10 Apprentice Tips Lessons from Lord Sugar

10 Apprentice Tips Lessons from Lord Sugar Lord Sugar is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of his time, so there are probably a few lessons that we can learn from the businessman who went from working class lad to multi-millionaire tycoon! He may not be the most popular man on the planet, but I think that its fair to say that he has his head screwed on when it comes to business. Having founded the company Amstrad at just 21 years old and received a knighthood, I think thats more than most professionals can say! So what can we learn from the infamous Apprentice host? 1) Not everything can be taught Not everyone has it in them to be a successful entrepreneur, so you can read all the books you like about how to start your own business, but if you dont have an entrepreneurial mind you will struggle. For Alan it was clear that he was destined to run his own company from a young age, having spotted  business ideas since as young as 12 years old and taking on several jobs while he was at school. 2) Start a business in something you know about Dont wake up one morning and decide youre going to start a business in an area that you are vaguely interested in, as you wont have any credibility. You must have experience in the area in order to succeed in it, whether it be from your career or a hobby of yours. Before you launch head first into a business venture, you must also do you homework and research your market thoroughly to ensure your product doesnt already exist! 3) Experience trumps  qualifications Lord Sugar describes himself as a commercial person rather than an academic, so therefore has no regrets about not going to University and doesnt believe it would have made any difference to where he is now. Although theres nothing wrong with wanting to further your education and it can open a lot of doors in your career, Alan is living proof that  you can get by just fine without a degree and sometimes life experience is more valuable. 4) You must take a proactive approach Want something? Go get it! You must be driven and have a hunger to succeed, as this will provide you with the necessary motivation to go to all means necessary to  meet your goals. Know what you want to achieve, make a plan about how you intend on going about it and then stick to it. A level of focus and forward thinking needs to be adopted, so have  a positive attitude and create your own opportunities. 5) Respect is more important than likeability To be a good leader you dont necessarily have the be the most popular person in the office, but you do need to have the respect from your colleagues and business associates. In order to gain respect you must show others respect, stick to your guns and inspire. 6) Everything is open to negotiation Never accept the first offer. Just about everything is negotiable and with a bit of haggling, you will nearly always get a better price than the initial figure. You just need to stick to your guns and negotiate hard. 7) Dont be naive Dont be too quick to trust, especially in the early days of your business. People will try to sell you things that you dont need, which you really cant afford when money is tight and it could even be the breaking point for you business. Dont get ripped off.  All of your budget and time should be used for winning customers in the first few months. 8) Never  give up You have to be prepared for set backs when you enter business. There will  be times when you feel like things arent going exactly to plan, but if you believe in your business, its worth sticking to! Stay focused and take action  to get things going. You cant expect to become an overnight success, so dont try to run before you can walk. True success takes time and hard work. 9) Have a unique selling point and know your product inside out Your product has to stand out on the market or people will just go elsewhere. Be creative and find a unique selling point that you can  market you product based on and if you cant think of a niche, just make sure your product is better than others. Make sure you know your product inside out, so that you are qualified to answer any questions your customers have and can spin your pitch for individuals needs. 10) Hook customers with a great price From experience Lord Sugar has learnt that cutting prices generates sales. So if you start off by offering a product at a lower price, you can reel the customers in and then sell them the benefits of your more advanced and slightly more expensive model.  Alan says that 9 out of 10 will then go to buy more expensive model.