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As entrepreneurs, we are not excluded from the burden of time; rather, we bear more of this burden. As people who take on risk in order to make change happen, entrepreneurs are held more accountable for the use of their time. Because humanity relies on entrepreneurs for the provision of goods and services that can improve the quality of life, the burden of time is heavier on the shoulders of entrepreneurs. We cannot afford to be lazy as entrepreneurs with the use of our time!

All entrepreneurs create businesses.
But all entrepreneurs are not created equal.
Ever wondered what separates great entrepreneurs from mediocre ones? Ever wondered what makes entrepreneurs like Richard Branson of Virgin, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sam Walton of Wal-Mart, Tony Tsei of Zappos and the legendary Steve Jobs of Apple extra-ordinary?

Uncertainty, fear and doubt remind us that past successes are no guarantee for future ones. They remind us that what got us here may not take us there. They remind us of our imperfection as mortals. We are never above mistakes. We will never have it all figured out. We will always be subject to the laws of nature. We will always be at mercy of chance. Why? Because in life, there are no guarantees, period.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the result of other people’s thinking; don’t let the noise of other people’s opinion ground out your own inner voice and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become, everything else is secondary!”
–Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011

The simple question of ‘how is wealth created?’ is answered with another question; “how do you use your spare time?” If you’re serious about creating wealth, a good place to start is by answering the above question. Being wealthy begins with watching how you spend your spare time. Knowing how to create wealth begins with knowing how to spend your spare time. You cannot be wealthy if you are not spending your spare time on activities that create wealth. The answer to the question of whether you will be financially free [wealthy] or not; is found in the use of your spare time.

Entrepreneurs are nothing other than problem solvers for humanity. Their stock in trade is creatively thinking up solutions to the problems plaguing the world. This unusual burden is the essence of entrepreneurship. To successfully carry out this task, as entrepreneurs we must first understand fully the nature of what we are up against – problems.

Creativity is the essence of entrepreneurship. Meaning, an entrepreneur is nothing without creating. Products/services don’t fall from the sky like manna, they are created. And the one person that must bear the burden to create is no other than you the entrepreneur.

The entrepreneur’s journey is about unleashing the spirit of business within. It is about our lifelong quest as entrepreneurs of creatively coming up with unique and useful solutions to the problems plaguing humanity. It is about using your life to make an impact through your business. It is about you and the contributions you want to make through the business or businesses you establish. It is about finding and fulfilling your life’s purpose profitably. It is about making profits by making a difference [creating unique and useful solutions to humanity’s problems]. It is about using your life to build a SIGNIFICANT [extra-ordinary] business that fulfills your purpose here on earth profitably.

You’ve probably heard about the golden rule of life; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Well, here’s the thing, the golden rule of business is no different; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

There are certain “must have” pillars that are crucial to the success of every business. This is a matter of fact. When these fundamental pillars are lacking in any business, success is often unattainable. Identifying and applying them to your business, is what this unusual article is all about. For your guaranteed success in business, you must have a purpose that is completely focused on satisfying the customers by creating unique and useful products or services that meet their needs and solves their problems.

In business, just like farming, you don’t build to reap fast [quick], you build to reap large [big]. You want to reap what will sustain you over a long period of time while you are waiting for the next harvest to come. Because you know how long you must wait to reap, you make sure what you sow is of the best quality so that it doesn’t wither and die before the next harvest season. This is why every farmer only sows their best seeds.

In marketing, because the objective is building a relationship, the pressure to sell is removed and certain things are exchanged for free. These things are what make relationship building with prospects possible. Unlike selling where money is collected before any relationship is initiated, in marketing, giving something for free is what facilitates relationship building.

Market share is intentional, people choose you instead of others because there’s something SIGINIFICANT [unique, unusual, extra-ordinary, different, special] about you. Market share is people identifying with your business, company, product, or services. It doesn’t come by chance; it can only be intentionally created.

Being self-employed [doing business] is the deadliest trap of business ever. That you are small is no excuse for wanting to be a one-man army. Someday soon, you will no longer be able to do all the things you so easily do now as a result of age, so what will become of your business then? Someday soon, your small business will outgrow your capacity to meet all your customer’s increasing demand, so what will become of your business then? Then, you’ll suddenly realize that all your ‘can-do-it-all-by-myself’ attitude as a self-employed entrepreneur is counterproductive. Then you will come to terms with the universal truth that one tree does not make up a forest and that one is too small a number to achieve greatness!

BUSINESS GROWTH 101: How Entrepreneurs Are Unknowingly Killing Their Business Growth. I want to talk about the most important factor that determines either a low or high sales period of any business. That factor is YOU! You are the Driver of your business

Your business is like a car and you the owner is the driver. No matter how fast a car is manufactured to run, it can never go faster than the driver’s capacity to drive it.

The first step out what could be responsible for the low sales. There are two categories of people you should towards diagnosing the problem of low sales is to ask questions. You have to speak to the appropriate people to find direct your questions to; your employees [internal survey] and your customers [external survey].

Somehow, entrepreneurs don’t seem to have any problem dealing with high sales periods; after all, we don’t ever get tired of having more. But when it comes to the low sales periods, all hell seem to break lose. This unusual article is about knowing what to do when business is dull or slow. It will help you make the most of the low sales periods every business usually encounters every once in a while. It is very important to know that some low sales periods are self inflicted and others are not. I have decided to write this because one of the businesses I run is currently in this phase and I am becoming a better entrepreneur as a result.

You are dead if you’re just like the rest!
It’s just simple logic, why would anyone remember your business if there’s nothing remarkable about your business? There are a thousand and one competitions out there and people want to know what’s so unusual about your business that makes you different from all others. Especially at a time like this when the whole world is going through a financially constraining phase, people are more prudent with the way they spend. Meaning, getting money out of people’s pocket ain’t going to be as easy as it used to be.

All businesses are not created equal. Hence, there two kinds of businesses;

1. Good Companies: Business as Usual
These are companies whose customers simply TOLERATE them because they haven’t seen an alternative provider yet.

2. Great Companies: Business NOT as Usual

These are companies who don’t have customers but have fans that CELEBRATE rather than tolerate what the company does.

Don’t allow yourself to be deceived, always remember that making profit is dependent on four key things; defining, creating, communicating and delivering value. You must understand that value is the origin of profits. It is my goal through this unusual article to help you understand and better put to use this universal principle of life.