Wes Boshoff's 7 Lessons In Reaching Your Business's Full Potential As a start-up, does your vision push the boundaries? Are you putting everything you have into achieving something great? Here are seven lessons to help you (and your business) reach full potential.

A lot of starting a business is just winging it. Call it the hustle, faking it "till you make it or biting off more than you can chew (and then chewing like hell), the reality is the same: Doing what you can, when you can to get yourself and your business out there so that you can build a brand with longevity.

Here are Wes Boshoff's seven lessons in building a brand that matters, offering your clients something of worth, and always following your passions.

1. Seize the day

Wes began his career in the people development industry. He was involved in high-impact training and developmental coaching, and entrepreneurship couldn't have been further from his mind. "I had no appetite for going solo," he recalls.

"I was employed but doing some part-time coaching on the side, and while this may have seemed like a springboard into entrepreneurship, I've always viewed start-ups as requiring three key things: Timing, opportunity and experience. Experience in particular was a stumbling block for me.

"I was young. I didn't feel like I'd earned real credibility or had enough life experience to offer real value to others. Who would listen to me? I was just Wes."

And then an opportunity presented itself and Wes decided to take the plunge anyway. "After becoming an expert in behaviour and personality profiling, I was asked to join a project management company. About a year into joining them they shut down."

Facing unemployment, Wes decided to take the plunge and never work for a boss again. Instead, he seized the opportunity to launch his own business and brand.

And so, Five-Star was born, a brand that sought to help businesses improve their customer service by first focusing on their employees. Wes decided to cut his teeth in the hospitality arena, where customer service is the life-blood of the industry.

The lesson: There is no perfect time to start a business. There will always be excuses to put it off. You will never be 100% ready. And yet, until you've taken that first step, you can't start testing your model in the market, tweaking and adjusting your offering to suit your audience. If your dream is to become an entrepreneur, don't look for all the reasons why you shouldn't take the plunge, but focus on the one reason why you should.

2. Don't wait for business to find you

When Wes launched Five-Star, he had no savings to invest in the business and no assets. He had himself and his experiences. "I didn't spend time on a business plan or money on getting a website up and running — that would all come later. I spent what I could afford on business cards, and hit the streets. I believed I could tell my story better than a website could, and so I focused on getting myself in front of the people I needed to sell my services to."

Wes' first call was to the GM of one of the fastest growing hotel groups in the country. "I introduced myself as Wes from Five-Star, told him I'd heard a lot about how good his hotel was, and that I'd love to take him out for coffee to discuss what would take them to a ten.

"I didn't sell anything over the phone — I wanted a face-to-face meeting, and the opportunity to share real value. I wanted him to see why we should work together, rather than make a hard sell."

Wes is an expert in hospitality, training and customer service. But he was also winging it. During the coffee meeting he was asked to do a mystery guest assessment, to uncover which areas could be improved upon.

"I asked him if he'd like me to use their report or mine, and thank goodness he said theirs, since I didn't have one." Nine years later, that hotel group is Wes' longest-standing client.

This is the tactic Wes has used to build his business and brand ever since: He focuses on face-to-face meetings, sharing his story, who he is and what he's learnt, and really listening to his clients' challenges so that he can offer advice and add value — even if they don't end up doing business together.

The lesson: Entrepreneurs make things happen for themselves. Wes personally does not like cold calls, and so he's found a sales strategy that works for him. How you sell isn't as important as the fact that you are out there, selling yourself, your business and the solutions you can offer. If you aren't out there selling, you'll never build a sustainable start-up.

3. Make the most of tools

The report that the hotel gave Wes for his first mystery guest assessment became the template for a report he built for himself. Over the years he has developed numerous tools, building on his experience with Discus and other methodologies to create frameworks for his motivational talks, training and coaching programmes.

"In the early days I couldn't afford to purchase tools, so I had to really listen to my clients and develop what they needed. There are so many resources available to us today. You just need to do your research, know your industry and be constantly tweaking your offering based on what works best."

In Wes' own words, he's not a book smarts guy, but a street smarts guy. "It's why a business plan didn't work for me — I needed to be out there, testing my model and my theories, and tweaking and adjusting my offering. I paid my school fees, and used those learnings to develop the tools I needed to deliver results.

"I love developing models. Applied knowledge is power. But don't overcomplicate things. There's a simple process to learning and development: The stages of knowledge start with a revelation, new knowledge, followed by realisation — making it real — and finally a revolution, which leads to purpose and progress.

"That's what I help people to do — create perspectives, interrogate the perspective, and then affect real change in their lives and businesses."

The lesson: The more open you are to learning and adjusting your solutions, the more you'll be able to offer to your clients. Any tools you can develop to add to the overall experience are value-adds that benefit yourself and your clients.

4. Add value before you add an invoice

Wes is a born networker. He loves meeting new people, sharing his story, and finding out more about the people he's networking with. He's also very good at uncovering the challenges they face and offering solutions, even if those solutions aren't one of the products he offers.

"When you increase your network, you increase your net worth. I believe in being the go-to guy for my clients. I want them to feel comfortable picking up the phone and asking my advice on anything. I believe great businesses and brands are built when you add value before you add an invoice."

This has been Wes' motto throughout his career, long before he launched his own business. "I've always put my hand up when a new challenge or task has presented itself. I don't believe in constantly looking for what's wrong in what's right.

"Face the reality, and determine the best way to get the opportunity out of the obstacle. You need to choose to be opportunistic. I'm a realist, but that doesn't mean I want to live in a negative environment.

"I've brought this attitude to everything I do, including how I view my clients' businesses. It's not about what I can get from them, but what I can add to them. Some of this I can charge for, but valuable advice should be freely given. I believe in cultivating an opportunistic mindset; and I want to help my clients and their employees to do the same."

The lesson: As an entrepreneur, you need to walk the talk. If you truly care about your customers, add real value without always expecting something in return. You'll build long-term relationships built on trust and mutual respect.

5. Don't lose focus

It's a common problem amongst start-up entrepreneurs. Early wins leave you feeling overly confident and eager for more. It's at this stage that many business owners start looking for new challenges, and where else they can divest their energy for new and exciting wins.

For Wes, this diversion was cars. "I'd been accepted into the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship, but instead of focusing on Five-Star, I was looking for a way to combine my passion for cars with business."

What Wes found was Plastic Dip, a US-based product used to wrap cars. "I stopped focusing on Five-Star and launched Plastispray," he recalls. "I had this massive vision, with not much support. I forgot the cardinal rule that I'd learnt in Samuel Chand's book, Who's Holding Your Ladder, and that's the importance of support. We might be the sole founders of our businesses, but that doesn't mean we don't need support systems. Who is holding your ladder? Who won't get bored and walk away?

"I ended up in a situation where my focus was completely scattered, I wasn't managing my personal life, and the business I was trying to build just didn't have legs. I even landed this incredible project, building a Mini Cooper for the launch of Virgin Mobile. We turned it into a photo-booth and broke a world record for the most people squeezed into a Mini — which was 25.

"I thought, that's it, after this project, the business will just take off. And nothing happened. It opened no doors."

It was a hard lesson to learn, and one that took its toll on Wes emotionally. "2013 was the lowest year of my life," he says. "I started seeing a psychologist, and spent 2014 rebuilding myself. I realised I needed to work on my attitude, my fears and my business. I also needed to learn how to focus again. We can't achieve anything in life if we aren't focused.

"I failed hard, but it also gave me perspective. When you learn you win — which means that failure isn't actually losing. It's important to understand that, and it's what pushed me through the tough times. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn."

Once Wes regrouped and renewed his focus on Five-Star, the business started taking off. "People outside of the hospitality industry started asking me for help. I was invited to speak at international leadership conferences, and work with businesses on turnaround strategies. From there the business has just grown from strength to strength."

The lesson: Focus is essential. It's easy to get distracted and chase the next trend or hot idea, but real success takes time to build, and sticking to anything long-term takes focus. The more focused you are, the higher your chances of success.

6. Understand your brand

For nine years Wes has operated the business under the Five-Star name. The longer he's been in the industry however, the clearer it's become that his brand isn't the business, it's himself, and his ideas.

"I'm always, unapologetically, "just Wes'," he says. "You'll never be everything to everyone. The best thing you can be is authentic. Some people will love you, others won't. That's okay. Just be true to yourself.

"I'm not a suits guy. I arrive how I am, share my story, my lessons, and give the best advice I can. I share tools and tips to become the best version of you. I wouldn't be able to do that if I wasn't completely myself when I work with my clients."

It's for this reason that Wes has recently rebranded the business to "Wes', with the tagline, Imagine Thinking. It's an ideal closely linked with his talks, his philosophy, and his name in the market. "I'm becoming a thought leader, and that comes with risks," he says.

"When you put yourself out there, you need to have enough confidence for people to disagree with you, because that's hard. Not everyone will like what you're saying or agree with you on a particular issue. You put yourself out there in the public domain and if you aren't sure of who you are and what you stand for, insecurities can come to haunt you.

"I tell everyone I speak to, "disagree with everything I say...' I can't change the way people think, or what they think — I just want to challenge them to think for a change.

"I want you to consider your opinions and question them. Imagine thinking. Thinking is a verb. You have to do something — you need to disagree to set your own thoughts in motion. Be brave; share your thoughts so that we all benefit together.

"I used to take myself seriously; I don't anymore. I don't want to offend, but I'm okay if you don't agree with me."

The lesson: Your personal and business brands tell a story. They let your customers know who you are, what you stand for, and what your values are. People do business with people, not companies, so don't be afraid to authentically share your story.

7. Have a vision that scares you

For Wes, too many organisations have a vision that's external and designed for clients. But he believes vision is an internal thing.

"As an entrepreneur, your vision should be for you and your employees. It should be your guiding light. It's your future, and it should consistently grow.

"If you don't achieve your vision, it's because you don't have an appetite for the mission. If you're only looking two to five years into the future, that's a goal, not a vision. Your vision should scare you. It should wake you up and keep you up. It should drive you."

"The mission is how you achieve the vision. You need to know what it will take to get there, and this usually includes a lot of hard work, stress, fear, and living on the edge. But that's okay, because we're designed to stretch ourselves. That's when we discover our full potential."

The lesson: Don't ever be too scared to think big. Thinking small isn't what entrepreneurs are built for. Big hairy audacious goals (or BHAGs) are the foundation of successful, game changing businesses — and successful, fulfilled entrepreneurs.