10 Tips for Earning Respect as a Young Entrepreneur

Being a young entrepreneur is tough. You have to find the capital, personnel and sources for the business. Not only that, but you have the added hurdle of others looking down upon you because you don’t have a lot of life’s experience. Here’s some tips to garner the respect that you deserve.

1. Respect Yourself

Before anyone else is pleased, you must be. If you are not confident in your product, how do you expect others to jump on board with it? When you are truly inspired and believe that your product is truly revolutionary, then the confidence that you have will shine through. The respect that you have for yourself will also shine through.

2. Control Your Emotions

People learn the character of others by watching and understanding how they interact with the rest of the population. It is tempting to react the way that you want to when faced with strong emotions, but that is sometimes seen as being out of control. Better to go off and play video games than show the depth of how you really feel.

3. Be Assertive

Many things in the world are received because they were asked for. If you have the courage and the determination to ask for what you want, you will gain respect for doing that. Lay your expectations on the table with your customer so they know what they are expected to do and what they can expect you to do. If you do this in a classy and direct way, it will be seen as refreshing to the client.

4. Be Persistent

If a wall gets presented, find a way around it. Every entrepreneur has been kicked to the ground. The successful ones got up from that, brushed themselves off and started over once more. The adversity that you go through now will make the reward just that much sweeter.

5. Be Modest

Nobody wants to hear about you all the time. Narcissists have a lot of acquaintances, but very few business partners. So, if you have a team, give credit where credit is due. You will not only look better, but you will gain respect.

6. Honor Commitments

If you tell someone that you are going to do something, do it. If you realize after you’ve made the commitment that it was a mistake to offer to do it, do it and make sure that your client knows that it won’t be done again without renegotiation. Stand by your word.

7. Say No when you Mean No

If you are not able to do something, say ‘no’ at the outset. That saves time for everybody involved. If you feel guilty about saying ‘no,’ make an offer for something that you are willing to do instead.

8. Do your Homework

When you open your mouth, there should be absolutely no question that you know what you’re talking about. Your expertise will prove to any of your detractors that you are not in your business on a capricious whim. You need to be studying and researching your field all the time, because knowledge is impressive.

Study skills are especially important when you are earning your MBA. You may want to check out online MBA rankings if you are comfortable with distance learning.

9. Do the Best that you can in Everything

You don’t want to go to sleep at night with any question on whether you could have done your best. You want to know the answer to that question so you don’t have any regrets.

10. Treat Others as you Wish to be Treated

People want to be treated with respect. They want honesty and they want someone to be attentive to their needs while still being fair. Treat people with respect and word about you and your company will spread like wildfire.

By focusing on respect, you can achieve the respect that you desire from your peers. Remember that success can happen at any age.