12 tips for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs
From an article by Nesta Challenges
Three entrepreneurs, who have continued to grow their businesses in the pandemic, recently revealed their top tips for anyone out there looking to start a business.
1. Remember your “why” and put it up everywhere. Print out and paste your mission statement on your wall. Stick pictures in your planner. Make it your laptop wallpaper. This way, when things get tough, you’ll remember why you started, and it’ll help you to keep going.
2. Get a mentor or a coach.
3. Learn as much as you can, and then learn some more. Some things in business will be completely new unchartered territory for you. So read all books, watch YouTube tutorials, learn from other peoples experience, take courses, attend workshops – make sure to dedicate time to learning, and it’ll be invaluable to your business as well as your own development.
4. Research, research and research again! It is really important to understand what problem you are trying to solve with your idea, and if it is viable. Know your customer – who are they, what do they like, how old are they, what do they want? Write a Business Case – it is not just fancy words, it helps keep you on track and not get distracted. All of this might take time, that’s OK. Time is your friend.
5. Keep it simple. Allow your initial idea to keep you focused and shine through, put your energy into one thing. Time for add-ons and new ideas later along the line.
6. Don’t skip the foundational elements of entrepreneurship when you’re ready to take your ideas to a more official level. I know they aren’t as fun and that it’s quite overwhelming, but they are really important, and if not done or understood from the beginning, it could harm how you operate your business in the future. Elements like business registration, domain names, accounting, contracts and thinking about your brand, etc.
7. Learn some basic accounting software, or excel set-up, track all incoming and outgoing costs. You have to understand your profit margins, and track all costs.
8. Don’t let the idea of perfectionism stop you from actually taking action. For a long time, I would fuss over things that didn’t matter, that others probably wouldn’t even notice. In the end I realised that actually I was the one holding things up because I wasn’t brave enough to just go for it. Done is better than perfect. You have to remember that no one really knows what they are doing, but we’re all brave enough to simply give it a go.
9. Have fun with it and be open to learning and meeting new people. Look for people in your community. Look for groups in your chosen area and join them. Once you’re in there, browse the posts, contribute answers to questions when you can, ask your own questions, share your product/service and generally put yourself out there. That’s how you build up connections with people.
10. Remember 'No' is a full sentence. If it is not right for your business, or your instincts are not feeling it, you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone.
11. Trust yourself. You have got this far, you can go further. Self belief is a really powerful tool!
12. You succeed or you learn. Being an entrepreneur is not always easy, and changing your path is necessary. It’s OK to change, you grow and you learn!
Read the full article here.
See also other articles on this site - Changing the World, A Young Person's Guide to Social Entrepreneurship and How to start your social enterprise
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From an article by Nesta Challenges, 07/07/2021