What exactly is a serial entrepreneur? According to BusinessDictionary.com, it's an entrepreneur who continuously starts new businesses instead of committing to one role of a company venture. New York Entrepreneur Week April 2010 brought together four unique serial entrepreneurs to discuss the pros and cons of managing their numerous businesses.
Expert panelist included: Jeff Stewart, Founder of Urgent Career & Mimeo, and Member of NY Angels, Jennifer S. Wilkov, Founder of Make It Happen, Ben Kaufman, Founder of Quirky, Natalia Allen, Founder of Design Futurist, World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and moderator Rod Kurtz, Executive Editor at AOL Small Business.
Learning from failures and starting a business can be an all-consuming process. The process of starting your business, should be your business. According to Jeff Stewart, "The decisions you make in your first couple years will effect the structure of your company for years to come."
If you're an entrepreneur, you have to able to fail, pick yourself up, and find useful ways to learn from it by building upon lessons learned. When you have multiple businesses, take your time and attention on compartmentalizing them and watch them grow. Jennifer S. Wilkov, Founder of Make It Happen, suggests assigning days of the week to focus on each business and design your teams to work efficiently. Always remember to focus on quality over quantity.
Ben Kaufman, Founder of Quirky says, "Every decision I make, I base it on the best interest of me, my team, and the people working closest with me." It may help by viewing your business as a personal journey, with you as an entrepreneur taking the leading role.
Serial entrepreneurs need to be effective in the face of adversity by staying calm, listening, and acting on the things you didn't initially know. Having the right people advising you can put you in the right direction. Relying on people that can provide appropriate and efficient guidance as your support system can be a helpful outlet.
If you want to attract authentic relationships, be genuine. It's great to have a diverse range of entrepreneurs in your network. When you're doing something special and interesting you will attract a lot of people, but make sure you're aligning yourself with the right people that will help grow your business.
Jeff Stewart believes that, "Assembling your team is the most important part of assembling your business. You should be constantly looking to hire exceptional people that will contribute to expand your business." Know your team inside out and spend your time and attention wisely.
- Katie Evans
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