Written by: Juan C. Olmedo, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Have you ever wondered how some people achieve such great things in their lives? It’s not because they are smarter than the rest of us, but rather, it’s because they have a systematic method for approaching challenges. This systematic approach can be learned and replicated if we work on it consistently. In this article, I’ll discuss some ways that you can systematically learn from experts to build a million-dollar company. As an entrepreneur with multiple previous successful and some not so success ventures under my belt, I have learned from great mentors, experts, coaches, and inspirational leaders countless lessons across many businesses. The experience has been invaluable and through those experience, I have come up with these 5 Mastery tips on how to systematically learn from experts to build a successful venture.
1. Build a Product People Need
An entrepreneur has many different definitions, depending on who you ask. Basically, it is a person who has the ability to see local and global problems as an opportunity to capitalize on. A person who creatively analyzes these problems and visualizes a solution that maybe no one even understands and be considered a “Crazy Person”. As these crazy ideas become a reality, societies start to progress, and communities flourish because of these solutions. To put it straight an Entrepreneur is a resourceful problem solver.
People want to buy products that solve problems. So, before starting a company, it is important that you identify the problem your company will solve. In order to make your product sellable, you need to understand the customer’s needs within their context and then create a solution. This will help you build a product people want to buy.
“To be an entrepreneur, be ready to work like crazy, sleepless nights with no end in sight, and most important be passionate about what you are building” – Juan C. Olmedo
2. Become an Absolute Sales Machine
Before your title of CEO or President is emotionally official, we are CSO’s (Chief Sales Officer). It is very easy to file a corporation, setup your business bank account, and draft up your corporate minutes stating you are the CEO/President. None of that matters if you are not on-boarding clients. Even with the title in the books, we are truly Sales Officers, and until you have built a decent book of clients, you will continue to focus on sales.
“Sales is a science we must master in order to earn the title of CEO” – Juan C. Olmedo
Sales Mastery is the key to success when starting a business. As an entrepreneur, it can be difficult to know how to kick-start your startup and ensure that you are reaching new clients. Mastering the art of sales involves taking a focused and systematic approach to selling which allows you to maximize opportunities with potential clients. Utilizing this method will help create more leads, close deals faster, and nurture current relationships. Additionally, having a strong understanding of sales strategies helps improve customer service experience which can lead to higher customer retention rates and word-of-mouth recommendations from existing clients.
Mastering Sales doesn’t mean reading a couple of books about sales mindset hacks. Consider sales training for startups, one-on-one coaching from experts, or online sales training courses. Remember that Sales is a science that requires methods, processes, and systems. Without it, any clients you have you got by luck.
3. Hire, Inspire, and Build Great People
The best way to build something is by inspiring people to see your vision and bring out the best of each person in your team. This is especially true in your early stages of a company. In fact, if you don't have a good team, it's difficult to be successful. I remember when I first started my first business, I hired someone who was not only experienced but had a similar personality and mindset as me. It was this hire that allowed me to learn from him as we worked together over time on our respective ventures. As an entrepreneur, you are often times expected to solve problems on your own without the help of others. To build a million-dollar company, it’s critical that you have a team that can solve problems and pushes you forward on your journey. Hiring the right people for your venture needs will allow you to trust them and work together with them towards success. Another important aspect of hiring for your venture is building a culture around how they work together as well as attracting other people with the same values into your organization. The culture will ensure that people in the organization work smoothly towards achieving their objectives while still maintaining all aspects of their lives outside of work, such as family or friends.
“A great reward to entrepreneurship, is inspiring and building great people by drawing out the best in them” – Juan C. Olmedo
4. Change is permanent
The first step in learning from experts No matter what your experience, you will see a change. Whether it’s a change in a business or personal life, some people don’t like change. They prefer the status quo and want to keep things as they are. This is not necessarily healthy for your mental and physical health. In order to learn from experts, we have to accept that change is permanent. We can still try our best to fight the changes but if we do so, we will only be prolonging the pain of getting used to those changes. If we embrace the change, then it will be easier for us to become better at implementing them in our lives and businesses and decrease stress levels substantially.
As an Entrepreneur we must have a target to aim and shoot at our target. During the journey towards our target, things may happen, the economy might slow down, family matters, or even setbacks with our product development. This requires pivots and adaptation. These changes are good, but our target stays the same.
Change is good in business, it helps you gain new perspectives, you are always learning, and these challenges help you level up. Always look towards others who have been on the road longer than you, see how they pivoted and adapted. If you are able to gain insights from them, learn from their mistakes.
5. Stay flexible and agile
Since starting my first business at 22, I have always been focused on remaining flexible and agile. I think a big part of this is maintaining an open mind to new ideas, opportunities, and people. In any business venture, there are bound to be highs and lows. You should always stay in tune with what’s happening in your industry and take the valuable information from it. For example, when I started my first company as a young adult, most people scoffed that I looked like a teenager and being a teenage entrepreneur would ever lead to success. In hindsight, they were right. However, I made it work because I was willing to adapt and pivot as needed during the course of my venture. By staying flexible and agile, you will have the ability to respond quickly while still moving forward. Another way that you can maintain flexibility is by taking calculated risks where necessary but staying cautious with those risks when it comes to money or time commitments. For example, if you want to grow your business but don’t want to put too much money into it just yet then you might consider investing in advertising instead of spending all of your hard-earned cash upfront on advertising channels that may not pan out for you in the future.
Conclusion
Whether you are looking to start a new business or build on an existing one, I hope you find these tips to be helpful in your journey. A local Small Business Consulting firm Nexera Business Advisors led by Juan C. Olmedo, High-Performance Coach, offers mentoring, coaching, sales mastery training, and overall insight on how you may start, plan, and scale your next venture. Juan C. Olmedo brings 18 years of entrepreneurship experience and has found that sharing knowledge is key to helping move society forward. As a High-Performance Coach his goal is to help build your mindset to meet your Pinnacle Abilities. Currently offers Advisory, Coaching, Sales training through Pinnacle School of Business.
Nexera Business Advisors is a Southern California-based firm and may be found here, 855.707.4505. Juan C. Olmedo may be found at here or at Pinnacle School of Business.
FAQs
What is the systematic approach to learning from experts?
There is no silver bullet for learning from experts. However, there are some principles that can guide you to more effectively learn from experts. The key is to start with a clear process for learning from experts. First of all, find a person who you would like to learn from. Make sure that it is someone that you respect and trust. Get in touch with them and set up a time to learn from them. Find out what they know, what they don’t know, their work process, and the books, articles, or other resources they use. Transform your curiosity into action by reading their books or listening to their podcasts. Connect with them on social media if possible (LinkedIn is ideal). Ask questions and interact with them as much as possible. At the same time, keep notes and capture any insights you get by yourself or from your coworkers or peers. Make this a regular occurrence. Do this once per week for at least 1 year and you will have learned more than you could have imagined about how to build a billion-dollar company from scratch.
How can you apply the systematic approach to learning from experts?
One of the biggest takeaways for me from both my own and other's experiences is that a lack of great mentors and advisors is one of the greatest barriers to success. Learning from the best in the world is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we all have to work extremely hard to ensure we're building up the right relationships with people who are both respected and willing to help. I started by networking with fellow serial entrepreneurs. I created a deep relationship with mentors, advisors and co-founders in new ventures. It's important to have thick skin and learn how to politely turn down invitations for dinner or drinks when you don't want to be bothered. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll end up meeting someone who you feel like you have nothing in common with (and no one wants that!). *Personal experience*
What are some tips for systematically learning from experts?
The best way to learn from experts is to engage with them. Find people you admire and reach out to them for advice, help, and/or guidance. Only after, do you feel comfortable asking for what you need. Be open and willing to learn from everyone. Don’t assume that you are smarter than everyone else in the world. We all start learning the same way! Mentors are incredibly valuable and you should seek them out. Help them grow, help them achieve their dreams, and don’t forget to say thanks in return!
Juan C. Olmedo, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Juan C. Olmedo, is a Latino Tech Entrepreneur, High Performance Coach, & CEO of Nevtis Companies. Entrepreneur-minded since the age of 15, started first official business at 22 years of age and grew it to a $2 Million dollar a year company with 20 employees. Started subsequent business tech business at 25 and sold it just 5 years later. Have since started or invested in 6 other companies ranging from tech, telecom, construction, insurance, and digital marketing with a combined employment of 80 full time staff. Currently CEO at Nevtis Corp, a UCaaS Software provider. Being through virtually every stage of starting, and scaling million dollar companies, Mr. Olmedo uses his acquired knowledge of almost 20 years.
