27/01/2019
How to Succeed in an Industry
You Know Nothing About:
There's nothing about a lack of
industry knowledge that some
directed learning, judicious hiring
and trust building can't fix.
Some of the most notable
billionaires, from John D.
Rockefeller (America’s first) to
Mark Zuckerberg, to name a
few, have proven that you don’t
necessarily need a diploma to
be a successful entrepreneur.
You don’t even have to be
particularly well-versed in the
industry you wish to enter. As
Joe Gardner, founder of
VentureDevs, points out ,
“Understanding the nitty-gritty
details required to build and
maintain a tech product isn’t a
requirement to lead the
company selling it.”
If you think that only
technology experts like Bill
Gates can be at the helm of a
tech company, you’re wrong.
Steve Jobs and Michael Dell
didn’t have formal backgrounds
in tech and still managed to
build billion-dollar businesses
in the industry.
They prove that you can
succeed in any industry you
choose -- as long as you know
how to develop a plan and
follow through. When launching
a business in a new-to-you
industry, combine your good
business sense with these three
strategies for supplementing
your expertise, and your startup
will be well-positioned to
thrive:
1. Do an industry deep dive.
You don’t have to know how a
product is built to sell it.
However, to succeed, you do
have to have your finger on the
pulse of the industry.
Understanding what your
consumers want, what current
industry leaders aren’t
providing, and what you can do
to disrupt the status quo.
If you’re new to it all, or feeling
behind the technological
advancements, then build up
your knowledge base by finding
a mentor, attending workshops,
or joining professional
organizations to take
advantage of their training
resources and conferences. For
instance, when Patrick Weiss
decided he wanted to make a
switch
from IT and management
consulting to user experience
design, he researched this new
industry to determine how his
skills would transfer. Through
his university alumni network,
Weiss found a mentor who
ultimately helped him secure a
job in design.
As you learn, be persistent and
don’t accept surface-level
answers to anything. You’re
not earning a degree, but you
do need detailed answers that
give you more than just a
casual understanding. For
example, if you’re diving into
fashion, learn all you can about
supply chain logistics, material
sourcing, and best
manufacturing practices.
Related: 4 Tips for Breaking
Into an Industry You Know
Nothing About
2. Hire people who can do
what you can’t.
Doing your homework on the
industry will give you a much
better idea of just how much
you don’t know. From a
business perspective, you know
you can deliver what
consumers want. Yet, from a
technical standpoint, you’ll
need to find people who
understand how to make a
product or design a service
that delivers the quality you
promise.
Fill the skills gap in your
startup by making a list of
what you excel at and what
you can’t do alone, or at all.
Speak with your mentor or
online community to identify
what skills and qualities you
should hire for in order to
succeed in your new industry.
In a recent CareerBuilder
survey, nearly 75 percent of
managers admit to hiring the
wrong people and suffering for
it, so due diligence is especially
important.
Depending on how much help
you need, you can outsource
specific tasks to a freelancer or
a team of experts. Or you can
find a business partner to
permanently take over the
technical side while you focus
on things like sales and
marketing. Whatever you
choose, be persistent and
patient. It’s important to hire
someone who not only has the
necessary skills, but is also a
good match for you and your
company.
3. Trust your experts to tell you
what’s possible.
In addition to making your
working relationship easier,
being able to trust your partner
or team of experts is vital to
your startup’s success. You
have to have faith in them
when they say something is
possible or isn’t possible, or
that there’s a better way to
approach something. If you
push for the impossible
because you don’t believe your
experts, then you’re destined to
fail.
Volkswagen’s notorious
emissions cheating scandal
was one of the most notable
examples of what can happen
when a company’s leaders
don’t trust the experts on their
team. It all started when
Volkswagen leaders set specs
for a vehicle that were
impossible
for its engineers to live up to.
While not all instances of
company leaders lacking trust
in the experts on their team will
lead to fraud, trusting those
who are more knowledgeable
than you in a specific area will
benefit your company. You
need your experts to provide
the expertise you lack.
Trust them to do so while
proving that you have what it
takes to make their expertise
profitable. This can be done
through open and frequent
communication. Explain the
why behind your big decisions
and ask them to explain the
why behind theirs. If your team
says a project will take six
months to complete, it’s
perfectly acceptable to ask
what, if anything, can be done
to speed up that timeline. But
shy away from demanding they
complete the same project in
three months instead.
4. Get in with the in crowd.
As both a new business, and
the new kid on the block,
building your social circles
within the industry can build
your own business intelligence
and boost awareness of your
venture. Join industry
organizations, attend events,
and volunteer for committees.
To become more well-known
and respected in your new
industry, you need to gain the
respect of leaders and
influencers whom others in
your industry trust.
Being connected to these
individuals will bolster your
own reputation because your
prospective customers and
business partners will value a
third party’s endorsement of
you and your work. This
approach is especially vital on
social media. When reaching
out to a new audience, brand
association can take you a lot
further than your offering
having to stand on its own.
So how do you choose a brand
or influencer to connect with?
Try to identify a company or
business leader with values
similar to your own. If you
share values and priorities, it’s
likely you’ll have an easier time
building a natural rather than a
forced relationship with them.
A philosophy to live by, stop
asking what they can do for
you — explore what you can do
for them. Make friends, not
connections.
You’re an entrepreneur because
you love breaking new ground,
so it makes sense to want to
transform an industry that you
may not know much about.
Follow these tips to make sure
you understand what you’re
getting into, what knowledge
and expertise you lack, and
how best to fill those gaps with
people you trust. No matter
what industry you break into,
these strategies can help you
find your recipe for success.
