Careers Advice: Tips from Successful Business Executives

The article is developed in partnership with BetterHelp.

Starting out in a new career is a daunting prospect, and is full of excitement and adventure. Whether you are new to business or you have been working your way up the executive ladder for years, there is plenty to learn from executives who have already managed their own solid level of success. Although many consider business a difficult market to break into, from an ownership or executive side, business follows many of the same lessons offered for all types of work and can be applied to people at all levels in their career. 

Learning from the Best

Learning is not done in a vacuum, and just as learning how to paint, read, write, or dance is a skill that must be cultivated, developing business acumen requires buckling down, investigating, and learning from those who have come before you and experienced the ups and downs of successes and failures. To that end, we have compiled the best advice from successful business executives who have gone before you and experienced their fair share of ups and downs and come out the other side. 

Dave Ramsey: Hone Your Finances

Dave Ramsey is a successful businessman, in numerous arenas. From real estate to his veritable empire of financial teaching tools, seminars, and processes, Dave Ramsey has made quite a name for himself. Unsurprisingly, one of the most substantial contributions he has made to the realm of business is his focus on personal and entrepreneurial finances. Although it can be tempting to jump in, all systems go, when starting out in business, or expanding an existing business, Dave Ramsey’s focus on eliminating debt, building your wealth, and slowly but steadily improving your financial health can help you make sure you have a solid foundation upon which to build your business. It can also help you ensure that when lean times come, you are prepared and relatively safe. 

Steve Jobs: Follow Your Curiosity

While plenty of people have heard someone tell them to pursue their passions, this advice can be trite and vague. A passion for playing video games, for instance, might not lead to a viable entrepreneurial idea. A passion for constructing characters, designing graphics, and developing storylines, however, certainly can. Steve Jobs’ advice to continually follow your curiosity is important, because it demonstrates an important part of maintaining motivation even in the face of difficulty or adversity: drive or desire.

Bill Gates: Create a Community

Bill Gates strongly encourages upcoming entrepreneurs to delegate tasks and learn how to build a community as you build your business. Whether you take on a single partner, or you have an entire team of people working on your business with you, you must be able to learn how to delegate your needs and entrust your long list of tasks to others in your organization. As you build a community, trust is paramount; you must be able to trust your business and yourself with the people working with and for you. Without trust, you will not be able to delegate tasks and successfully manage the scope and scale of your business. 

Jeff Bezos: Take Risks

Jeff Bezos is best known for his time as the CEO of Amazon. As one of the world’s largest companies with a solid hold on e-commerce of countless types, few would consider Amazon a poor business model or an inaccurate reflection of business success. Although the company (and its founder) have come under some fire for their practices, the business as a whole has continued to grow and provide an e-commerce platform for countless companies and businesses of all sizes. When Bezos addresses those interested in business, one of the key points he sticks to is this: avoiding risk is impossible when taking on a new business venture. A business of any kind requires you to take some risk, be it financial risk, personal risk, or even just the risk of losing some stability. Although you should certainly prepare yourself as best as you are able, business as a whole is a risky venture, and will require you to take a leap and risk some amount of loss. The possible rewards are similarly high. 

Success in Business

Success in business does not follow an exact formula. Different niches and needs require different approaches and business models, and different levels of scaling and growth. What does remain consistent across the board, however, is that you cannot go it alone when developing your business, you must have your finances in order, and you must be willing to take risks and follow your passions and curiosity. From carefully vetting your business partners and employees, to making sure your mental health is in order through sites like BetterHelp, to prolonging your business plans until you have a clear view of your finances, by taking advice from business people who have gone before you, you can significantly improve your chances of enjoying a successful and engaging foray into business. 

Feature Photo by AB on Unsplash