If you’re considering taking a leap from your 9-5 to pursue an entrepreneurial journey, or have already taken the decision, Jess Mouneimne’s offering, will help you navigate the first 1000 days of business and beyond.
Entrepreneurs often say that the first three years of business are the hardest, and this was the case for Jess, who is the founder and owner of Jam Media. Here, we highlight insights from her book to set you up for success on your journey to being boss.
Surviving as an entrepreneur
Be prepared for late nights, bad days, time away from the family as well as emotional set-backs. Jess lists the qualities of an entrepreneur as resilience, agility, patience, trust, patience, trust and drive. She shares that when she launched Jam Media, she was overly ambitious, and had a plan to double her turnover in one year. To do this, she had to hire highly talented individuals who would be based at the office to service clients while she focused on getting new business. “All my hires in 2015 lasted on average, three months, on average, three months and I went through six employees during that year, spent over R80 000 on salaries and more than 60 hours of training to end up with the same staff make-up I had at the start of the year.” She notes that she made the mistake of chasing premature growth. She cautions that by focusing on the end goal, most entrepreneurs skip the crucial steps needed to reach sustainable growth.
Personal branding
The concept of branding has evolved over the years, with individuals positioning themselves as brands. Jess notes that a personal brand is defined as the way you appear to the world. The keywords people use to describe you come to shape your personal brand. Her advice is therefore to consider building a polished and favourable brand. “Once people know who you are and begin to identify you with a specific area of understanding expertise, you’ll be well on your way to becoming the go-to person in your own niche or industry.” Investing in your personal brand means paying attention to your image as the two need to complement each other. The image you portray determines how your brand is perceived and received. “It’s important that whatever you do, you look the part.” This includes your website, place of business, car, as well as yourself.
Selling yourself and your ideas
Being intentional about how you present yourself is important and this includes the clothes you wear as well as your body language. “We all know about the 30 seconds that we have to make a good impression, this is a very real thing with some experts claiming that it can take as little as 10 seconds to make a positive or negative first impression!” Jess further notes that 70% of those 30 seconds are measured in non-verbal communication. With regard to body language, consider these questions; “are you slumpy? Do you struggle to make eye contact with people? What are the strange non-verbal habits you might have that can be distracting or off- putting? Being aware of how the world sees you, allows you to make the necessary changes and adjustments. When you trust your abilities, you make it easier for others to trust you.
Building social capital
Networking is an effective way of building social capital as it allows you to market yourself, your business and develop professional relationships. Jess affirms that it is currency, and relationships that you establish through this channel can last a lifetime and pay off in multiple ways. Social media also provides great networking opportunities, so make use of platform like Facebook where you can join groups of like-minded people, following people you’d like to forge relationships with on Twitter, as well as LinkedIn. “The other thing to keep in mind is that your credentials count for at least 95% of your attractiveness to other potential business partners.”
Building your dream team
This is also referred to as internal networking, which simply means, building relationships within the company. Jess advises that having the right team in place allows you to maximise your efficiency and productivity. If you don’t have the right team in place, the opposite is true, “you will probably spend most of your day micromanaging, or setting up monitoring and productivity systems or ensuring there is enough coffee and toilet paper for everyone.
How to work ON your business and not IN it
Leverage is what allows you to actively run your business without you actively being involved in day-to-day operations. “It’s about having technology, systems and teams in place so that your business doesn’t need you in daily operations for it to be successful. It’s the notion of making money while you sleep.” Jess recommends working on your business, instead of in it as this allows you to assess, evaluate and identify new improvements, possibilities and ideas. “It’s the difference between your business providing you with just a job or the success you truly want.” Jess notes that leverage takes time/and or money to create, so be mindful of this.
The book Being Boss: How to avoid the knock out and survive your 1000 days in business and beyond is available on loot.co.za, R218
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