The only constant for an entrepreneur is change. Entrepreneurship is a roller coaster ride to a destination you hoped would be easy to reach.
It is full of ups, downs, twists, flips, and sometimes abrupt stops. For many, a crash or two or three is included in the adventure.
What makes specialty education for entrepreneurs so different from a business school or an elite graduate school?
While a formal education is great for a business leader to have, there are other experiences that equip the entrepreneur that traditional education cannot articulate.
Some of the most valuable forms of education an entrepreneur can gain come in unique forms.
In fact, some of the best forms of education have nothing to do with academic studies or well-written business articles in the most acclaimed journals.
The entrepreneur’s training is conducted under the long shadows of industry experts, on the golf course, or even in a casual conversation with a seasoned entrepreneur awaiting a flight in the airport.
In light of this unique educational process, the following list comprises 13 need-to-know perspectives for entrepreneurs seeking to successfully initiate or expand their business.
1. Learning from Other People’s Mistakes
Learning from others who have gone before puts you well ahead of the curve and can prevent you from making costly mistakes. It is far more affordable and less heart wrenching.
Nothing provides more clarity than learning from fellow residential assisted living homeowners.
- Avoid recreating the wheel.
- Acknowledge when a wheel already exists.
Instead of stumbling in the dark, connect with other RAL owners who are living in the light. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who are your reliable contacts?
- How do you reach the right people?
- Who can you depend on to give you the best information possible?
It’s time to stop running plays as if a playbook does not exist. Seek partners and comrades through the Residential Assisted Living Academy.
2. Managing Yourself and Your Cash
Many entrepreneurs are far too casual. Starting and growing a successful business is hard work. Entrepreneurship is no task for the faint of heart.
Successful entrepreneurs work hard, master their time and energy, and learn to manage their cash – this is how you leave a legacy.
That’s right, successful entrepreneurs manage their personal lives well.
Character Traits of Success Entrepreneurs
- Frugal
- Focused
- Diligent
- Determined
- Knowledgeable
- Connected
Experienced entrepreneurs recognize that cash is king in a small, growing empire, and those who manage it well will be successful.
The marriage of personal and professional accountability is not an option for business owners who plan to thrive for the long haul.
3. Building Relationships
It is a major misnomer that entrepreneurs are all lone wolves. That simply is a mistruth. The most important thing you can learn as an entrepreneur is that you can’t do this alone.
The prerequisite for success is that you operate in a team atmosphere.
How so? It starts with alignment.
RAL owners, operators, and investors must network with like-minded professionals, which lends itself to a circle of people who operate as you do with comparable values and similar training.
Do not hesitate to network and build relationships.
You need training and a well-connected network to make your RAL home a success. Start building the right relationships today.
Nothing beats a party of like-minded people. That’s where the Residential Assisted Living National Convention comes in the game plan.
That’s right. Join up with others who are operating the businesses that you want to emulate.
4. Learning from Your Own Failures
Although often feared, failure is one of the best road maps to success. It is so for many reasons – failure produces the kind of humility that makes entrepreneurs restart with an open mind.
Think about it.
Throughout childhood, the lessons that still remain in your mind are those associated with the biggest mistakes you ever made – likewise is the case with entrepreneurship.
Failures aren’t the goal, but when they do come, don’t make the mistake of running from them without gleaning something valuable out of the situation.
Overcome what you think might be standing in your way and truly recognize where you want to be and how to get there.
The answer might not always be clear initially, and the end result might be different from what was previously planned. Failure has many lessons.
Therefore, shake off fear and embrace the adventure. You can’t thrive as an entrepreneur shackled to the chain of fear.
Cast it off and allow yourself to take risks – measured risk that is.
5. Understanding What the Best People in Your Field Do
Learning what the best experts in your field do gives you confidence because you can duplicate their benchmark for producing success.
Fortunately, in this time, owning and operating a RAL home is not a completely new idea. While it is still revolutionary, owning a RAL home has a blueprint to success associated with it.
This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like Gene Guarino, founder of the Residential Assisted Living Academy.
Alignment with the folks at RALA is more than mere training – it’s an experience that puts people on the path to success.
It is an affiliation that associates industry leaders with like-minded entrepreneurs.
It is a culture of help, support, encouragement and accountability. These are the four jewels entrepreneurs seek when aligning with organizations.
6. Building A Great Team
Self-reliance and wearing multiple hats may be an asset early on, but it is ultimately an enemy of scale. You cannot fully operate three RAL homes by yourself.
The thought is ludicrous.
You must become a leader and a team member, not a manager. To do this, especially early in your entrepreneurial career in the RAL industry, help is mandatory.
Contact the team at Residential Assisted Living Academy. They will show you how to transition from a manager to a leader.
As a result, leaders find the best people to manage their RAL homes.
7. Pivoting Quickly
Any entrepreneur will tell you that there is never a point where they have everything figured out. Entrepreneurship is more of a journey than a destination – embrace the race.
You have to take your best calculated guess and go.
Yes, analysis is necessary but not to the point of paralysis. Paralysis is the cause of death of many businesses.
So, the key is to pivot fast when things don’t go the way they were intended.
Self-pity and loathing are characteristics of those yearning for predictability. Predictability is not what gets an entrepreneur in the game, but it is the act of engagement itself.
Therefore, learn to make a change in the game plan, while in the midst of running the play. Have no fear about pivoting while in play.
8. Making Time for Self-Reflection
Besides having the ability to focus, to be self-aware, and to be compassionate, successful RAL entrepreneurs are reflective.
Daily, RAL owners must be intentional about reflection. There is nothing more pitiful than an entrepreneur lying to themselves.
Think about your RAL home when you are not present in it. Allow yourself the space to dream big and envision a brighter, more productive future.
Be intentional about this as it will be the lifeline of your heart and mind. The RAL owner must be able to see beyond their current place in the business.
Write these visions down and read them aloud to yourself – this will make them real – this will give them voice – this will make them reality.
You need not give voice to your vision alone. Connect with others who are doing likewise and grow as a community of RAL homeowners.
The annual Residential Assisted Living National Convention takes place in October, and it’s the best place to connect with professionals from every perspective of the industry.
9. Seeking the Mentorship and Guidance of Experienced Leaders
There are very few substitutes for failure to teach you lessons. Failure is a common denominator because we’ve all experienced it. This is where it comes in handy to have a competent mentor.
Not a stereotypical cliché or unreliable relationship, but a true mentor who will take the time to instruct you.
There is one question you have to start by honestly answering for yourself. Are you trainable?
This question can only be answered with the help of others who have worked closely with you on new tasks that required pliability.
If you are trainable, then a mentor is the most effective way to propel your success in the RAL industry. Are you ready to connect?
Are you confident in your ability to listen and follow the lead of experts in your field?
If so, it’s time you connect with the Residential Assisted Living Academy. Do it today. Experts are waiting to help.
10. Having A Financial Education
Entrepreneurs often fail because they don’t truly have a grasp on their numbers. A passionate, hungry entrepreneur will do whatever it takes to bring their idea to life.
However, your business can collapse faster than it took to build without a true understanding of break-even numbers.
It’s important to understand how profit and loss works and the difference between assets and cash flow.
Getting educated on numbers is key.
Nothing rings truer for a RAL owner. You must know what it takes to keep the place running optimally.
You need not guess at this. The analytics are done. The data is available. Contact the professionals at the RAL Academy for the help you’ll need to prosper without limitations.
11. Understanding Universal Change Patterns
We tend to approach every change as if it is unique. Some change is cyclical and other changes are novel.
Yet, some change is industry wide. Get the facts.
In order to make decisions about the necessary changes for your RAL home, the key is becoming knowledgeable.
You must be informed about the possibilities of change due to external factors that will impact your RAL home.
Such information is available and understood by seasoned owners and investors. Find yourself in the company of these people today.
The RAL Academy offers 3-day training courses spaced conveniently throughout the year – this comprehensive training is the key to your success. Do not delay. Avoid the loss of time and money by getting trained by those that have learned over years of personal experience.
12. Having the Ability to Learn from Any Situation
There is no better education than running your own business and then educating yourself on-the-go using mastermind groups, your peers’ experiences, books, blog posts and podcasts.
That’s right, the sources of an entrepreneur’s education are as broad as they are deep.
Some of your education will be gleaned from industries totally unrelated to residential assisted living, others will be intimately tied to the industry.
Be sure to connect with a mentor, either formal or informal, to ensure you have reliable information at all times.
As the future owner of a business that affects the lives of residents and their families intimately, these are relationships that must be protected and strengthened.
This can only happen if you get connected and stay connected.
13. Getting Out There and Doing It
Another invaluable part of education you can receive as an entrepreneur is found in the doing.
While formal education develops learning skills in the student, entrepreneurial education develops go getters that chisel vision into reality.
Theory is important, but doing is vital.
Therefore, do not delay and begin your education as a RAL owner. The Residential Assisted Living Academy mixes concepts with practical application, which continues producing the most successful RAL owners in the nation.
GET THE EDUCATION YOU NEED TO SUCCEED
There are initial steps necessary for entrepreneurs, especially those operating in the RAL industry to get specific training geared and focused to meet their needs.
It’s simple really.
The rest is up to you. What should you do?
- Listen. Do not say you want a mentor and then disregard what they share with you.
- Read. Be sure to read materials that are industry specific – grow broad and deep.
- Connect. Entrepreneurship is not a vacuum. Hunting in a pack reaps great rewards.
- Change. Learn to love change. Change is your constant – stagnation is your enemy.
Okay, you have an understanding of the basic and philosophical needs for success, but are you ready to take the next step? Let nothing hinder you.
Get started with the Residential Assisted Living Academy today.
