One of the common questions asked by businessmen is how many hours should they work daily? Another one is, do you need to have a business streak in you for achieving success? Do you have to stick to your decisions for being a good entrepreneur? One of the co-founders of venture studio Pawa Sergey Tokarev tries to debunk all the myths surrounding the real-life of successful entrepreneurs and what is required to become a good one.
Some are born to be businessmen
Some people believe there is a businessman gene that helps someone achieve business success. However, it is not enough to be born talented, you also need other qualities. You have to be aware of ways of using these qualities at all the right times as well. Sergey, while managing a website, worked in all the positions he could by himself. This included positions in development, marketing, and support. He gained a lot of experience doing this and mastered many skills. He realized that anyone can become a successful businessman. As Tokarev did not have any business background, he studied sales, management, and even psychology to understand the psyche of people. Sergey assures that no one is born with these skills, they have to be learned.
You will need top-notch employees
There is an interesting point of view shared by Sergey Tokarev about hiring employees. Although it is significant to recruit stronger candidates, there is one aspect you need to keep in mind. A recruiter should not hire a person for a Senior level who just shares his success stories in the CV. You should know the failure stories to judge the character of a person. You need to understand how a person copes with difficulties. You need a person in your team that can help in case of crisis. He must contribute towards achieving more together. Therefore, this has to be a reliable person. It is easier to train him or her with technical skills than with the soft ones you need in your company.
Need to be persistent and stick to the vision
If you are considering self-motivation and the capability to move towards a target despite all the problems, perseverance is indeed an excellent quality to have. Sergey agrees with this, as it is indeed relevant, especially in the world of start-ups where everyone is trying to build a Google. But, significantly, you should be flexible also. The world of technology changes quickly and you must be ready to adapt. Sergey Tokarev is an investor of Reface app, that in the early stages, could only change the faces in a photograph but later they added video editing capabilities. Before launching the update, they changed the name of the brand. They changed it again later once again as the majority of the employees chose the name in a poll that suited the app better. They changed their opinion because, by that time, they had already experienced using it and could, therefore, clearer see which name fits the best. Changing the name of a product is a serious step, and you have to be flexible to make it according to the new information you have.
Entrepreneurs have to work 20 hours every day
It is believed that IT businessmen invest all their time and energy in their business. But this aspect is controversial. Although Sergey admits that you need to sacrifice your personal life at times, you need to remember that even the Olympic champion athletes take sufficient breaks and have a proper balance between work and exercise. You need to take good care of yourself both mentally and physically. 18-20 hours of work daily is not advisable simply because you need 8 hours of sleep daily.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that entrepreneurship is like a marathon and not a 100-meter sprint. If you fail to take care of yourself, you will burn out quickly. However, as Sergey Tokarev says, you should not always try to follow the rules and practices set by others, even his ones. Try to create some of your own.
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