- Passion is overrated – passion is not everything. While passion is important while starting a business, preparation, market research, and building fundamental capabilities in that area or industry are other critical necessities! Without these, a business is not sustainable no matter how much passion is pumped into it! Prepare, plan and then dive in with passion.
- Hard work is not enough – Embrace this reality. There is no substitute to hard work but without reflection and realisation or analysis of what’s working in their business, what’s not, and what needs to be corrected or amplified, just hard work will never yield the desired results. Hard work along with constant evaluation and analysis make sure the efforts you are putting in are actually worth it!
- You’ll get hell if you don’t know how to sell- Everybody’s got to sell! If your customers don’t understand why your business is great value addition and the right solution in their lives and problems that they have, then your business will never grow as much as you want! Sales has to be your cup of tea because only when you sell, you can reach the right people and your business will get the right recognition it deserves. Sales is a lifeline of any business.
- Business is a team sport, not a solo sport- Hustling is natural when you start building a business. Eventually, you will need a team, you will need a second-line of leaders to support you in building a scalable and profitable business. Doing everything by yourself is not a sign of achievement, it is a sign of ignorance!
You cannot do everything on your own! You either build a business for scale for which you need a high-performing team or you get stuck in survival when you don’t build a team!
- Money does not make money in business- Capability makes money in business. If you live under this notion of money makes money, you lose out on focusing on the important factors like strategies, systems, skills and teams. If the mindset is “I will invest money to make money”, you never make money! When you invest in building strategies, systems, upskilling and developing your teams, that’s when you start making money because the results skyrocket! Develop capabilities, don’t simply pump money if your business is not yielding enough results. Then watch money follow!
Also read: The Awful Truth About Marketing
These are bitter pills to swallow but they are true. The truth may piss you off at first but later, it sets you free and walking in the right direction! These 5 truths are important to implement, realise and execute because they are ways to ensure profitability and scale in any business!
About the author
Rajiv Talreja, Founder of Asia’s Largest MSME Business Coaching Company- Quantum Leap Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd, Author of the Bestseller book – Lead or Bleed, Serial Angel Investor, TedX Speaker and Founder of DreamCraft Events and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, and DreamCatcher Investments Pvt Ltd.
