6 Tips on Being a Successful Entrepreneur
According to John Mullins, successful entrepreneurs
do not follow the traditional business practices taught
in corporate strategy or business schools.
Instead, they rely on a set of “counter-conventional”
mindsets—attitudes and mental inclinations that predispose
how they respond to opportunities and roadblocks.
Here are the six rule-breaking mindsets that successful entrepreneurs use to build massive businesses.
1. “Yes We Can”
Traditional business strategy dictates that a company should
“stick to its knitting”—focus strictly on its core competencies
and say no to anything outside of that scope.
Entrepreneurs completely ignore this rule.
Mullins shares the story of Arnold Korea,
an event management provider in Brazil.
When a customer asked if he could build a satellite uplink
network across 260 stores for training purposes, Korea said,
“Yes, we can,” despite knowing nothing about satellite technology.
He figured it out, delivered, and eventually reinvented
his business four fundamentally different times by simply
saying yes to customer requests outside his initial expertise.
2. Problem-First, Not Product-First Logic
Big companies obsess over the product.
They constantly release “new and improved” versions of the exact
same item, like changing the color of the speckles in detergent
or releasing five different variations of a soda.
True entrepreneurs do not focus on products;
they focus on problems.
Jonathan Thorne invented a silver-nickel alloy surgical forceps
specifically to solve the problem of human tissue sticking
to the tool during surgery.
When plastic surgeons were not buying it fast enough,
he pivoted to neurosurgeons—who had an even higher-stakes
problem regarding tissue sticking during brain surgery.
He built a massive business because he focused on solving
the problem, not just pushing a product.
3. Think Narrow, Not Broad
Corporate wisdom says you need to target a massive,
broad market to “move the needle” and justify an investment.
Entrepreneurs, however, succeed by thinking extremely narrowly.
When Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman founded Nike,
they did not make shoes for everyone;
they made shoes specifically for elite distance runners.
They addressed the unique problems distance runners faced
(like running on uneven country paths rather than smooth tracks).
By dominating that incredibly narrow, specific niche first,
they gained the momentum needed to expand into
tennis, basketball, and eventually the global athletic market.
4. Ask for the Cash and “Ride the Float”
Instead of heavily relying on venture capital, stock buybacks,
or massive initial investments, successful entrepreneurs
find ways to get their customers to fund their growth.
When Elon Musk joined Tesla,
the company needed money to build its first sports car.
Instead of just seeking traditional funding,
they pitched the concept to 100 wealthy environmentalists
and asked them to pay $100,000 upfront.
This put $10 million in the bank
before Tesla had even built a single car.
They repeated this exact strategy with the Model 3,
collecting $1,000 deposits from half a million people,
securing half a billion dollars in cash to build
out their factories and engineering.
5. Beg, Borrow, But Don’t Steal
Traditional finance teaches you to calculate how much capital
you need to buy assets
and then measure the Return on Investment (ROI).
Entrepreneurs avoid buying assets altogether
if they can borrow them instead.
When Tristram and Rebecca Mayhew wanted
to start a treetop adventure business in the UK (Go Ape),
they didn’t buy forests or land.
Instead, they partnered with the UK Forestry Commission,
which already owned the trees and wanted to increase visitor traffic.
They borrowed the trees, the land, and the parking lots.
All they had to do was install their equipment,
drastically reducing their upfront capital requirements.
6. Don’t Ask for Permission
In large corporations, any new,
innovative idea must pass through endless layers of lawyers
and regulators to ensure it is completely risk-free.
It is incredibly difficult to get a “yes,” but very easy to get a “no.”
Entrepreneurs operate with the mindset that if regulations
are ambiguous or outdated,
they just get on with it rather than asking for permission.
When Uber was founded, asking San Francisco regulators
for permission to start a taxi company without any taxis
would have resulted in an immediate “no.”
Instead, they simply launched.
While Mullins notes he does not condone unethical behavior,
the principle holds:
when building something entirely new,
asking for permission from old establishments
is a guaranteed roadblock.
