I was taken back by the words of Farshad Asl, “Millennials don’t want to be managed, they like to be led coach and mentored”. This explains why I had to quit my day job and start my own gig leveraging the booming digital economy. However, I had to learn the hard way because I was not well mentored. My story changed when I met Ramon van Meer, the founder and CEO of Soap Hub.
The digital economy has come to stay and it’s just a matter of time before it completely penetrates every facet of the global economy and I don’t want to be left out. In fact, once artificial intelligence become well established in the workforce, the digital platform will replace the current marketplace. Let’s leave the future for now and concentrate on the present. I want to share with you some of the valuable lessons I have learnt from experts, particularly Ramon van Meer, the founder and CEO of Soap Hub.
Many a times we spend too much time focusing on business and entrepreneurs making billions of dollars on an annual basis. There are millions of entrepreneurs who are making millions of dollars and guess what? They have got time to mentor someone. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to aim high and admire the best, however, it’s more effective to follow someone that is reachable and will have the time to mentor you for success.
Lesson one: Find and stay in your lane
One of the fundamental lessons I picked as a protégé was how to find and stay in my lane. This is one of the hardest things to do, especially when you think you can do several things at a go. This is an old principle, but it is still relevant today. If you list the top 20 digital businesses in the world you will find out that they all have their niche and unique selling point. Even in a crowded niche like social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest still represent something different. There is no point reinventing the wheel if you cannot supersede the current form. Two years ago, Ramon van Meer, started Soap Hub in a streaming media and video-on-demand online niche. In this niche, you have the likes of Netflix, Amazon Fire TV but none of them focused entirely on soap operas. Ramon saw this as an opportunity and decided to build the Soap Hub business around it. The business is achieving 20 million page views monthly, and generating $2 million in revenue a year, mostly profit.
Lesson Two: Keep Learning
When I started as an affiliate marketer, developing contents on digital and electronic products my numbers were always in the negative. And this is not because I was not putting in the time and hard work. Surprisingly, I would sit in front of the screen 12 hours a day writing and editing videos. I don’t know if this is a peculiar situation for some of you. You put in the time, but the reward is not just encouraging. Finally, my frustration got to me and I almost quit. I didn’t, especially after watching a YouTube video on how to attract organic traffic to your websites. That was the missing piece in my puzzle and after 3 months my profit started soaring. My story is similar to series of challenges folks at Redfynn technology had to overcome while starting out. Today they are one of the best providers of Restaurant POS Systems in the world because they keep learning with every challenge that came their way. There is always something to do for you to get your desired result. Don’t just settle for the little skill you have on a gig, go out there and learn how to swim in the deep water. The marketplace is volatile and ever-evolving which means you must be ever learning. This is the key to stay on top of your game.
Lesson 3: Get a Mentor
One of the blessings of the digital economy is the social media platforms and it is redefining how we socialize in this dispensation. It is much easier to connect with people, especially experts in your niche area. Finding a mentor is at your fingertips, so there is no excuse for failure. The reason why I am keen on you finding an expert in your niche is because of the value of mentoring. As a millennial, this is how we have been wired to be successful. You don’t have to reinvent the solutions or run the whole race when there are smarter ways to get to the promise land. One of the vital lessons I picked from my conversation with the founder of Bosun watches is not to trade in the digital market alone. Bosun are getting a reputation for making exquisite luxury watches that won’t cost you a fortune, but it didn’t happen overnight. Constant work with his mentor, testing and refining steps along the way all helped to launch their hand-crafted watches. Bosun watch is increasingly becoming one of the best online outlets for hand-crafted wrist watches
I didn’t quite understand this at first but after reflecting on the benefit of mentorship it began to make sense. Mentorship is not just about getting advice on how to solve the problem but also riding on the back of your mentor to overcome challenges that you alone would not have been able to overcome. Some of my mentor’s referrals have helped my business survive its darkest times.
To attain success is very easy right! You don’t have to go through hell when someone else has done that for you. Find your niche, get the skill and connect with a mentor. That’s all you need in a volatile digital economy.