John D. Rockefeller, the man needs no introduction, he is without a doubt one of the greatest businessmen who ever lived, as the founder of Standard Oil, he created a net worth of $340 billion dollars in today’s money and would’ve kept it going had it not been for anti-trust laws.
There is much to learn from him and if you are a young entrepreneur, you’d be lucky to take his advice so early in your journey. Here are some lessons to be learned from the master entrepreneur, John D. Rockefeller.
Be Okay With Not Achieving Success For A While
Before Rockefeller was a success, he worked at a private business firm as a clerk where he inspected every business document to make sure they were all accurate and he collected payments from clients.
In this role, he was able to see first hand how business functions and how even the lower level jobs were crucial for a business’s success, he may not have been a star of the firm but he gained important experience, lessons, and knowledge that would help him in the future.
If you are currently stuck in a job you view as meaningless then it is important that you look for ways to use that job as training for your future endeavours.
Always Manage Your Money Wisely, No Matter How Rich You Become
John had a brother named William who owned stock in the company and he decided that he had plenty of money so instead of getting a loan for a new house, he sold some his Standard Oil stock, even though John repeatedly told him it was going to be worth a lot more in the future.
This was the one reason that the size of each brother’s wealth became so different as time went on.
Be responsible with your assets, if you find a stock that performs well year after year, keep it and don’t sell. If you have a business that’s doing extremely well, don’t give up your stake in it just for a cash injection.
Things that create money for you are more valuable than the money they can be sold for, because if you take care of it and allow it to grow then it can make you money indefinitely.
Know The Numbers
If you are going to achieve success, you must run your business according to the feedback you are receiving on a daily basis. Also, you need to study the data, who is your audience, how long are spending time on your site, and what are they buying the most.
This is what you need to use to improve your business, along with the financial data, where is the most of the money being spent and how much of it is being spent of the thing that gives you the highest ROI (return on investment)?
Rockefeller knew all of these figures about his business and probably knew his competitor’s numbers as well. I’m not advocating corporate espionage or anything, just demonstrating how powerful data analysis can be.
Consistency is the Key
Rockefeller had a very meticulous schedule, he planned out every hour of the day because he was so busy that if he didn’t go through his day strategically, it would fall into chaos.
Entrepreneurs of any age or experience should do this too, that way we can objectively know exactly how much time we are putting into each activity and not just guess based on the effort it took us to get it done.
Success is a habit and if you want results then you must practice your success habits every day at the same time like clockwork.
Keep Your Cool, Always!
Rockefeller was famous for keeping a calm demeanour while everyone else was going crazy, and you too should make an effort to keep cool. You are the head of a company, if anyone should remain calm during times of hardship then it should be you.
Rockefeller started his business during a period of great market depression in the United States and yet he still managed to become one of the wealthiest humans who ever lived.
“I’m inclined to see the opportunity in every disaster.”
– John D. Rockefeller
In Conclusion
Rockefeller was a man who had very solid business principles that he lived by, it just goes to show how much success we could achieve if we just did what we know needs to get done and did it in an organized fashion.
Hopefully, you take these principles and implement them into your own life or better yet discover your own unique principles as well.
