Last week I had the pleasure of participating as a panel member (social media entrepreneurs) in Pathways to Entrepreneurial Success 4. While the event was obviously focused on entrepreneurship, the tips and information shared that day apply to all professionals regardless of their entrepreneurial interests and employment status.
Here are a few of the tips discussed at the event:
- In order to be successful, you must have a passion for what you do. A casual interest and a decent effort simply aren’t enough. You must be passionate and fully invested to succeed.
- Surround yourself with a strong network built on quality. I’ve written about my belief that quality trumps quantity in multiple posts.
- Recognize your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of your competition. You must work equally hard on maintaining your strengths as you do trying to improve your weaknesses.
- Everyone is a salesperson, whether you’re selling a widget or selling a service. If you don’t have the confidence to sell yourself, you’ll never convince the customer to buy from you (or hire you).
- You don’t have to offer a niche product or service to be successful. It’s okay that you have direct competition. Just make sure you work harder than your competition at satisfying the customer.
- The path may not always be clearly marked. You have to visualize what success looks like for you.
What other “pathways” have you found that lead to success?
Arthur Catalanello Consulting 
Thank you Arthur, excellent summary piece.
As expected, I believe that it is possible to see the “path” before everyone else sees it. Everything hasn’t been invented yet, every service hasn’t been requested yet, every worthwhile pursuit hasn’t been exhausted yet. You’re right about passion. Add to that the persistence to be true to that passion when everyone else thinks you’ve gone mad and quit the human race. Remember, humans are not fully evolved despite the inclination to think so!
Hi Joe – thank you for commenting on the post. Great point about individual perspectives and seeing opportunities before others might. Great to see you at the Pathways event!
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