6 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From The Notorious Conor McGregor

To UFC fans, Conor McGregor is a recognizable name synonymous with his fighting success. To the surprise of many, just a few years ago he was on welfare in Ireland. He has made a jump to the top faster than almost anyone in the fighting world.

Conor McGregor has fought several times over the past 12 months, including headlining two of the three best-selling UFC fights ever on pay-per-view. He recently had a boxing fight against Floyd Mayweather. He currently is worth many millions of dollars. However, besides being an amazing fighter, he has many savvy characteristics and habits that other entrepreneurs can learn from.

Here are 6 lessons entrepreneurs can learn from “The Notorious” Conor McGregor:

1. Become Obsessed

Conor attributes much of his success to hard work. His confidence comes from his performance and he believes he is so much better than everyone else because he outworks them. He says it best when he says, “They don’t work harder than me and they don’t want it like I want it.”

He has gone further in saying: “I feel that to be at the pinnacle of any game, you’ve got to be a little gone to it. You’re not all there. You’re almost insane to your craft. I pay attention to nothing else.” Start getting obsessed with whatever your big goals are and chase them until the very end.

2. You Need To Have An Image

McGregor has a badass image, complete with the tattoos and the attitude. While many professional fighters have a similar image, McGregor takes it to the extreme and maintains this image across all of his brands. He posts pictures that portray the badass lifestyle and it is well received by his followers.

Part of his success is that he doesn’t drift far away from his established image. Why? Because it’s authentic. He isn’t pretending to be someone or something that he’s not. He is a badass professional fighter and his image portrays that. Not only that, but he’s cocky and extremely loud, which is portrayed in almost everything that he does. His brand is clearly well-known and within your own business, you need to create an authentic image and stick to it.

Here are some tips to really come up with an image that works for your business:

– Make sure your image explains what you do without words. Social media is becoming the most powerful branding tool that any business can put to use. It’s the place people turn to now, even more than websites. Everyone is connected on social media so they are going to search out a business that they are potentially interested in on social media first.

– Stay consistent. Once your image is defined you need to stick with that theme. If you start straying away from that image, it will end up confusing your audience and they will question the reason for following you. Attract them with your image and then keep them engaged with consistency.

– Focus only on your core audience. A brand will NEVER attract everyone, so don’t worry about the segment of people that aren’t going to connect with your image. Focus on strengthening your image to attract your core audience, because those are the ones that are going to end up converting into sales and cash. You will never appeal to everyone.

3. Expand Your Network 

Working in a different vertical within his industry is giving him the opportunity to meet and collaborate with a new group of professionals. McGregor knows the more people he works with, the easier it will be to attract opportunities in the present and the future. He was a cage fighter who with the proper networking was able to land one of boxing’s biggest fights, which was a sport he never competed in.

Don’t ever pass up an opportunity to network. It often time takes one right person to change you or your business forever. Constantly work on expanding your network, meeting new people and developing new relationships. This is one of the biggest tips to fast track your success in the entrepreneurial world.

4. You Need To Have The Right Team Behind You 

McGregor knows that he would be nothing without his team. His brand that he’s building is successful because of his work, but without his trainers, coaches and management, he wouldn’t be where he is today.

The same applies to any business. Your team is everything, and every single person fills an important role that contributes to the overall success of the organization. When building your business, give every single team member the same respect and value their contributions equally.

Even though McGregor is the one training hard and putting in the physical work and taking the beatings in the ring, he knows it isn’t a one man show, even though he technically is the entire brand. There are numerous people behind the scenes that don’t always get the credit, but are crucial to the success that Conor finds in the ring.

5. Be Confident

During fights, it isn’t abnormal for McGregor to taunt his opponent. Even before his fights, Conor is constantly exuding confidence. He mentally believes that he beats his opponents long before they enter the ring with a war of words. He has even created a famous character known as “Mystic Mac” that goes on to predict when fights against his opponents will end.

Believe you are the best at what you do; you make the best product, you offer the best service and you have the best team around. Don’t be afraid to showcase your confidence to your customers and/or peers. There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence, but it’s never a bad idea to believe in yourself.

6. Stay Humble

Though many would laugh at the idea of the Irish man’s humility, McGregor indulges in a kind of doublethink of being both the champion and the underdog: “I am #1 at my craft, but I show up every day as a white belt — as a Day 1 beginner.” Not only that, but when Conor has faced obstacles and losses, he has been humbled and shown honor towards his opponents.

In business, even if you have reached the top, you need to stay humble and grounded. Being humble is what your customers will always want from you. No matter how big your organization is, be willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy your customers.

Conclusion

McGregor knows that his window of opportunity as a fighter is very limited. Injuries and age are hard to avoid, so he is taking matters into his own hands to make sure that he maximizes his opportunity while he can. His thinking may come from a fighting background, but he can provide many lessons for entrepreneurs. In this post, I shared with you 6 lessons entrepreneurs can learn from “The Notorious” Conor McGregor.