Learn from your mistakes and allow mistakes to happen.
Toke was born with an unusually strong entrepreneurial drive. He started his first business at age 18, and has been gaining experience and skill as an entrepreneur ever since. Starting with a bright idea in 2009 and launching the company in 2011, Toke has been the creative driving force behind Billy. Toke Kruse started his accounting software company in Denmark. He currently serves as its Chairman of the Board.
You might meet up with Toke at one of the many lectures he gives, offering other entrepreneurs encouragement and practical advice.
Where did the idea for Billy come from?
I have been an entrepreneur for 15 years. 7 years ago I realized that if I couldn’t stick to my financial targets on a regular basis, I didn’t know whether or not I was ahead or behind schedule in terms of earning or losing money. To solve this problem, I founded Billy – accounting software so easy that anyone can use it.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My day is never typical because two days are never the same, so in order to keep myself on track and stay productive, I stick to routines that allow me to stay on top of my many to-dos. My day starts with checking my emails (looking for important emails with action items) followed by an hour long workout. Afterward, I tackle the my most important to-do of the day, followed by lunch and then all the smaller to-dos. I keep all my ideas and to-dos in ONE list, so I have an overview for all my tasks.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I look for troubles and problems. If something is irritating or taking too long I ask myself: Could this be done in another, more efficient way?
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The development of my company and the growth of our customer base.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Keep your eye on the ball and always only work on ONE thing at a time.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
It was a very, very long time ago, but it was probably moving empty bottles from one basement to another. I learned that if you work systematically you can finish tasks more quickly.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Spend more money early on and hire resourceful people sooner.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Learn from your mistakes and allow mistakes to happen.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Keep things simple and work hard to achieve your goals. If you have a focus and you want things to happen, they often do.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Not knowing how much I spent and how much I earned. Not having a financial overview is the worst thing you can do as an entrepreneur.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A webpage that describes every person on the planet. A “wiki” for plain people, not only famous people. Why? So you can look up people you meet and see who they are. Not like Facebook, but like a Wiki.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why? (personal or professional)
I bought a flower for my girlfriend, because she needs to know that love is always around her, even when I’m working and not physically present.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
Wunderlist because it’s easy and keeps track of all my ideas and tasks.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
You should read my book A Players, as it describes how you build a successful team and why it’s so extremely important. Or “From zero to one” from Peter Thiel.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Forentrepreneurs.com by David Skok because he knows his stuff and you can learn a lot from him.
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.