What lies behind the success of great companies?
To much surprise, it’s not a brilliant, fool-proof business plan nor a perfect management system—in fact, it starts at the heart of the founder itself.
The values you establish in your company from the start have a significant impact on the viability of your company in the long run.
Entrepreneurs that find themselves bootstrapped to one way of thinking and one way of doing things are bound to be less successful than those that remain endlessly curious about how to improve things.
When we’re curious and passionate about an issue, the more tenacious we are in finding solutions. This is what a powerful business is all about.
Here is how you can use your passion and curiosity to innovate and continuously provide value to the marketplace.
Take the Time to Discover What Makes You Tick
We’re given very limited choices from a very young age to choose what we want to do for the rest of our lives. Often, people invest heavily into paths, only to find out later it’s not what they’re truly passionate about.
The concept of gap years addresses this, but not everyone has the means to take an entire year off to go backpacking through the Himalayans.
You can invest some time into discovering what you’re good at, what types of changes you want to see in the environment around you, and within yourself. Use self-improvement as your biggest asset and tool.
For Taylor Ping, the CEO of Hierarchy Media, a public relations and branding agency, her venture came by accident. She was taking classes at a local college when she started dipping her toes in brand crafting and representation for various high-profile clients. Soon, her portfolio of work demonstrated to her what she was talented at, and what she truly loved.
Don’t Start a Business for the Money— Create one from What You’re Passionate About
Many like Taylor, start these ‘accidental’ businesses from side hobbies or hustles they pursue outside of their regular school or work. The mastery of the niche comes with passion and eagerness to make the offer better.
When you lock yourself into a business plan solely based on financial prospects, you will find it much harder to grasp onto it when things don’t always go as planned. In business, things often never go as planned. But if you truly love doing something, every challenge becomes exciting and fuels your inner curiosity to improve it.
“So many people get deterred when they make mistakes or don’t exactly get the results they want. That’s why it’s helpful to be aligned with your passion,” states Taylor.
Fight Complacency with Staying Curious
Never think of yourself as a master of anything, because when you do, that’s actually when you fall behind.
The road to building a business is never met without hardship, knowing what fuels you will keep you afloat and pushing through to get to the next level.
Always search for ways to improve your offer. Find out what your customers love about your service, and what can be iterated upon.
On the longevity of success, Taylor says “the reason why successful people stay wealthy is because they don’t get stagnant. They keep learning, growing and creating because they still have an even further level or milestone to hit”.
When you remain curious and determined, you never know what next big industry you will “stumble across”, Taylor affirms. Her inquentable curiosity has led her to pursue different skill sets and adopt different ventures. Taylor is currently launching for celebrity podcast, named Dragun’s Den, in which she aims to mentor people around the globe how to achieve success in business and life.
Conclusion
The key to success may be to actually do what aligns with your passions. Let everything you do be an extension of your heart. And train yourself mentally to follow through on the goals you set out to do. View every mistake as an opportunity to learn and grow, by adopting this mindset, you will become resistant to the obstacles that are presented in your path. No matter what level of success you think you’ve achieved, always preserving a student mindset will elevate your skills and services to another echelon.
