Entrepreneur Bill Gates founded the world’s largest software business, Microsoft, with Paul Allen, and subsequently became one of the richest men in the world.
Bill Gates is one of the most popular entrepreneurs of all time and the prodigy who started the technology revolution by launching a software company after dropping out of Harvard in 1974. The man is a magnate, philanthropist, investor, and co-founder of Microsoft. His success at Microsoft has earned him the title of one of the richest men in the world. From humble beginnings to setting up a software empire, his journey is a roller coaster ride that you are about to embark upon.
Although he has relinquished his position as the CEO of Microsoft, young entrepreneurs can look up to him and learn some important business lessons along the way that will help them become successful. To make the lives of young entrepreneurs easy, we have compiled some important business lessons from Bill Gates in this article. Read on to find out more.
Aim high
Very little people are aware that Microsoft’s big break came from Bill Gates telling a lie. In 1975, Gates contacted computer company MITS and told them that he had developed a basic interpreter for their microcomputer. MITS was interested in seeing the software, however, Gates and his programming friend Paul Allen were yet to develop it. This prompted Gates and Allen to develop it in quite a hurry, presenting it to MITS in a matter of weeks, and making their very first sale. Microsoft was founded only one month later, pushing Gates to deliver more than he’d ever proven he was capable of.
Don’t Learn From Success
It seems obvious that we should reflect on our successes and learn from them. If we can recognize the factors that contributed to that initial success, we should be able to repeat them and repeat our success.
But Gates has argued that success can cloud our vision, causing us to become over-confident and unprepared for the new challenges that the future holds.
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.
Bill Gates
We shouldn’t ignore the patterns of our initial success. But neither should we cling blindly to particular actions or strategies simply because they’ve worked in the past.
Learn from your mistakes
Bill Gates admits that his journey to success has not been easy and that he too has made his fair share of mistakes in the past. He feels those mistakes were vital to make him successful today. Gates says that if you do make a mistake, be sensible enough not to brood or dwell on it. Also, do not tag yourself as a failure as everyone makes mistakes. What is more important is how you react to your mistakes and not what your mistake was all about.
Looking Forward
Bill Gates’s career has been marked by his incredible vision. Microsoft beat out the competition largely because they were always looking one step ahead, to the next revolutionary idea.
The lesson here: if you want to get ahead in business, think ahead.
Gates was still thinking ahead when he retired from Microsoft in 2008. He told PC Mag that he thought the Tablet PCs, Internet TV, and natural user interface would be thriving shortly. History is proving him right.
So, if Gates knew what was coming next, why didn’t he stick around to make it happen? Surely, he could have added a few billion more to his bank accounts.
The answer is that, at some point while thinking about the future, Gates started giving more importance to health care, poverty, and education than he did to the next hi-tech gizmo. He’s making a bigger impact on the future through The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation than he would have made by continuing to run Microsoft.
Value your time
Gates once said, “No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy more time”. Bill Gates understands the importance of using the time in your day wisely and prioritizes tasks that matter most to him. If he doesn’t believe he needs to be at a meeting, he won’t attend. On the other hand, he takes the time to communicate with the people closest to him and ensures that he makes time for important commitments.
Keep your feet on the ground
As money flows in from the door, humbleness flows out of the window. It is important to celebrate success to a certain extent, but one should never allow themselves to get caught up in the web of their success. Always remember that if things are going well for you at the moment, they might not always be the same. Bill Gates advises people to never sit back and relax thinking that you will always remain at the top. Whenever success comes at your doorstep, one must continue driving on and working hard as ever to keep up their business.
Be ready for change
Bill Gates has always believed that the business world is constantly evolving. The reason he has stayed at the top of his field is due to his willingness to accept change. He believes that people should not fear change due to their fear of the unknown. A successful entrepreneur always envisions a change in business, technology, and every other field to grow more.
These inspiring entrepreneurial lessons from Bill Gates will bring an impact into your own business if you follow these golden rules whole-heartedly. Bill Gates’s net worth might be hard to achieve in a single lifetime, but it is not impossible. Learn it from the man himself, who has no problems in sharing his secrets with the budding and passionate entrepreneurs of today!
Finally.
If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur in today’s World, you should follow Bill Gates. Do not let failures stop you from pursuing your dreams. Keep innovating and exploring uncharted territory, as big rewards lie at the end of big risks. Mistakes and failure are part of launching your own business, but you should learn key lessons from failures and move on.