You Must Not Stay In The Same Business: How Successful Entrepreneurs Know When To Move On
How can you become better when you don’t see opportunities standing in front you? As an entrepreneur, all you do is make yourself better and improve your skills and be ready for opportunities. The thing is that successful entrepreneurs know when to move on and sometimes, they are forced to move on.
The difference between the former and the later is that while the former could be a voluntary decision to leave one industry or one company for another, the latter involves a decision made out of situations beyond their control.
I will give an instance. For lovers of the series “EMPIRE”, you will realize that at a point, Lucious Lyon lost the business (EMPIRE) he started from the scratch. Remember, it became a publicly traded company and lost all their shares. The company was his life and his legacy as many stars were born there.
Related: Six strategies that drive successful entrepreneurship in Nigeria
Here is the interesting thing, he never thought he would one day lose that company but he did. But he didn’t stay fighting to pick up the scraps, he did one better. He moved on.
Lucious and Cookie Lyon started a management company that is already growing. You see, this may be a movie but it is the reality of many entrepreneurs. They moved on.
I’m already hearing that the founders of Instagram are already bored and seeking new challenges. In fact, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are already moving on to a new innovation. That is exactly the spirit. They were not forced out like Cookie and Lucious but they knew when to move on.
Actually, some people never really get around the moving on the thing and they stay with their company till death. That is noble by the way. But some people can live and be content with just one company. They just want to keep expressing and reinventing themselves.
Here, we are going to share some tips on how successful entrepreneurs know when to move on. You won’t be disappointed because it is quite fascinating.
Tips On How Successful Entrepreneurs Know When To Move On
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You need to be prepared always
If you have ever played chess, you will understand that you are thinking about multiple outcomes all at once. That is what entrepreneurs do. You need to consider so many options at the same time so as to be able to make the right choice.
How do you achieve this? That is how successful entrepreneurs know when to move on. They are well attuned with researches and they follow the current trends. Their industry is at their fingertips because they know very well everything or most things at least, in the industry.
To avoid unnecessary scandals, they know when to lose their bishops to capture a queen and they know when to be on the offensive and on the defensive. Things are so easy now as you can always make Google your best friend.
Assuming you want to sell off, it is best you understand when to sell, how to sell, who to sell to and how to get the full value for your company and then, you can move on. They are always prepared. Just think like Kasparov, the great chess player.
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While focusing on the opportunity, never take your eyes off the opposition
According to Maleeka, “Opposition is not always a negative when it comes to business. When you observe competitors in your industry, you may be able to pinpoint where you rise to the occasion and outperform them. On the other hand, you may discover where you fall short. Your capacity to see areas of improvement in your own operation, based on the shortcomings of others, is critical to your growth and sustainability.”
Without competition, it may be difficult for entrepreneurs to get innovative and inventive. It is a driving force for so many. If there are no competitions, you might not see where to improve and what to improve. It helps you understand what the market wants and then you begin to see opportunities.
For entrepreneurs, there is no routine plan and there is no such thing as playing it safe. You must be willing to get to new grounds and do things nobody is willing to do. For successful entrepreneurs to know when to move on will require their total commitment to what they are doing and juxtaposing it with what they should be doing.
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Have a plan B and review it at intervals
You see, when playing chess, you have to constantly review what you intended to do based on what your opponent plays. Your success is not wholly determined by what you do; the actions of others and how you react also play a crucial role.
When you make a plan for moving on or even for improving your business, you will find out that time could alter events planned for and if you don’t review the plan, you will definitely make series of mistakes.
Successful entrepreneurs know when to move on because constantly review their plan B. for instance, the co-founders of Instagram did not just wake up and leave the company. They must have plotted their exit strategy which they must have kept updated while working with Instagram. You have got to do the same.
Conclusion
Success could be deceptive and failure overrated. The most important thing is perception. If you can perceive the business for what it is, then you won’t have any issues leaving because you have got your exit strategy covered. Successful entrepreneurs know when to move on because they have got their exit strategy covered.
