As a budding entrepreneur, you need to:
1. Join the competition
Don’t be afraid to dive right in. Make yourself known in your industry, even if on a small scale. This is not to say you want to start out thinking you can put other companies out of business — or even that that’s what you should aim to do at all. Rather, you should use your competitors’ successes as motivation to grow your own company from the ground up. You should also look to the established professionals within your industry and see them as the mentors they are. Many of them will be more than willing to help you get started on the right path.
2. Hire the right people
You’re not going to be able to run your company by yourself. You want to hire competent and forward-thinking individuals who are willing to work toward a common goal. While you don’t want to make exorbitant promises from the get-go, you want to make it clear that their efforts today will pay off in dividends tomorrow. You want people who are motivated by more than just the almighty dollar working for you. You want the ones who understand your vision and will stop at nothing to see it come to life.
3. Reduce your risks
Starting a business is a huge risk in the first place. And, believe it or not, getting started too quickly can end up coming back to bite you immediately. As your business starts to grow, be careful not to take on too much. You don’t want your customers and clientele to get the impression that you’re unreliable. While you should never turn away a customer willing to pay for your services, if you’re unable to cater to their needs right away make sure they understand this, and that the only reason there may be a slight hold up is that you want to provide them with the best product or service possible.
4. Be adaptable
If you haven’t noticed by now, trends change on an almost daily basis. Because of this, your business needs to be able to constantly adapt to the needs of your customers. While you don’t want to sacrifice your integrity just to make a quick sale, you do want to listen to your customers’ advice and criticisms. You’re almost certainly going to make mistakes along the way to success. But if you don’t learn from them, you’ll never reach the goals you’ve set for yourself.
5. Focus on your customers
Like I just said, your business only exists because your customers do. But your company isn’t unique (at least not yet). Your audience can easily find someone else offering the same service or product as you. What keeps them loyal to your company is the personal touch you put into your business. Don’t settle for knowing what your customers want. Reach out to them as human beings. Create a community of like-minded individuals who share their ideas freely. Not only will this give you an idea of how to move forward with your business, but it will show your customers that you truly care about them and want to provide them with exceptional service.
6. Think ahead
This goes along with being adaptable. Like I said, you always want to be changing with the demands of your customers. But you shouldn’t be reactive in this prospect. You need to proactively grow as a company, and never settle where you currently are. Imagine if Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg had just stopped working once they made their first million. Not only would they not have nearly as much as they do now, but Microsoft and Facebook would never have grown to the omnipresent entities they currently are. Once you’ve reached one goal within your company, you should immediately start looking ahead to the next milestone on your path. Featured photo credit: Child Entrepreneur Lemonade Stand 50 Cents Each Qiqi Lourdie June 24, 20111 / Steven Depolo via farm7.staticflickr.com
