There are few pursuits in life that are more rewarding than building your own business from the ground up and seeing it go on to succeed. Being entrepreneurs is something that many have aspirations of. It is easy to see why because it also allows you to be your own boss and to follow your passions, which can be incredibly rewarding.
While there certainly are many perks to entrepreneurship, you must also understand how challenging it is. Often these businesses do not work out even if the idea was great. With this in mind, here are a few tips for aspiring entrepreneurs, which will hopefully be useful.
Become an Expert on Financial Management
No business can succeed if the owner is not intelligent with money. In addition to knowing how to manage your business’s finances, you also need to have excellent personal finance management. There will always be a challenging period initially with not much money coming into the business, so you will have to find a way to manage. While being intelligent with money is vital, it is still smart to use a professional accountant to handle the company’s finances for complete accuracy. But as a young company you might not have a budget large enough to employ a full-time accountant, and in that case, you should turn to software. There is accounting software available that will make everything easier, and the bonus is that you can even integrate it with an automated invoice processing solution that will save you time and money when it comes to payments.
Learn from the Best Entrepreneurs
While it can feel intimidating, and there are many risks involved in starting a business, entrepreneurship is also a well-beaten path. There are many people that you can learn from and courses like an online MBA you can take. Many of the world’s most successful and famous entrepreneurs share their expertise with people through books, interviews, podcasts, and other forms of media, and there is a lot that you can learn from these people. A few good starting points include:
- Elon Musk
- Bill Gates
- Oprah Winfrey
- Richard Branson
- Larry Page
- Steve Jobs
- Jeff Bezos
Work on Your Soft Skills
Soft skills are important in all business areas, but especially when it comes to starting and running a company. Those with excellent soft skills always stand out in the workplace as they are both able to excel in their own role as well as communicate efficiently, which is so important when it comes to leadership. Consider what the key soft skills are for business and then determine if there are areas that need work, which can be done through practice, research, and courses in some cases. A few of the main soft skills that need to be strengths include:
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Leadership
- Presentational skills
- Time management
Learn to Delegate Effectively
One of the biggest mistakes that new entrepreneurs make when launching a business is trying to take on too much responsibility and handle all areas of business themselves. This could be costly as you need to understand your limitations and rely on others’ expertise if you are to excel in business. This is something that all of the entrepreneurs listed above understand. This is why delegation is such an important skill as a business leader and will be critical if you are to excel. Of course, the key to success is making sure that you surround yourself with talented individuals with a skill set different from your own.
Recruit Carefully
Following this, the recruitment process needs to be handled with care, and you should never rush to fill a position. You need to work out exactly what you need from each role and then take the time to find the right person for the job. This means that you should start recruiting early so that you do not have to rush. Additionally, try to place an emphasis more on attitude and personality as opposed to experience since you can always train people to get up to speed (although obviously experience and qualifications are important in certain areas).
Consider Outsourcing
While it is a good idea to have a team of hardworking employees working for you, it is also worth outsourcing instead of hiring in certain departments. This is because outsourcing is much more cost-effective as you can pay on a per-project or per hour basis. Plus, often you can find people to outsource work to, which means that location is not an issue. Outsourcing is particularly beneficial early on as it allows you to avoid overstretching your team while still working at a high capacity.
Network at Every Chance
It is one of the most common tips you will see, but this is good because networking is so important for new entrepreneurs. Making contacts and maintaining these relationships helps you meet people with different ideas and skills than your own, increases your chance of finding new opportunities, and develops your professional reputation. Networking online is important in today’s day and age and can be a great way to nurture relationships. But in terms of meeting people, it is still in-person, which is the most effective, so you need to make an effort with this even if you are shy.
Find a Mentor
For those that are just getting started in becoming entrepreneurs, it is also helpful if you are able to find a mentor whether this is someone that you know in your personal life, someone that you met through networking, someone that you met through an online MBA course, or through a mentorship program. A mentor will be able to provide advice and support so that you make the right decisions. Plus, mentors may also bring their own expertise to the table or have a large network that you can benefit from. People often make the same mistakes when getting started with a business for the first time, and a mentor will help you avoid these problems.
Know How to Make a Good First Impression
First impressions count for a lot in the business world, so this needs to be something that you consider. As new entrepreneurs, you need to come across as confident but not arrogant and someone that people feel comfortable with. This can be a fine balance, and you will need to do some self-reflection to work out what you need to work on – this will also improve your personal life too. A few basic tips for making a good first impression include:
- Dressing smartly
- Taking pride in appearance and hygiene
- A warm smile
- Handshakes
- Making eye contact
- Showing a genuine interest in others
- Asking questions
Be Willing to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
As an entrepreneur, you need to be willing to step out of your comfort zone, and this will be critical for setting up the business, finding ways to grow, and improving your personal performance. You have to take risks in the business (albeit calculated risks) and put yourself out there, which can be daunting. Still, when you do this, you toughen up and develop the key skills that are so important to success in the world of business. You should also find that this improves areas of your personal life. If stepping outside of your comfort zone is something that you have always struggled with, you might find it helpful to do something small every day and gradually build your way up.
Earn an Online MBA
One of the best steps to take if you want to excel as an entrepreneur is to earn an online MBA degree. An online MBA will teach you everything you need to know to excel in the modern day business world, including how to strategize as well as lead. This also means that the online MBA is a brilliant qualification for developing confidence, which is so important to success. By earning an online MBA, you can study at your own pace and with great flexibility to even work on your business as you study or your MBA and start practicing what you learn straight away. Having an MBA will also be useful for instilling confidence in others, such as when you are trying to secure funding for the business.
Always Secure Enough Funding
Calculate your startup costs and secure the total amount before getting started with the business to make sure you don’t run out of funding. If you are unable to get the business up and running to the standard that you want, it might be difficult to find success early on, which will only make it harder to survive. This is why you need to secure enough funding so that you are able to hit the ground running and start developing a positive reputation for your brand. In terms of securing funding, you will want to have a detailed business plan with financial projections and clearly show why it would be an intelligent investment.
Keep it Basic to Start With
While you want to get the business up and running to a high standard, it is also important that it is initially in its most basic form to keep costs down. You may want a flashy office space and the latest tech, but this can interfere with your bottom line, so instead you should try to keep it basic initially and then look to upgrade once the money starts to come in. This could even start with operating remotely as opposed to leasing or purchasing office space, which is a great way to keep costs down and something that has become the new normal in 2020, so it is something that employees will be used to.
Develop a Strong Work Ethic
While it is a great feeling to be your own boss and to be in complete control, you must also understand that it is a tremendous amount of work, which means you will need to have a strong work ethic to succeed. As the top person, you cannot have days where you do not give it your all so if you do not have a strong work ethic, this needs to be something that you work at.
Avoid Burnout
While a strong work ethic is certainly important, it is also essential that you do not overdo it in order to avoid burnout. There is a dangerous mindset in the world of entrepreneurship that many inexperienced people subscribe to which is all about working harder than everyone else and to the point of extreme, but this could be detrimental not only to the business but also to your own health. Instead, you need to make sure that you are working a healthy schedule, taking regular breaks, looking after your health, and enjoying your life outside of work. This will help you perform to a high standard each day, avoid burnout, and enjoy your personal and professional life.
Stay Current with Technology
Technology has always played an important role in the business world but never more so than it does today. Technology can be used to streamline the operation, reduce costs, improve quality, and make work easier for you and your team, amongst many other benefits. There are many different types of technology, and it will depend on your industry, so to learn about the best type of tech, you should try to stay current by:
- Reading business/tech blogs
- Listening to business/tech podcasts
- Speaking with tech experts
- Signing up for newsletters
- Following relevant people on social media
- Attending business/tech events
Be Passionate About Your Work
Starting a business from the ground up is an enormous amount of work and a big commitment to make, especially if it involves steps like earning an online MBA degree. This is why you need to be passionate about your work and truly believe in the project; otherwise, you will run out of steam and struggle to overcome the inevitable hurdles that come your way.
It is an incredible journey to go on building your own business, but it is certainly challenging. There will be a number of obstacles that new entrepreneurs will need to overcome, which are all part of the journey to success.
