You Don’t Have to Be the Next Steve Jobs
We all dream big.
This is the norm nowadays. Everywhere we go, we hear people chatting about the successful entrepreneur that sold his 2 years old company for billions of dollars. Success is being promoted as the ability to create more cash, not more value.
The issue with today's news is that they headline the hottest acquisition deals, the biggest merge between companies. The news doesn’t really care about what value is this company bringing, or does it?
It’s All About $$$
The business culture is driven by cash. The more you make, the more you are going to get on that top-notch entrepreneur's list. One friend wrote a tweet the other day saying that one prestigious company called him asking if he wanted to get his name on the next issue of their top 50 entrepreneurs magazine! not just that, but they offered him a pricing list for each position. Hah?
There are thousands of companies that are value-driven businesses, but they don’t make big profit margins. These companies are the companies that the community talks about, not the news. That is a shame, and the reason is not the news agencies, the blame points at the community, culture, and perspectives.
People need to value what others are doing to make their lives either more enjoyable, easy, convenient, or better. People are getting to value the big companies that are sometimes being sued in higher courts because they breached laws and privacy terms — no need to mentions these companies as they are trendy, and you already have their apps on your phone.
Yes, You don’t have to be the next Steve Jobs.
This is not criticizing the value and revolution that Steve Jobs did, but to tell people that it is fine to build businesses that are not as big as Apple. You can still make money, be successful, and have a private jet. The misperception that everyone is following is that successful companies are the companies that stay for more than a couple of decades. Although that can be true to a certain extent, having a successful business for one month, bringing value to the customers, and making sure that you deliver value with love is better than having a multi-billion dollar company with a bad reputation in the market. Success is not a number; it is a feeling.
Bring Value to Customers
Whenever you are facing the dilemma of deciding what is success in your business. Remember that businesses are meant to bring value to customers. Value means that you are solving a problem for a specific market segment, and you are doing so and getting compensated while your customers are happy with the deal. That is the most important start for any business. You may argue that there are other areas and points to call a business successful in the “Business” terms, rest assured that this article is meant to show young entrepreneurs that being an entrepreneur is not about having a private jet and a billion in the bank, it is, however, being able to come up with new ideas and solve real problems that certain people are facing, then use that concept to get a return while making sure that the return doesn’t compromise the main goal for the business which is bringing value.
“It’s Not What You Sel. It’s What you Stand For.”
— Roy Spence, Jr.
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You can reach me at @alounpro on Twitter.
Have a lovely day!
