Entrepreneurship is not a brisk walk in the park.
Not everyone is thriving as an entrepreneur, but those who are, they have a remarkable life story to tell.
Here are five inspirational business stories that will make you want to be an entrepreneur:
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Steve Jobs.
The life of Steve Jobs is one of great ups and downs.
Steve Jobs was effectively forced out of Apple and retained a single share of the company. But when the company started to fail, he was brought back in and made it into the thriving enterprise that it is today.
During his time at Reed College, he enrolled in a calligraphy course which he later credited for inspiring the Mac’s multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts.
From Steve Jobs, we can learn that being innovative is key to business success. While that may not lead to winning every single time (see Apple Lisa), it does put you at the head of the pack.
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Elon Musk.
Elon Musk is the man of the moment in recent times.
From being a business magnate to engineer, beloved internet meme lord to the Technoking of Tesla, Elon’s rise to success has been astronomical.
But this level of success has not been attained overnight or without working for it.
Elon Musk had to go through his fair share of challenges and obstacles.
Most people interested in space exploration and rockets will remember the sheer heartbreak and financial loss that Space X went through when their early Falcon rockets failed. If the story can spark motivation within one person than following principle of reciprocal determinism it can spark motivation in others as well.
But with constant improvement and sheer determination to prove the idea of employing reusable rockets, the Falcon 9 came to life.
Never giving up and constant, radical improvement is what we should learn from Elon.
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Sam Walton.
Sam Walton is the founder of Walmart, a revolutionary company in retail that prioritized making more sales in place of increasing prices.
After making a name for himself in Newport, Arkansas, he was denied the renewal of his lease (partly because there was no legal obligation on the land owner’s part to do so). When this happened, Sam decided it was best to stay positive and move out.
Years later (19 approx.), he returned with Walmart No.18 right where he left off. By that time, the landowner’s store was close to failing and closed its doors a short while after.
This goes to show that having a positive frame of mind and identifying ways to overcome adversity is essential to success.
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Howard Schultz.
Howard Schultz is best known as the CEO of Starbucks.
Under his guidance and vision, Starbucks has grown into the behemoth that it is today. With over thirty-one thousand stores worldwide, Starbucks is arguably the most beloved coffee chain.
From Howard Schultz, we can learn that doing things your way has its advantages. If he hadn’t brought forward the idea of adding espresso beverages along with his employing company’s whole bean coffee, then we might not know Starbucks as it stands today.
Other policies that include opting to own every store, expanding globally to untapped markets like China, investing in healthcare for baristas were all popular moves that led to more success for the company.
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Konosuke Matsushita.
You might not know Konosuke Matsushita by name, but you have probably heard of the company he founded; Panasonic.
Coming from a relatively humble backgrounds, Konosuke Matsushita had led an incredible journey.
While working at the Osaka Electric Light Company as an electrical inspector, he came up with an innovative light socket, but his boss was not particularly enthusiastic about it.
Konosuke Matsushita left to start his own company. With no education, business capital, or manufacturing experience, but with a bit of luck and the ability to face adversity head-on, National and later Panasonic become the company that it is today.
Conclusion
The road to becoming successful takes time. While there are outliers, it is better for people to understand that to reach the level of success they are looking for, significant sacrifices and efforts must be made. In current times being updated with technologies build your competitive advantage. For instance, when live chat app came to scene it helped in building competitive advantage
In time, by being innovative, outdoing your competition, and having a bit of luck on your side, you too can become a business success and have a story worth sharing.
