7 Important Lessons Young Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Bill Gates
It’s safer to say that Bill Gates represents one of the most famous entrepreneurs in the world. After all, we’re talking about one of the few people who managed to start a true tech revolution; in this case, via his globally renowned software company — Microsoft.
These days, the man does pretty much everything — he is a philanthropist, business magnate, and successful investor. And his initial success with Microsoft has managed to earn him the status of one of the world’s richest people. This is precisely why young entrepreneurs can learn plenty of things from Bill Gates. With that in mind, we’ve put together a brief rundown of some of the best business lessons that Bill Gates can provide to younger business prodigies.
Never Stop Innovating
In 2021, the world of startups is far more saturated than it was when Microsoft was in its infancy. Still, that doesn’t mean that Bill Gates does not understand the fast-paced nature of the tech startup landscape.
With this in mind, Bill Gates has shown one crucial lesson to young tech entrepreneurs — if you want your company to stay competitive, it has to keep moving. And this is not just true in terms of using the most contemporary technologies; every single employee in the company must have the right mindset — in this case, keeping the fact that the survival of the company depends on constant innovation.
Be Ahead of the Curve
In order to stay ahead of your competitors, Bill Gates has shown us that you literally need to be — ahead. In other words, it’s not enough to react to the newest IT trends. It’s important to try to predict the broad strokes of the future in your individual sector — and begin getting ready for them ahead of time.
Even when Bill Gates was set to retire, he was still thinking about what’s next on the horizon. In one of his last interviews as CEO of Microsoft — this visionary predicted that mobile devices would become the next big thing. And just a short few years from then — he would be proven absolutely right.
Know the Value of Your Time
One of the biggest lessons that people can learn from Bill Gates is not wasting time. There is nothing more valuable than one’s time during the workday. And that’s why he has always meticulously planned each of his workdays; while also carefully picking which things he’d give personal attention to. Even if you’re the richest man in the world — you still can’t purchase more time than you have.
Considering that, take a long, hard look at your schedule — and identify which of your daily activities waste you the most time without being fruitful. Crucially, you need to ensure that you’re not getting bogged down in meetings that don’t really have a specific point and purpose. Don’t succumb to distractions when you need to focus on work.
Let Your Mistakes Teach You
Failure is an inevitable part of doing business — which is what the biggest business magnates like Bill Gates know all too well. From his days in Microsoft to his tenure in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — this businessman never allowed failure to deter him.
Rather, he would accept his mistakes and learn from failure; rather than constantly giving up and moaning about what he had done wrong. Lessons of failure are far more important than celebrations of success.
Failure is crucial because it forces you to rethink your ways — it lets you go back to your drawing board with a clear mind, and an openness to other approaches. If you allow yourself to embrace the lessons of failure, you will never repeat the same mistakes that you’ve made in the past. Conversely, allowing failure to demoralize you simply leads to nothing productive.
Perseverance is crucial
One of the most important traits that allowed Bill Gates to rise to the absolute top is his uncanny ability to focus and persevere, regardless of the circumstances. All of the colleagues and work friends that surrounded Bill Gates over his many years in the tech industry claimed that his ability to persist until satisfying closure was incredible.
If younger entrepreneurs want to succeed, they’d do well to learn this lesson from Bill Gates — overnight success is incredibly rare. Heck, these days people would be hard-pressed to remember that Windows was no instant success either; the first two versions were bad, but Gates’ persistence allowed the company to improve and thrive.
Don’t be afraid of risks
If there’s one thing that you shouldn’t run from as a young entrepreneur — it’s challenge and risk. Going on unexplored paths and thinking beyond the confines of the traditional is the best way to succeed — especially in today’s overpopulated startup market.
The biggest wins lay in uncharted waters — and unfortunately, so do the biggest failures. But if you want to avoid mediocrity and achieve something more; you need to go above and beyond, and meet huge risks head-on.
Don’t give up
Among all of the varied lessons that young entrepreneurs can learn from Bill Gates, the biggest and simplest one is — don’t give up. At some point, circumstances will seem difficult — or even dire. But that’s not the moment to quit. Failing is an essential part of the life of any startup entrepreneur. Bill Gates is no stranger to desperate situations; like when his first company dedicated to traffic data analytics crashed and burned.
However, he did not let this failure demoralize him — even if he was faced with crushing debt. He did not flinch, he plowed ahead — and soon enough, Microsoft was born!
Conclusion
The business acumen and attitude of Bill Gates is definitely a great source of wisdom for all young entrepreneurs — especially the bold ones who would follow in his footsteps. Stay safe and have a good one!
