Tales and Tips from a Serial Entrepreneur

Tales and Tips from a Serial Entrepreneur

By Razor Suleman, Founder and CEO, I Love Rewards

As a serial entrepreneur, I have learned my share on what it takes to not only light that entrepreneurial flame within, but also take the business to the next stage, and the next, and the next.

I started my first business at the age of 15 when I decided to become a sports card dealer and flip Upper Deck Hockey cards for a profit. Since then I founded and now serve as CEO of I Love Rewards, a web-based marketing incentive firm that builds employee rewards and recognition programs. My advice to you aspiring startup entrepreneurs is this:

1. Follow Your Passion – I know it’s simple and seems like a given, but nothing is more rewarding than when you discover what drives you and pursue it relentlessly. I am a pointaholic. I love earning points and the satisfaction of redeeming for great stuff. I Love Rewards is based on this principle – earn points for doing well and redeem those points for something great (something on your wish list).

2. Create A Vision – Ask yourself what your end goal looks like and communicate it to your staff or yourself by writing it down! We have a 2012 vision statement that outlines where will be and what we will look like. It helps us make decisions that serve our long-term goals rather than our short term goals only.

3. Surround Yourself With Great People – As Jim Collins preaches in “Good to Great”, get the right people on board and then get them in the right seats. Hire people who are smarter than you and allow them to grow by building a distinctive workplace culture and encouraging them to explore their interests. We have vision committees at I Love Rewards where employees can spend 20 % of their time developing another area of the business they show interest in, away from their regular job function.

FYI – I highly recommend picking up a copy of “Good to Great”. If we were a religion it would be our bible.

Check out our website and blog – www.iloverewards.com

(Photo courtesy of Razor Suleman)