Down to business: Assuras

We chatted to Tyler King, entrepreneur behind the global consulting agency Assuras

Who are you and how did Assuras get started?

Tyler King (TK): I’m a serial entrepreneur who has developed a set of unique and untraditional methodologies over time in working with a diverse set of clients from many industries. Assuras was born out of my desire to make an impact in the world through the clients we help. My first venture, a technology services company that hit $1M in revenue during my senior year in high school, inspired me to engage clients from a nontraditional perspective. We solved many technology challenges by developing our own processes from the ground up, questioning common ways of doing things. After that venture, I did independent consulting with leaders and executives which allowed me to gain a wide range of industries. Also during that time I gained a heavy business education from leading institutions. I applied many concerns with alternating perspectives for form our basis for bottom up consulting work.

Today, Assuras operates in several countries and works with international firms and companies all over the world. We bring on a very diverse set of individuals to contribute in thinking about challenging problems in new and different ways. We have experienced many breakthroughs with our clients which have evolved into recommendations for best practices in several industries.

How do you foster creative thinking with Assuras?

TK: I believe one way that I do this is by allowing people to fail and not beat them over the head for their failure. Thinking creatively means failure is even more likely than success. If that statement holds true, you must allow mistakes to happen without punishing people for them.

Naturally, creative thinking means doing something different. I like to bring different people together with alternating perspectives to facilitate out of the box exploration that lead to new ideas. Bring a diverse group in together allows different ways of looking at a particular issue or problem. I want people who are willing to speak up with what they might believe is crazy or something that might not even work. Going through the process and questioning why we do something a certain way is important, because we discover many breakthroughs that seem so simple in retrospect.

Furthermore, I also try to encourage people to join in who do not agree with the majority. I want their thoughts on why they don't agree to do something a particular way and what alternatives they might think of themselves. People are not all wired the same way - and to me this is a blessing. We are able to make breakthroughs every day by focusing on differing perspectives. Isn't this one of the reasons many companies call in a consultant to begin with?

What are the three most important habits to be a successful entrepreneur?

TK: 1. Focus: When you set out on a venture, there should be a clear goal in mind - your destination. You must do things one at a time. You can not arrive at two destinations at the same time, and an organization should be led no different. One paramount mission, head that direction, and revise course to get to that destination.

Prioritizing is paramount here. Set your goals in order of president and then work through each one as if it were a destination. Often, solving one problem will resolve smaller ones. Don't attempt to do two or more things at the same time. One foot after the other. Solve one problem, then move onto the next.

Equally important is the leadership in focus. I like to use the car analogy a lot. When maneuvering any vehicle, there is only one driver. Why? Could you imagine if you had two steering wheels on a car, or two rutters on a boat? You would got no where, much less damage the vehicle in the first place. As such, there should always be a single driver in control.

2. Ability To Handle Rejection: As an entrepreneur, you will face a lot of no's. That is perfectly fine, but you must be able to handle it and move onto the next opportunity. Rejection is common. Not everyone will believe in your ability to deliver the proposed solution, much less believe that your solution is the right one. The great thing about business is that the market chooses what is most attractive or efficient over time. You have an idea, don't let one person thought bring you down. Focus on getting feedback on opportunities and learn from the market as a whole. You will fail many times, but it's how you get back up that really matters.

3. Strong Selling Skills: One of my early mentors used to tell me that the CEO or Founder should be the best salesman in the company. This is primarily because leadership is performed out of influencing others, not with demands. As such, you not only have to sell your products or services to clients, you must also sell your company, vision, mission, and yourself to your employees, partners, and vendors - on top of your clients. It is important to know your offering well and to be able to sell it. But leadership demands a lot more. The initial people who you bring on in an organization is paramount to your success. You have to attract talent who will believe in you and your ability to lead the company and them to success. Build your selling skills constantly. This is not just about revenue, but leadership of the entire venture.

To what do you owe your success with Assuras?

TK: I believe success is one part drive and another part luck. While you can put in a lot of hard work, there is something to being in the right place at the right time. As such, I believe positioning yourself in areas where opportunities can present themselves is one way you can influence the element of luck. Being available in areas in important, but its also important to be able to 'see' them as well. Opportunities can come in many forms, but the ones which usually bring the biggest amounts of reward are the ones which began as huge challenges or problems. And I believe this is what I owe much of my success to. The ability to see problems as opportunities.

The chances of someone else having a hardship with the same thing which I am facing is often high. Imagine if you could solve a few of those challenges, make it easier on someone else. The concept of value is important to remember here because other's perception of value is all relative. Perspective determines what someone else might pay for, but at the end of the day, it's all about being able to make someone's task a little easier. Most people today are extremely busy and overwhelmed. As such, seeing problems as potential value completely transforms my approach to them. I welcome problems and hardship into my life because I am able to help find solutions that make life easier on others, or less painful. I believe that ability to see something that most people would want to run away from, and the ability to welcome it into my own life, is what allows me to be as successful as I am within my own ventures.

What are your values and ideas and does this translate to Assuras’ values as well?

TK: I live by the idea of doing what is right. Now while this can open up existential questions and the never ending book of philosophy (which I love to do in my spare time I might add), this comes down to something very simple to me. I treat others with respect as I would want to be treated, I stand up for people when they are being taken advantage of, and I try to always take the higher path in not harming someone else.

It's important to be honest, because without that, we don't grow. We don't evolve when we lie to others and ourselves and it only hurts our own growth.

You must be able to, and willing, to be transparent because there is not a single person who has walked this earth who is superior in every way possible. I live by Emerson's quote, every man is my superior in some way - every person you meet will be better at least one thing than you are. It could be simple or complex, it doesn't matter.

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