Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter. PHOTO/File

With an entertainment career that has lasted over 16 years, Jay-Z has demonstrated incredible staying power and an intuitive acumen possessed only by the shrewdest of businessmen. Based on the brilliance of his career, here are five things Jay-Z can teach us about entrepreneurship.

1. Get started with your dreams even if you are the only one who believes in yourself

Jay-Z’s mainstream rap career started in 1996 with Reasonable Doubt, arguably his best album. Interestingly, all of the major record labels refused to give Jay-Z a deal, a decision that most probably regret. Instead of continuing to beg for validation like many other artists, Jay-Z started his own record label with Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs.

2. Do one thing really well and use it as a foothold to expand into related areas

Jay-Z’s strategy of gaining a foothold within a very specific niche and then expanding is used in many different industries. Google’s mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible.” Initially, the firm did this through their search engine technology; it has since expanded into auxiliary services like email, blogs, and hundreds of other Google apps.

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