Some of the greatest success stories of the American dream revolve around people who had a great idea for a product and worked hard to develop it into something that brought them wealth and happiness. For many years, this type of creativity turned into profitability has been the model for how to achieve success.
The people who have reached this goal have succeeded with a number of different strategies, but they all share a few common traits, not just about themselves but about the products and services they have developed. Here’s a profile of just what makes some entrepreneurs successful where others fail.
A Product With Broad Appeal
For many successful entrepreneurs, it is not about creating something that sets the world on fire. Fads come and go, and while you can make a quick buck with trendy items, the best route for sustainable success is through products that lots of people will use for years to come.
Entrepreneur John Holahan achieved that with his SimplyThick company. The idea for his product was simple: He wanted to offer a product that was useful to consumers on a daily basis. For people with difficulty swallowing, the ability to thicken their foods made it easier for them to stay properly nourished and, consequently, to stay healthy. A product with that type of value is a powerful creation. It’s not at all flashy, but it creates real benefits, and that’s why the product has succeeded.
Unbelievable Determination
Almost everybody has brainstormed something that they thought could really be successful, and many of us have gone so far as to develop a prototype. From there, though, we lost focus or just weren’t willing to plunge ourselves into it and let it dominate our thoughts.
Walt Disney didn’t quit. He knew the market was there for his cartoon creations, so despite a series of failures, he persevered. He struggled financially. He probably doubted if he would ever succeed. But in time, through his hard work, he became the most famous animator in history, amassing a huge fortune that continues to grow to this day. Determination like that is what it takes to succeed.
Adaptability
Few companies are able to sustain indefinite success with no substantial changes to their offerings. Holahan has made continuous adjustments to SimplyThick, and today’s Disney productions are light years ahead of the 1930’s technology that built the company.
Apple has succeeded with that model. Had they never offered anything more than desktop computers, they would have been an also-ran as the field became crowded in the 80’s and 90’s. Instead, they not only pushed the technology of their existing computers but also ventured into mobile phones, heading an entire market segment so enthusiastically viewed by its customers that they’ll wait in line for hours to buy the newest model.
Becoming a successful entrepreneur takes a good product or service, one that can be shown to be superior to others in the market, or that is entirely new. But that isn’t always enough. It’s as much about the inventor as the invention, and when there is a hard-working entrepreneur behind the great product, success is usually close by.
