Success in business hinges on gaining an edge on the competition, at least, that’s the prevailing thinking amongst some of the world’s most accomplished entrepreneurs. Accepting that, the question then becomes — how does one gain such an edge? In order to answer that, we turned to David Schmidt, CEO of LifeWave, a leading health and wellness company. The entrepreneur’s insights on how he’s achieved his own high level of success can be valuable reading for those looking to make an entrepreneurial impact of their own.
Scalable management
The ability to manage others is an important component of business success. While you may do an admirable job of wearing multiple hats when you start your business, the ultimate goal of an entrepreneur is to grow your company to the point where it needs a full team of employees. Once that team starts to grow, it’s critical that a business’s founder be able to transition into the role of leader.
That transition, however, is not always smooth and it can mean different things at different points in a company’s lifecycle. Here are some thoughts from David Schmidt on the topic.
“When success strikes and you suddenly need to take on an infrastructure of order fulfillment, customer service, manufacturing, quality assurance, finance, and management, among other things, being the guy at the top with management skills rooted in small teams is not going to cut it,” says Schmidt. “Your ability to make your company work will then depend on the quality of the people around you, and your ability to trust in them and get them to be a team.”
In essence, what the CEO is talking about here is the ability to scale one’s management style. The entrepreneurial journey is characterized by change, but perhaps no other aspect is as important as this one. Mastering the different management styles required for different stages of a company’s growth can be a key aspect of achieving long-term business success.
Operating on the global stage
Keeping your operations confined to local markets is fine when you’re first starting out. In fact, that’s often a necessary part of establishing proof-of-concept, but growth is the engine of any successful business. To achieve success at the highest level, your company will need to be able to operate in international markets. Depending on your ability to adapt to the demands of the global marketplace, broadening operations in this way can either lead to disaster or success. The key to success is coordinating with global professionals who know the realities of their own local markets. Their expertise can lend your brand credibility and smooth out your international expansion.
“You need to be prepared to hire experts that can assist with your product registration, company formation, and import documents,” noted Schmidt when discussing this concept. “If you market a health product as we do, then it becomes a bit more complicated as you need to have a physical presence, a pharmacist on staff, a manager with experience to run the operation, and someone to coordinate all of the activities of the day-to-day business. This entire process can take 9 to 12 months to set up. However, when it’s done correctly, it can yield impressive rewards.”
The power of effective communication
Contrary to the common picture of the lone entrepreneur operating out of their garage, a successful company is typically a collaborative effort that runs on effective communication. Some of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs are also masters of communication. This is not only evident by their ability to express their ideas to their colleagues; it can also be seen in how they share their work with the outside world through public speaking engagements.
Mastery in this area is so beneficial to the prospects of a business that the LifeWave founder recently singled out the topic for additional discussion. He noted, “If you want people to follow you and share your vision, you are going to have to be a good communicator.” He also had some tips for those who aren’t well-practiced in speaking to large audiences.
“For some people, public speaking comes naturally, and to others, it is the single most frightening thing you can do,” said Schmidt. “Based on my experience, the best thing you can do when speaking to a large group of people is simply be honest with them, and speak from your heart. Speak about a subject you are passionate about and learn as much as you can about that subject.”
Stay current
While the above overview of business skills can be considered fundamental for any aspiring entrepreneur, it is by no means an exhaustive list. In fact, the CEO has spoken at length about the importance of keeping an open mind in the world of business and constantly updating one’s ideas about what to prioritize.
“It is more or less guaranteed that the way we will be doing business 20 years from now will be very different than the way we do business today,” says the CEO. “Just consider how we use e-mail and the internet today. Now, think back to the year 2000; do you remember what websites were like? A very stark difference from the web we are currently accustomed to seeing. If you are not staying up to date on these changes, you risk going the way of the dinosaurs.”
For entrepreneurs seeking to achieve at the highest level, the above advice is both timely and insightful. Management style, global adaptability, and the ability to communicate can all be key factors in determining a business leader’s achievement. Staying up-to-date on emerging business trends can also be of critical importance. Incorporate these insights into your own work to help you find the edge that your business needs to achieve its highest level of success.
About the entrepreneur
David Schmidt is the CEO and founder of LifeWave, a company known for its forward-thinking health and wellness solutions. Now celebrating over 15 years of operation, the company owes much of its success to its innovative phototherapy patches, which help customers alleviate pain, sleep better, increase energy levels, and much more. The company maintains offices across the globe and its products are currently available in over 75 countries. It has been recognized in multiple years by Inc Magazine as one of America’s fastest-growing companies.