common But Powerful Lessons From 3 Successful Irish Entrepreneurs15

Kapil KhannaManaging director

All-Ireland Business foundation

During our last TRIBE breakfast gathering on Feb 5th at Virgin Media Business HQ’s, I had the pleasure to interview three of our All-Star entrepreneurs (all three are SELF-MADE multi-million euro business owners).

I’d like to sincerely thank you for sharing your decades of wisdom and your challenges so openly with other TRIBE companies - Andrew Mackin of Mackin, Donnacha Neary of Sonica and Hilarie Geary of Executive Connections.

Over 80 TRIBE companies participated. We all learnt some priceless lessons, things to avoid and made good connections.

...but something got me thinking afterwards. I learnt that while everyone else is focused on the latest hack or shortcuts, the foundations of success are the same.

Success for these entrepreneurs come down to the same principles that applied 100 years ago (and will still be applicable in the next 100).

Here’re my personal top 15 lessons from the panel that you can apply to your business right away.

To your success!

“SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES”

The first step here is self-awareness.

If you REALLY want to scale (without putting in (12-hour days of hustle) you need to remove yourself as much as possible from day-to-day operations.

Somebody eventually needs to replace you.

You AreYour Biggest

Bottleneck

Lesson #1

The hustle and grind will not work eventually. To scale your business effectively –YOU NEED SYSTEMS (at every function in your business) plus you need somebody to run the show. Or else, you will resist growth. Because the more your business grows, means you have to work even harder and longer.

QUESTIONS: 1. What systems can you create to ensure all tasks can thrive without you? 2. What systems can you implement into your business that allow you to step away from “DOING” the work so you can LEAD and focus on growing?

What Got You Here Won't Get YouThere

Lesson #2

Stop paying attention to things that are not going to change your life, your

habits or make you a better entrepreneur. Unsubscribe, switch off

your social media notifications, set a boundary for email check time –

so that you can HYPER-FOCUS.

Turn OffThe Noise

Lesson #3

Stop Doing€12/Hour Jobs

Do you realise just how many tasks you do each day that YOU SHOULD NOT be doing!

What’s your hourly €€ value?

Just do the math - divide your annual income (or what would you like to achieve) by 2000 available hours in a year. ex. 100,000/2000= €50 per hour

Lesson #4

Focus on doing things that will move the needle in your business. Aim to delegate/outsource the low payoff activities

Just Because You're The Best At It

Doesn't Mean You Should Do It

It is impossible to work “on your business” while you’re

caught working “in” it as a

GLORIFIED EMPLOYEE!

Question: What % of your daily tasks are “IN” the

business? What % of your tasks are working “ON”

growing the business?

Lesson #5

Number 1 Key ForCreating A Business

That RunsWithout You

Is Your PEOPLE

Your job as a business owner is tobuild a world-class team who can

do the work for you andreplace you.

Lesson #6

If You Aren’tAhead With Hiring,You Are Behind

It takes time to find the right person.

Every month plan ahead what key people your business will need in the next 3/6/9 months. The more resource planning you can do proactively - it will save you from PANIC HIRING.

Lesson #7

What’s Your End Goal And WHY?

What kind of business do you want to

create and why?

Do you want to be a solopreneur with a

lifestyle? Or do you want to grow your

company to become a market leader?

There’s no right or wrong choice here. Map

out what you really want to create in your

business and use it as your GUIDE in your

decision making.

Stop being so self-judgmental.

Lesson #8

Hold Yourself Accountable

As an entrepreneur, who holds you accountable?

Who’s making sure that you’re doing your OWN PART well and on time?

Just think about how you can create better accountability system for yourself - it could be check-in with a colleague or a peer.

Lesson #9

Think Next Level

No matter what level you’re at, you need to ALWAYS think next

level.

The next level in your business?Surround yourself with people at

the next levelUpskill yourself to the next level.

Remember - if you don’t, nobody else in your business will!

Lesson #10

Watch Out For MAGPIE SYNDROME

We are ideas people after all. There will always be shiny things. Next big hype.

Be HYPER-FOCUS and stop being distracted by the next shiny thing like Magpie’s.

Keep a watch out for real opportunities — and be ruthless in saying ‘no’ to shiny objects.

Lesson #11

Stress-TestYour Business

You can’t control the next economic recession or any unexpected global event (like coronavirus) – but

you can be prepared.

That’s why it’s important to run through variousscenarios in your business. Look at things like;

What happens if your key supplier goes out of business?

What if key people in your business unable to work? How would you handle a sharp decline in sales?

Can you diversify your services to existing client or a new market?

Lesson #12

KeepChallenging Yourself

No entrepreneur starts a business knowing everything

about their customer, product, or market. You’ll learn

and push yourself along the way.

Lesson #13

Always RaisingStandards

Expect more. Add more value. That

feeling of ‘it’s not there yet’ is very

helpful to raise the bar for everyone in

your business.

Lesson #14

Dress For TheRole You Want,

Not The Role You Have

Same can be said for your vision and outlook you have for your business. PROJECT FOR SUCCESS. You need to stop thinking like a small business.

You may be small at the moment, but if you apply the strategy and processes of big business, you’ll

set a solid foundation for your growth.

Lesson #15

OUR PROGRAMS

The All-Ireland Business Foundation is a national body which accredits very best Irish businesses as Business All-Stars (www.businessallstars.ie)

The Foundation also oversees the All-Ireland Business Summit, while promoting peer dialogue amongst our TRIBE companies on an ongoing basis.