The life of an entrepreneur has its twists and turns, and finding your groove is challenging. Proper adaptation to the lifestyle for business success includes building habits and developing flexibility to take on whatever the workday brings forth.

Ryan Rock, Ankeny Iowa local, reflects strong leadership, hard work, organization, and productivity skills. His high achievements and goal-oriented attitude are what makes him a successful business owner. His company, Empire AG, LLC, is a single source general contracting company for design and build in the Ag-Industrial construction industry. 

From taking calculated risks to hiring the right person as your first employee, Mr. Rock has been through it all. Here, he shares his five tips on what helped him become a successful entrepreneur:

Tip #1: Love what you do and who you do it with

Any entrepreneur will tell you that passion is the fuel needed to prevent burn-out. If you do not love what you do, you most likely will not want to wake up at seven in the morning every day to do it for the rest of your life. Having a passion for what you do as an entrepreneur is crucial for being an inspirational leader.

When it is time for your first hire, keep your company’s mission and values in mind as well as your passions and what you believe will make your company tick. You want to surround yourself with a team of equally excited, morally-parallel individuals that bring diversity and innovation to the table.

Tip #2: Leverage tasks based on your strengths

Entrepreneurs wear multiple hats during new company development. It is vital not to let a hat collection get out of hand to reach an ideal business victory. As an entrepreneur, you want to take your strengths and weaknesses into account and what you enjoy doing with what you loathe. That way, you can leverage tasks based on your favorable strengths, and better analyze what necessities need outsourcing or what individual would best fit delegations.

Tip #3: Mistakes are learning tools

Fear of failure can be a crippling factor when predicting the success of an entrepreneur. Such a fright can stop any business from seizing all growth opportunities. Instead of being afraid of messing up, take on the attitude to jump in feet first with the proactive knowledge that all mistakes are learning tools and stepping stones for any organization’s development.

Tip #4: Put the customer first

Consumers are the backbone of any market as well as profitable companies. Expert entrepreneurs know how essential happy paying customers are for not only the reputation but the functionality of any business. With online reviews having such an enormous effect on consumer use, it is only smart to put the customer first and strive for the ultimate consumer experience.

Tip #5: Construct a network 

Building a network is critical during the beginning years of business. Entrepreneurs can utilize a network for marketing, partnerships, and advice so that they do not have to embark on such an expedition all on their own.  

About Ryan Rock

In 2018, Ryan Rock, Ankeny resident, launched a general design-build contracting company, Empire AG, LLC, that provides services to industries such as agricultural, biofuels, industrial, and commercial. With a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Iowa State University, Rock strives to complete any project with the highest quality at the lowest cost.

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