The Best Business Podcast: Signs That You Are a Great Entrepreneur

Rick Harmon, President of The Suburban Group, and Founder of Close Probate

Becoming a successful entrepreneur is always a possibility. This journey will lead you to success and a feeling of satisfaction in life. Join us in this episode with Rick Harmon, Probate lender, inherited property advocate, expert with tangled trusts and estates in chaos at CloseProbate.com, to learn how to become a great entrepreneur. Here are the highlights of this episode:

Sharpening Your Skills In A Unique Way

Entrepreneurs are known to read many books, and the reason for this is growth. For sure, there are countless ways to be better in what you do. But for some, there are people who can become better in what they do by teaching it or communicating with people. It makes their skills better when they share them with somebody else because in order for you to teach an idea, you have to think it through.

Rick learned a secret whenever he had to learn technical areas in real estate laws that even attorneys and judges don’t know. What he did was, he did all the research he possibly could, then he wrote a book for himself. He mentioned that it was one of the great ways to learn. This is one example of the ‘teaching-to-learn’ method. Indeed, it is true what they say “the best way to learn is to teach.”

You have to experiment in order to find the best way for you to learn. Of course, it’s unique to every person, but it’s important to find it and make the most out of it.

Never Play The Other Man’s Game

David shared a relatable analogy about kids playing a video game and then inviting their father to play. The father accepted the invitation but ended up losing because it was his first time playing that game. The kids already knew where the enemy was, they knew the moves, and how to win the game. They knew what would happen because of experience, and that is why the father always loses. Starting your business is overwhelming in a similar way. Like the father, when you’re playing for the first time, winning is not a guarantee. In business, you have to learn many aspects of the business, but there are people who already know better than you do.

In building your business, it is important to understand that in order for you to win, you have to hire people who already know these aspects of the business. You have to hire people who know how to play that specific game and never play the other man’s game. According to Rick, you need to recognize the game you are really in and never play the other man’s game, then recognize that not everybody will win the first time they do it. So when you recognize that it is someone else’s game, then give it to someone else who really enjoys it and has that skill.

Putting The Right People Into The Right Place

One indicator that you are a good entrepreneur is that you know how to hire the right person and put them in the right job. Everyone has talents, and hopefully, they use those talents to excel at and enjoy their career. But to do that, employees need to be in a position to use those talents. Someone who’s struggling isn’t necessarily a “bad” employee; they might be the right person, just not in the right seat. You can have the best team in the world—but if they’re not filling roles they understand, want, or have the ability to do, you’re not getting the most out of your team and they’re probably not very happy in their position, either.

Don’t Focus On Your Weakness But Focus On Your Strengths

Some say that you need to focus on your weaknesses and make them your strength. In some ways this is true, but if you want your business to grow and be successful, you have to also understand that time is precious and you don’t have all the time to focus on your weaknesses. David learned that you have to focus on your strengths and HIRE your weaknesses. Rick added that when you focus on your weaknesses, you end up getting distracted by them and at best you will become average in the area you are weak.

Working Through The Failures

Every success story has a failure behind it. Micheal Jordan said "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." Entrepreneurs are the same. You must understand that that is inevitable in life. Failures are footsteps, stepping stones to success. You just have to have the endurance to get that win.

Did you know that most mentors have better insight because of their failures? That experience in their life makes them of great value, as is their advice to entrepreneurs. So it’s important to remember to embrace those failures, learn from them, and keep moving forward as you strive for success.