Struggling with Entrepreneurship? Get Inspiration from this 18-Year Old Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is hardly a bed of roses and there’s always so much to learn. Sure, you’ll learn from trial and error sometimes, but when looking for practical entrepreneurship advice, it’s best to have experienced business people show you the best route
How about learning from someone who began his entrepreneurship journey at a very early age?
I recently spoke with Maxim Trubitski, an 18-year old dropshipping expert, who though young, has more business experience than some older folks. Maxim has made $140,000—more than the average American makes at their job in three years—in 18 days, and regularly makes over $10,000 in sales every day. He currently has five online stores raking in cash for him.
Generously, he shared some critical tips that can help budding and experienced entrepreneurs alike in their entrepreneurial journey. Here are some nuggets from our discussion.
- Find your “why”
Entrepreneurship is a difficult and sometimes very lonely journey. No matter what age you’re starting out, there will be naysayers trying to talk you down every chance they get. It doesn’t get easier when you experience difficulties along the way—you’ll regularly feel like just giving up.
But knowing your why can be a motivating factor and can help you persist despite any adversities you may experience. Your why is the reason you’ll want to get out of bed, even though you’d rather stay indoors because you did not make any sales the previous day. Maxim agrees:
“My family’s situation has always driven me to ‘hustle’ every single day. The thought that my parents put in so much love & work into me, and that if I put my mind to it, I could make them extremely proud, has always been in my mind.
The very fact that if I worked hard enough, I could retire my parents from their grueling jobs, drove me to financial success. If my family put blood and sweat into me, why shouldn’t I do the same? Just imagine, taking your parents all around the world, giving them the lifestyles they deserve.”
For Maxim, the thoughts of improving his family’s quality of live drove him to success. I’m not going to define or decide what your “why” should be, because you’re in the best position to do so. But I can tell you that you don’t even need to have only one “why.” Maxim continues:
“All day, kids and adolescents waste their time through television, video games, and social media. Nevertheless, it never occurs to them that instead of being just consumers, they can use the power of the internet to make themselves a lot of money. I’ve always wanted to reach the zenith of financial freedom as a teen, just to display to my generation the power in their hands, that they’re not utilizing.”
Being a model for younger ones has also inspired Maxim to work hard to succeed as an entrepreneur. So take a long, hard, look at yourself and answer the question, what is my why? You’ll be better prepared to handle challenges and difficulties when they come.
- Entrepreneurship is a skill
This debate is one that is still largely unsettled. Some people believe entrepreneurs are born, while others believe entrepreneurs are made. Some believe it’s a combination of both.
When it comes to business success, you’ll need to learn. A lot. You may naturally be a leader, an idea machine, and charismatic, but you’ll need to learn to better these skills if you want to find success.
Saying that talent alone is enough for entrepreneurial success is like saying that athletes will be successful without any training, just because they’re talented. Sure, talent helps, but you need to put your talents to use. That means regularly training yourself and practicing in the real world which helps you learn from your mistakes and use them to improve your skills and better your business.
Maxim shares the same perspective:
“Entrepreneurship is definitely a skill because there are so many different factors that you must master, you might be a people person, or talented in numbers, but to put all the pieces together, you need to work on your craft which will enhance your skills. In reality, you have to wake up, get out of that dream you’re in and start seeing things as they truly are.”
Don’t ever feel you’re not a “born” entrepreneur and you’ll have little chance of success because of that. You have some skills entrepreneurs need to succeed and you can acquire others in the long run too. Do it.
- Choose the right role models and mentors
Different studies have consistently shown that role models are great for entrepreneurial advancement and progress. In fact, one study showed that some regions in the Netherlands persistently had higher entrepreneurship rates than others because there was an abundance of entrepreneurial role models in those regions. According to the study:
“These role models may serve as good examples of entrepreneurial activity and inspire individuals in the region to become entrepreneurs or attract other entrepreneurs to the region, thereby reinforcing the entrepreneurial process.”
Maxim also had his say on the importance of role models in his entrepreneurial journey. Here’s how if put it:
“If there’s one role model that helped me become who I am today, it has to be Jordan Belfort. Sales, marketing, and networking—all skills you need to master for success—depend on one phenomena, and that’s persuasion.
When I’m creating advertisements for my dropshipping stores, I greatly rely on the psychology I learned from Jordan. Psychology plays a huge role in business, and I think that it’s super underrated. You need to know how your customers think in order to be able to upsell or even sell them to begin with.”
Apart from inspiring you in your entrepreneurial journey, if you choose the right role models, you will learn from their mistakes, failures, and successes. That way, you can emulate their successes and avoid their mistakes. And you’ll be on a faster path to success.
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’ll never get to meet or personally talk to and solicit advice from your role model, but there’s someone who can always be there when you need advice—a mentor.
A mentor has more personal and professional experience than you do and can guide you through important phases and decisions in your business. They’re so good that sometimes entrepreneurs literally hire mentors. Maxim towed the latter path, and has invested thousands of dollars in mentors.
Get a mentor or invest in one. It could be one of the best decisions you ever make.
- Always keep learning
Sadly, for a large chunk of our existence, we’ve always associated learning with formal education. The truth, as most successful entrepreneurs know, is that learning involves much more than sitting in a classroom.
Go ahead and ask any successful entrepreneur who keeps winning at the entrepreneurship game how they do it, and they’ll tell you: never stop learning.
Bill Gates reads about 50 books in a year. Mark Cuban reads more than three hours everyday. Elon Musk was once asked how he learned to build rockets, and he said “I read books.”
Maxim has learned this truth. He told me:
“The only way to become successful lies in self-development. Whether it meant developing four different businesses or reading for three to five hours a day, I knew that I had to do something to distinguish myself from the sheep.
The best way to learn is to go the route of educating yourself. You can forget what a teacher can put in your brain, but you will never forget what you put in your own brain.”
Maxim is right. If you stop learning you’ll become obsolete in a few years. In fact, for some industries, it’s a few months.
Read books. Take courses. Network with other successful entrepreneurs. Get a mentor. Study what your competitors are doing. Don’t just copy them, but try to understand why what they’re doing works for them too.
Realize that even though your business is doing relatively well, in the grand scheme of things, you know little. That will humble you and motivate you to learn more.
Success only comes when entrepreneurs surmount any obstacles they have in the right way. Never forget your why, hone your skills, and never stop learning. That way, you’ll enjoy lasting success.
Have you read?
- Best Countries to Invest In.
- Most Startup Friendly Countries.
- World’s Safest Cities Ranking.
- Global Passport Ranking, 2019.
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