The Smart Way To Start Your Own Business: Do You Take the Lead or Follow

The last couple weeks has been proper rape for the Nineteen84 team; I applaud them on being able to handle two big events in Gouna all the while juggling their on going accounts.

While running around like chickens with our heads cut off, i got to thinking what makes leaders and followers stand apart from one another. Is it the simple fact that leaders know what they want and go after it? Or that they never give up and do not take no for an answer? It surely can’t be that simple, so i got to researching and stumbled upon an article by “TheEliteDaily.com” i wanted to share with you, that includes my own interpretation on the matter.

Here are 10 things Alphas do separate themselves from the pack:

• They are open to advice but not influenced by it:

Advice never is a negative thing, people share their past experiences with you hoping to better help you in your growing process. If i listened to my mother initially and her advice, i would still be a corporate slave, wasting my effort and hours on people who were benefiting from the grunt of my work, all the while climbing the never ending corporate ladder.

Thankfully for me i didn’t listen, went on to start my own agency, which is competing with the big boys now, and actually have gotten the seal of approval from my mother that she is proud. Let me tell you in my mom’s world that’s big; having graduated with a 3.9 GPA from both school and college, i wasn’t even then capable of meeting her expectations!

• They know their strengths and put themselves in a position to excel:

Leaders focus on their strengths, always putting themselves in situations where they can excel, rather than dwell on their weaknesses. Play in the playground you create for yourself, do what you know you can succeed in, taking on challenges is one thing, taking on things that are impossible for yourself ends up setting you up for failure and shooting yourself in the foot.

• They know how to exploit a situation when it’s presented to them:

Inaction is the greatest cause of failure. Opportunities will always arise — whether or not you have the gumption to cash in on them is another question entirely. There is nothing worse than a great opportunity missed.

Call us opportunists or not, knowing what to chase and how to land it is one of the main keys to being a leader.

• They don’t give up:

Giving up is for losers, really it is! The thing is leaders fail as well, but what puts them apart from the rest is the get right back up, alter their method and do it all over again.

Take it from me, if i gave up every time something didn’t go my way, or some low life scammed me, i would be sitting at home living off my parents (doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea if you ask me 😉

• Take calculated risks, it’s crucial:

It is one thing to take unnecessary risks and it is another to take necessary ones. Risks are a part of success; without them there is no chance of turning a profit. Leaders have learned which circumstances they can take a risk and when they are better off not acting upon the opportunity and waiting for the next chance.

Ask yourself this, can you afford the risk? Simply because sometimes you cannot.

• They have the ability to make their presence felt wherever they are:

They walk into a room they command attention, people know their names. They are the leaders or what others may call them the “movers & the shakers”

They have a certain aura around them, which is crucial as they are careful not to offend people. They do not want to seem like they are better than anyone, but they know their personality will dominate those surrounding them.

• Work trumps all, put your vices aside:

Everyone has vices, be it the drug habit you just can’t kick, the alcoholism you refuse to admit to, or the shmoozing of men & women (whatever may be your preference) that keeps you from concentrating on your main goal. The difference though between the leaders and the followers is that, although the leader may have the same vices, they know how to control them.

Self control is key, the alphas, work now, play later!

• Curbing one’s emotions is key:

Emotions, point blank cloud one’s decision making, business needs to be conducted rationally. If every time i wanted to cry or yell and throw a fit and i did; most likely my clients and employees would not and will not have taken me seriously.

In matters of the heart, emotions are great, in matters of business it purely comes down to two things “ethics & profit”

• Don’t quit, or someone might just upstage you:

If your not ready to hand over the baton, then never let your hustle die. As a leader, your always a target for everyone who wants to take your seat. Human nature dictates that most of the time people will want to see you fall and crumble.

Do not get caught letting that ball drop, constantly strive to be at the top and make that your goal, and you’ll find your productivity will make you shine.

• Be a leader not a boss:

I’ve spoken about this before, and i reiterate “A leader is not afraid to surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are. They do not feel threatened as they know that they must surround themselves with great people if they want to do great things.”