10 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Successful Business Owners

By Author: Yatharth Sharma
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India ranks among the top 5 startup ecosystems globally. Every day a new idea worthy to become a profitable business is born.

Humans make mistakes & Humans face challenges and Entrepreneurship is no different. But again, Entrepreneurs are those humans who keep learning their whole lives. Already, this world has found some awe-inspiring entrepreneurs who have given very valuable lessons.

This blog contains ten such lessons that entrepreneurs can from the Legends of the Industry.

1. Be efficient - Ritesh Agrawal, Founder OYO

The biggest key to achieve success for any business is the owner's ability to concentrate most of their time and effort on the activities that will bring in the most money. According to Ritesh Agrawal, the founder of Oyo, the best way to do that is to minimize the time spent on routine functions.

Especially for service-related industries, streamlining repetitive tasks ensure better utilization of time and effort. Instead of doing something, again and again, create workflows that will reduce the effort and time required.

2. ...
... 2. Seek knowledge; be eager to learn - Shiv Nadar, Founder
HCL

Curiosity is an entrepreneur's best friend. Therefore, having in-depth knowledge about anything concerning your business must be a priority for every entrepreneur. Shiv Nadar, chairman of HCL, has valued education from the very beginning. He has always advised that being hungry for knowledge will make your dream of achieving your goals seem much closer.

The eagerness to learn is directly related to the willingness to grow and stand out in your career. In addition, with the way the world is changing continuously, the scope of learning is always present. So even when you're at the peak of your career, there will be something you could learn.

3. Chase the Intent, Not the Money - Sidharth Jain, Founder GraffersID

Sidharth Jain, the founder of GraffersID, has advised many entrepreneurs to chase the intent instead of running after money. He explained how GraffersID is successful because it focuses more on achieving its goals than just earning money.

During an interview, Sidharth told a story about how they once had a minimal timeline client. It was a big project for the client, and a lot was at stake for them. Not wanting the client to lose such a great opportunity, Sidharth hired extra developers.

As a result, his team could complete the project before the deadline. Moreover, with additional developers, the quality of the project was not compromised by the team.

Though they had to spend some extra money for the project, the client was pleased and ended up landing a big business deal through it. Since then, Sidharth has followed this motto of "Chase the intent, not the money.” It has helped him achieve new heights in the business world.

4. Networking is a superpower that every entrepreneur needs to have - Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder Paytm

Networking, as an entrepreneur, is the best way to increase the reach of your business. As an entrepreneur, people count on you. So if you have to respond to e-mails or meet up with someone, you should always show up, no matter if it's going to add value to your company or not. An entrepreneur is building credibility all the time.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm, says that networking has helped him get referrals, more users, and even get investors.

5. Time is more valuable than money - Bhavish Agrawal, Founder ola

Every entrepreneur can potentially gain more resources like money, customers, and ideas. However, time is one commodity that will always be finite. For Ola Cab's founder, Bhavish Agrawal, one way to make the most of his time is to assign an hourly wage to his tasks.

Bhavish has followed this strategy throughout his career. First, he would ask himself- What would be a fair wage for my tasks? Then, once he decided on a wage, he would check if someone else can competently accomplish the same job for less money.

Finally, he let them do it to focus on a higher level, revenue-generating tasks if he found someone. As an entrepreneur, you should only do the jobs that only you can do.

6. Hire people based on talent, not number of degrees - Shradha Sharma, Founder YourStory

Talent has much more value than college degrees. This fact was found to be true for YourStory's owner Shradha Sharma. Shradha follows the model of hiring talented people for her company despite their education.

During every hiring process, YourStory shortlists people based on the type of work they've done instead of what they've studied. As a result, YourStory has found many talented employees who have become an asset to the company.

7. Frugality is a virtue when starting a new business - Kunal Shah, Founder CRED

Many entrepreneurs try to attract customers with impressive features, like premium office space, high-end furniture, expensive pictures on the walls, and streaming live quote systems. But, unfortunately, all that stuff costs money, which is in short supply while starting a new business.

The CRED founder, Kunal Shah, used the "Shoe String" strategy when starting the business. Shoe string means finding less expensive ways to do everything. Sometimes you might even have to do without a few things.

What draws in clients is the primary business service. Putting on a display of expensive items is only a waste of money. When you're frugal in your spendings, you have more money to provide better services, which will bring more revenue to the business.

8. 8. Find Customers first - Arjita Sethi, Founder Equally

"Find Customers First" is the advice of Arjita Sethi. Sethi has founded three successful start-ups over the last 16 years. She has spent a lot of time coaching innovators and people planning start-ups, and during that time, she learned that people focus only on their business and how to make it successful.

But everyone forgets about the most important thing the business needs- Customers. While planning a new business, entrepreneurs should first find customers. Then, once you find potential customers, plan on what they want.

It is best to ask what the customer needs rather than building something we think they need. This lesson has helped her and many other entrepreneurs she’s coached get better revenue as soon as the business hits the market.

9. Hire people smarter than you - Byju Raveendran, Founder Byju’s

More often than not, entrepreneurs hire people whose skills are similar to their own. When you hire employees on the same level as yourself, you don’t have anyone to challenge you.

No matter how wrong a path you take, no one amongst your colleagues will come to you with an alternative. On the contrary, when entrepreneurs hire smarter people, they would always be suggesting better choices, more options.

The Byjus Founder, Byju Raveendran, is known for hiring people that are smart and talented. He has offered jobs to many students that were using his app for learning because they were extraordinarily talented and smarter than him.

10. Ask for feedback. And then ask again - Sachin Bansal, Founder Flipkart

There is a saying about how having an open-door policy doesn't mean that people automatically walk into your office to talk. People, especially employees, require a lot of push to share their views about the employer. Sachin Bansal, the co-founder of Flipkart, actively seeks feedback from his employees. Instead of waiting for employees to come to him, he goes out and talks to them.

Employee feedback can be highly actionable and insightful. Actively interacting with the employees will also help in forming better relations with them. Moreover, it's the best way to realize faults in the business.

Yatharth Sharma, India based freelancer writter, who loves to write about technology, entrepreneurs, startups, business.