the greatest asset of a business, but GREAT people are. “This is a subtle but important difference. It highlights the importance of giving hiring decisions the level of attention they deserve. I have learnt to treat great employees as business partners. In doing so, their motivation is fuelled, which leads to business innovation.”
3. Do the right thing at the right time
In his entrepreneurial journey, Abed also learnt the value of focus. “The ability to focus is one thing; knowing what to focus on is another,” he says. “A common entrepreneurial misstep is to put too much emphasis on less important things like fancy offices in prime areas or flashy business cards. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with these trappings, but in the start-up phase there are more pressing concerns, like perfecting your service or product, and getting new customers and keeping them.”
4. Don’t compete, strengthen your own position
Another counter-intuitive approach adopted by Abed is his attitude towards his competitors. He says: “The companies that lose are the companies that compete by focusing on the opposition. By concentrating on your own game, you will inevitably strengthen your own position. The stronger your own business, the harder it is for rivals to displace you.
“The reasons for pursuing an entrepreneurial venture are as varied as the ventures themselves,” he concludes. “There is no specific entrepreneurial formula for success. The process is often circuitous in nature. And it will be really hard work. But remember to always ask yourself why you’re doing it. The answer to this important question will be the compass that leads the way to your ‘what’ and ‘how’.”
Related: Young CAs(SA) Shaping The Future Of Business
Enter SAICA’s Top 35 Under 35 competition for CAs(SA)
In 2016, Abed Tau was a finalist in SAICA’s Top 35 under 35 competition for CAs(SA). Entries for this year’s competition are now open.
- Do you know a CA(SA) who stands out from the crowd?
- Or: Are you a CA(SA) who wants to take your future to a whole new dimension?
By entering SAICA’s Top 35 Under 35 CA(SA) competition, you stand a chance of winning cash prizes, with the overall winner also taking home a brand new Renault Clio as well as an all expenses paid trip to One Young World 2019 (worth more than R100 000).
If you’re ready to redefine your future, go to www.accountancysa.org.za/top-35-under-35/
Entries close 31 May 2018.
[ad_2]
Read_more MMO mastermind
No comments:
Post a Comment