Entrepreneurship
17 January, 2024 3 Minutes Read
As the world navigates the complexities of an ever-evolving global economic landscape, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) continues to be a driving force in shaping fair trade, among many other responsibilities. Representing 21 member economies in and around the Pacific Rim, trade conducted under the watchful eye of APEC represents 50% of the global economy. To understand the importance of the work APEC is doing every day, here are five key components of its agenda for driving a resilient future. 1. Trade and Economic Integration One key accomplishment of APEC has been a strong focus on eliminating trade barriers between member economies by streamlining customs procedures and reducing tariffs. By creating an environment where businesses can more freely integrate trade with fewer obstacles, APEC has helped create an environment where businesses of all sizes can flourish. 2. Collaborative Economic Policies A primary strength of APEC is its approach to creating collaborative and multi-cultural economic policies. APEC helps member economies work together to create cohesive strategies to reduce barriers. This commitment to promoting open and clear dialog on behalf of all member economies, as well as the continuous sharing of information, has fostered the creation of effective and responsive solutions. 3. Harnessing the Expertise of Industry Leaders APEC recognizes the fact that commerce is the driving force behind economic growth. This is why the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was formed in 1995. ABAC advises government leaders on business issues of interest to the 21 APEC member economies. As ABAC Chair in 2023, East West Bank Chairman and CEO Dominic Ng led his fellow ABAC members in tackling global challenges related to equity, sustainability, and trade. ABAC business leaders encouraged APEC government leaders to consider new initiatives, particularly as they relate to digital services, services that support e-commerce, and essential services. 4. Sustainable Development Goals In June 1992, 178 countries within the United Nations adopted a plan to build global partnerships for sustainable development. This plan became known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. APEC has consistently attempted to align its strategies with these goals, including a commitment to promoting responsible and sustainable business practices, reducing carbon footprints, and addressing social inequalities. APEC’s approach to aligning with the SDGs has been a key component of its continued success. 5. Promoting Public-Private Partnerships The concept of public-private partnerships has been a powerful vehicle for APEC to drive sustainable development. Under the strong leadership of ABAC, the collaboration between governments and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has been key to fostering greater trade and investment, innovation and digitalization, and sustainability and inclusive growth. These partnerships have been instrumental in building toward a more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive business environment that creates greater opportunity for all of the region’s economies. APEC’s Role as a Beacon of Collaboration APEC stands as a beacon of collaboration and collective action in the Asia-Pacific region. The organization’s agenda for a resilient future moves past traditional economic practices by addressing challenges with a forward-looking approach. By taking key steps over the years, such as deepening trade and investment, increasing innovation and digitalization, and expanding access to training, technology, and capital, APEC is playing an important role in helping economies build cross-border relationships and realize new business opportunities. Additionally, by promoting open, clear, and constant communication, APEC has created a collaborative economic environment. Furthermore, APEC's alignment with SDGs has shown a commitment to sustainable business practices while its keen eye on promoting public-private partnerships has helped create and grow a more inclusive business environment. APEC as a whole continues to be a driving force of the world’s economy and continues to set the pace for a resilient future. Read Also: Digital Evolution: The Impact Of Virtual Data Rooms On Today’s Business World More Than Just Walls: How Rented Office Spaces Can Boost Your Business Best Practices For Dealing With Flood Damage In Your Business
24 February, 2021 7 Minutes Read
Entrepreneurship is not as easy as it sounds. Serial entrepreneurs take their businesses seriously and perform their added responsibilities happily. From attending a number of business conferences to meeting deadlines, it’s extremely tough to manage various businesses simultaneously. In this guide, I have compiled a list of the most successful serial entrepreneurs who have built multiple businesses in less time. Additionally, I have also shared what skills and traits you need to develop to become a serial entrepreneur. Traits Of A Serial Entrepreneur If you want to become a serial entrepreneur, you should develop some essential skills to manage multiple businesses. 1. Excellent Time Management Time management is one of the most important factors for entrepreneurs. It’s more important for serial entrepreneurs because they are involved in multiple businesses. Since you will be responsible for managing different businesses at a time, it’s crucial to be efficient. For that, you need to develop insights into how to adopt the changes, figure out business ideas, and manage other responsibilities within the stipulated time. You cannot achieve your objective by working hard, but you need to be smarter. 2. Ability To Set Concrete Goals Although setting clear goals is crucial for success in everything, you need to be more specific and set measurable goals as a serial entrepreneur. Since you will start another company once your present company is up, you need to have clear and specific goals. If you are unable to set concrete goals, it’s hard to track your progress, and you cannot manage multiple businesses simultaneously. When you have clear and concrete goals, you can measure your outcomes and plan for your future. 3. Flexible Thinking You cannot handle multiple businesses if you become rigid to changes. You should be flexible and adapt to the changes. Since the marketplace will change without giving you a warning, you need to be able to adopt the changes. Apart from that, technologies also change every day. As a serial entrepreneur, you need to come to update your technological infrastructure and adopt new ideas to keep in line with the market demand. 4. Optimistic And Curiosity A serial entrepreneur knows that every idea will not lead to success. So, you need to figure out why something didn’t work and learn from your mistakes instead of worrying about the failure. Having an optimistic spirit is crucial for business success. Additionally, serial entrepreneurs are always eager to learn new things, test new ideas, and experiment even if they fail a hundred times. You need to be curious and creative to bring innovative solutions to the world. These are some essential traits of serial entrepreneurs. However, these are not the complete list of characters or skills of a serial entrepreneur. Apart from these, you need to have high risk-taking ability and a lot of other skills. Top Five Serial Entrepreneurs To encourage you, here I have listed the top five entrepreneurs who have ventured into multiple businesses. 1. Elon Musk You must have heard the name of the electric car company Tesla. Elon Musk is the founder of this luxurious car company. Apart from Tesla, he also ventured into many other revolutionary businesses; SpaceX, SolarCity, The Boring Company. From a very young age, he had an entrepreneurial spirit, and he developed video games. He also had a digital media company and a founding member of the popular payment processing network PayPal. 2. Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is one of the top serial entrepreneurs who started his journey from an early age. He founded the popular print magazine named ‘Student’. After that, he also founded the Virgin group of companies which was started as a voice recording service. Later the Virgin group ventured into different industries, including travel, beverages, etc. Sir Richard Branson remained as one of the top serial entrepreneurs in the world. 3. Oprah Winfrey I guess you must have heard the popular Oprah Show. Oprah Winfrey became one of the most popular female entrepreneurs in the TV show industry, from TV series anchor to having her own production house. Along with that, she founded a media company named Oxygen media and several other print magazine companies. She is a philanthropist and also the author of several books on health, food, wisdom, etc. 4. Gary Vaynerchuk Gary Vaynerchuck is one of the top internet entrepreneurs who ventured into multiple online businesses. He is the founder of the popular media and communication company VaynerX. Apart from this, he also has several online businesses. From selling baseball cards to becoming the owner of multiple businesses, his journey is a true inspiration for youth. He is also the author of some popular books on digital entrepreneurship, marketing, social media, and more. 5. Wayne Huizenga The list will be incomplete without the founder of the company Waste Management Inc. Wayne Huizenga passed away in the year 2018, but I have mentioned his name because he founded multiple companies even at his old age. Apart from Waste Management Inc., he was also the founder of AutoNation and co-founded Blockbuster and the sports company Miami Dolphins. From selling used trucks to becoming the founder of multiple companies, Wayne Huizenga proved, ‘age is not a determining factor for starting a company.’ How Do Serial Entrepreneurs Tackle Failure? Everybody can accept achievements, but very few of them can accept failure. However, things are easy for a serial entrepreneur. They know how to tackle the failure of their business instead of giving up all hope. Here are some common traits when it comes to tackling failure: Learning From Past Mistakes One of the fewest things a usual entrepreneur cannot do is learn from their past mistakes. But that’s not the case with serial entrepreneurs because they embrace failure and take future lessons from it. By learning from their mistakes, entrepreneurs can determine what went wrong in their strategy, and they might change it later. For instance, the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, has faced many backlashes and setbacks in his professional career. But that didn’t stop him from becoming who he is today. That’s how an ideal entrepreneur should be! Inhibiting The Potential Of Resilience No one likes to fail in life. Sadly, that’s an inevitable part of life as well as in business. Failure should be a stepping stone, and serial entrepreneurs must know how to jump quickly from disappointment to action. They comprehend that setbacks are natural when it comes to an entrepreneurial journey and success comes after multiple failures. We can learn the same from Sara Blakely, who is the mastermind behind Spanx. Her multi-billion-dollar industry was never this profitable. Obviously, she also had to go through a plethora of obstacles, and she learned from them. Pushing Boundaries and Embracing Innovation Serial businessmen are quite popular as people who can take risks and bring new waves of innovation. Just like accepting failure, an ideal businessman must know how to take some important risks. Embracing failure helps to experiment, refine, and iterate business ideas, which ultimately brings groundbreaking innovations. You’ll have heard of Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. Jobs’ co-founder. He, just like Sara Blakely and others, faced multiple failures all through his career. In fact, he was also ousted from his startup. But he took motivation from these failures and proceeded in life- the rest is history! Having A Stronger Network Last but not least, failure also creates opportunities for the biggest entrepreneurs as they learn how to build robust networks. Leaders who have gone through the same share their stories and continue to motivate others. Hence, this helps to develop a strong network between them, which brings in a series of guidance and support. Here, I would like to give Reid Hoffman’s example, who is the co-founder of LinkedIn. He has discussed his failures a number of times, along with the lessons he has learned. And that’s how he became such a big leader, inspiring others! Want To Become A Serial Entrepreneur? Becoming a serial entrepreneur is not everyone’s cup of tea. Everybody cannot become successful in this journey. Most people will quit along the way or just give up on their dreams. Anyway, if you want it badly, you need to. Develop a mindset to accept failure and don’t take them personally. Don’t fear to take risks and do things differently. Time management is crucial, and you need to delegate your work properly. Work with partners, don’t assume that you can handle everything. Leverage the power of the gig economy. These are some general tips to dip your toe in multiple businesses at a time. Usually, serial entrepreneurs are considered as the jack of all trades and master of none. However, that’s not the truth; you need to master some essential skills and find the right people for your business. It requires a lot of courage and some essential traits to become a serial entrepreneur. Final Words With that, we come towards the end of the guide. However, serial entrepreneurship is an art that not many can master. Every single soul dreams to set up something of their own, to be the master of their kingdom. But in order to be the king, you have to face a lot of hardships, too. That was the true essence of this article. I hope the article has helped you know about the top serial entrepreneurs who have built their businesses in less time. If you want to become a serial entrepreneur, you need to develop excellent time management skills. Continue Reading: What Is The Value Of Customer Reviews? Things To Look For In A Loan Agreement Before Signing It Navigating The Fitness Business: From Entrepreneurial Dreams To Reality
