SME Growth Champions Seminar Speaker: Rick Ed

Updated on 1 June 2016

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SME Growth Champions Seminar Speaker: Rick Ed | SME South Africa

The first 1 000 days are said to be make or break for any new venture. However, getting through these critical days will enable entrepreneurs to realise what drives the business and what is it that needs to be reviewed.

Business advisor and mentor to small business owners and entrepreneurs, Rick Ed, says as much as surviving the first 1 000 days deserves a celebration and marks one of the biggest milestones of any startup, entrepreneurs should constantly be focused on the bigger picture, which is growing a sustainable and profitable business.

“After survival, the next goal is to strive for success. This needs a change in mindset – expect to succeed and you start to see the opportunities hidden behind challenges. The more you succeed, the more successful you become,” he says.

Scaling up for growth.

Business owners looking to grow their businesses beyond the startup phase have to constantly keep their eyes on the future, says Ed.

“If you want to sustainably grow your business, you need to be spending more time working on the business instead of in the business,” he says.

Founder of Do Better Business, which offers mentoring and business support on topics such as marketing, management and leadership to SMEs and entrepreneurs, Ed sold his business at the age 60 to a younger management team to focus on educating entrepreneurs and has become a highly sought after mentor and coach.

Ed, who is also one of the speakers at the SME South Africa Growth Champion Seminar, shares his 5 best tactics on surviving and growing a sustainable and profitable business beyond the first 1000 days.

1. Networking is very powerful – just do it – The more people you know, the greater the chance that you connect with someone that you can do business with.

2. Work on building lasting relationships – Spend time cultivating long-term relationships rather than focusing on closing business deals.

3. Build self-disciple – It is important for you as a small business owner and entrepreneur to be disciplined. This is one of the things that will make you unstoppable.

4. Learn from previous mistakes – See your mistakes and those of others as opportunities to learn. It is not how often one falls, but how often one gets up again that counts.

5. Never give up on a good business – Strong entrepreneurs never give up. The big contract comes in the day after you give up trying.

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