Hold them accountable until they get the job done aka demand the best from your employees.
One mistake that employers make in both small and large businesses is taking over for employees who do not complete a task. It is not uncommon for entrepreneurs to step in and re-do work their employees do or to take over projects from employees. This is a bad habit that must be stopped. When employees are hired to do a job, they must be held accountable and expected to do the jobs they are hired to do. That expectation must be made clear to employees when they are hired and during the course of employment. Lesson recap – train your employees to be accountable and to meet your expectations.
Yes we can aka if you can imagine it, you can do it.
Jesse Jackson once said, “if my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.” Entrepreneurs must find a way to embrace and live that idea. If you are an entrepreneur, do not sell yourself short. Do not ever think you cannot achieve the dreams you have for your business. Get up each morning with confidence and a positive attitude. Always remember that your attitude determines your altitude so develop an attitude for success and then work to get it. Lesson recap – believe that you can succeed and then work towards that success.
They value traits like honesty and hard work aka make smart hiring decisions.
Employees are a crucial and important part of a business. It is important to take time to properly interview potential employees, check references and have a clear idea of what type of employees you need to hire. When interviewing employees, talk with them to see if they will be honest, trustworthy and will be positive forces in your business. Lesson recap – make sure you hire honest and trustworthy employees that will be an asset to your company.
We don’t fear the future, we shape it, we embrace it.
It is hard to be an entrepreneur. It is scary to step up to the plate and open the door of a business. But, if you want to be an entrepreneur, you must learn not to fear the future for your business. Instead you must accept the fact that it is your duty and responsibility to shape your future and to embrace potential opportunities. There are many scary things in life. When you are an entrepreneur, it is scary to think about meeting payroll each week. The thought of honoring obligations to suppliers and meeting customer needs is frightening. In order to be successful, an entrepreneur must learn to embrace fear and push past it in order to succeed. Lesson recap – don’t let fear paralyze you, embrace it and use it to push you to succeed in business.
Summon what is best in us aka look for the good around you.
As an entrepreneur, it is important for you to find ways to seek out the best in yourself and your employees. Do not settle for the mediocre. Do not live with low expectations of those around you. Instead, find a way to reach down to find the best in those with whom you come in contact. Lesson recap – don’t relax with the mediocre, look for ways to get the best from yourself and your employees.
The audacity of hope aka be bold and dream.
Becoming an entrepreneur means many things. One of the things it means is that you are a dreamer, and if you are going to dream, don’t dream small, have the courage to be audacious and dream big. No matter what size your business is, if you want it to be bigger, more influential, and serve more customers, dream it and expect the dream to happen. It is easy to dream a small dream. If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, dream a big dream and live even bigger! Lesson recap – don’t settle and make do, instead dream a big dream full of hope and possibility for your business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soz2u6lv4jw
Check out President Obama’s speech for yourself to determine if there are any other lessons for entrepreneurs there. If there are, share them with me in the comments below so we can talk about them.
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Very thoughtful & well done post. I agree we are fortunate to live in a country where we can build our own business. As of 2012, there are almost 10 million women owned businesses generating over $16 trillion in revenue. Majority of African American businesses are owned by women, representing greater than 1.5 million businesses in the US. There are 1.48 million Hispanic women owned businesses and over 700,000 Asian American women owned businesses. Very creative to tie in President Obama’s speech to entrepreneurship. It is like you said the audacity to hope that leads us to create businesses and not spend our entire working life building someone else’s dreams.
Another thoughtful, well-done post!
I cried and cried at his speech. So many lessons to learn from it! What a wonderful speech!
This speech left me feeling so motivated. I will try to apply some of these lessons to my business.
This was such a wonderful speech. So many lessons can be learned from it.
I love this line: ‘Your word is your bond, so keep your promises.” Great lessons to learn!
These are all excellent “lessons” everyone should follow.
It was a really motivating speech! How cool that you could get so many great business tips from it. Thanks for sharing.
What great lessons to be had. Being positive and believing in yourself is a great motivator. I believe if I set my mind to it I can accomplish it.
So many people complain but never do anything about the situation. Become a part of the solution.
The thing we have to remember is that everything we need is inside us. You know, whether you agree with his politics or you don’t, that man can talk!
I think my very favorite line is the first. So many people want to complain about this or that, but they don’t do anything to help make the situation better. Complaining doesn’t help anyone in the least!
I love how motivating speeches can be. It is amazing how many will not do anything about their situation in life or politics.
There’s a lot within us if we harness it and use it. Those lines are super motivating!