Across all the BNI chapters in New Zealand we have an extraordinary group of talented businesspeople with expertise from a huge range of industries to draw upon.
We are all constantly developing as businesspeople by attending industry events or just learning on the job. We also focus on becoming better businesspeople and growing our businesses – this is one of the reasons we are BNI members.
It is always interesting when BNI members can share some of the lessons they have learnt from their experiences in business. Perhaps you have attended a conference or industry event where you have picked up tips that you feel will help other members in terms of doing business better.
An example of this is Anil Nathoo from BNI Synergy whose colleague Shaan Joshi recently attended an event on entrepreneurship. Anil delivered an excellent presentation to his weekly meeting based on the learnings Shaan took away from this event. Here are five of the key lessons on becoming a better entrepreneur that have enormous value for all of us at BNI:
Anil Nathoo from BNI Synergy
- Have a 5 – 10 second ‘commercial’ on yourself. When you meet someone new be able to interestingly articulate what you do (workwise) in 5 – 10 seconds to wow them and get them interested in you. Most of us can do this in 60 seconds (we do it every week), how about cutting that down to 10 seconds? It’s so important these days to be able to quickly and succinctly describe what you and your business is all about.
- Be part of a community. Get involved in local community groups not for business purposes but for the purpose of giving back. When you join BNI we really grab the concept of Givers Gain. Fundraising and philanthropy is a key part of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
- Constantly educate your market. Explain why your business is great, why you are valuable and why people need and should use you. Constantly re-iterate how you add value to your consumer.
- Build systems as we go in order to handle complexity and growth. This means when we have a day off, operations can still continue without us. If you need help to do this, look within your own chapter for businesspeople who have already grown their businesses to a point where they can handle change.
- Testimonials are powerful, they create trust. Get customers that love you to talk about you.
Networking is all about trust. The way to get the word out about your business is by having happy customers that can share stories about your operation. Make sure that you celebrate and communicate your achievements.
Entrepreneurship should be your life’s work. That means it becomes a statement of what you do. Take some time to review these five learning lessons and see if you can improve your entrepreneurial skills. Are you using BNI to become a better entrepreneur?
