Jack Ma started out as a school teacher – having a very humble start. He didn’t know anything about building a website or starting a business until a few years after he was 30. Now, 55 years old, he’s the richest man in China, with a net worth of over $43.9 billion (February 2020) USD.
He founded Alibaba in 1999, having a world record of the highest amount ever gotten in an Initial Public Offering, a whopping $25 Billion USD.
I guess by now, you already realize that Jack Ma knows something that you definitely should know to start, run and grow a successful business; and I will be showing you 6 great lessons you need to be guided by when running your business.
1. Learn from other people’s mistakes
“Learn from the mistakes of other people. No matter how smart you are, you will encounter these mistakes. You learn from the mistakes, not because you will be able to avoid them; but so that when these mistakes come, you know how to deal with it.”
That’s why you need to read more. That’s why you have to develop the habit of listening to other people’s stories more. When you do that, you learn pitfalls to avoid, problems and possible solutions, and you expose your mind specifically because of other people’s way of thinking.
2. Always think Innovation
We live in a world where people are averse to change and improvements on the “status quo”. Everyone wants to play it safe, and keep the way of doing things because change is kind of “too much work”. But Jack Ma has a different approach to this. If you don’t have a better, cheaper, faster way of doing something, do not start a business.
So, when next you are thinking about your business or developing your business, always think out better ways to run your business, or serve your customers. Not because you will necessarily find the “best” way, but because by thinking, you open your mind to a world of great possibilities.
3. Know what you are doing
Don’t act with blind faith. Don’t take steps thinking it’s all going to fall in place in the future when you haven’t at least put considerable time and effort into knowing the impact of your every move in the long term. Of course, you cannot predict future events, but to an extent, you can control whatever you do now. Have mentors to guide you, have great support groups, and have an amazing network that will constantly refine your experience and force you to sharpen your skills.
4. Get used to rejection
Jack Ma has had his fair share of failures. He once applied for a job at KFC with 23 other applicants; all the other 23 of them got accepted, and he was the only one that didn’t make it. He also applied ten times at Harvard and got turned down.
However, here’s what Jack Ma has to say about rejection. “As an entrepreneur, one of the qualities I have is that when I’m rejected by people, I get used to them.” – Jack Ma, in a CNBC interview.
5. Hire the right people, not necessarily the best
“Hire the right people, not necessarily the best people. The way to get the best people is to train them. There are no “best people” in the market, the best people are the ones you train yourself. Hiring the “best in the market” but not suitable to you is like putting a Boeing 747 engine into a poor tractor. Neither of them would be happy.”
When starting your business, don’t aim to hire the “best of the best” because as Michael E. Gerber said in his ground-breaking book, E-myth, “a business that depends on highly-skilled individuals would be impossible to replicate.
6. There is no “right time”
“When we started Alibaba, the market was really cold.” – Jack Ma.
A lot of people are waiting for the “best” time to start up a business or break into a market yet untapped. Jack Ma however says that you will wait a long time. Don’t wait till you see people doing stuff and succeeding before you choose to take your own step in that direction. You’re an entrepreneur because you can see into the future, get a problem, come back into the present, and start working towards it.
Starting a business would require a lot of work on your path. Don’t stop learning, don’t stop innovating, hire the right people, know what you’re doing, get used to rejection, learn from other people’s mistakes, and most importantly, just do something!