FasTrack to Starting your Business
fm Abigail Ahern’s Blog 6/14 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz
I was so overwhelmed on the response to my last post “10 Things I Wished I Had Know Before I Started My Business”, (thank you guys) and therefore super excited to bring you this one “Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur”. What I’ve learnt along the way is that unless you are fortunate to be born into a wealthy family or you’ve gotten in from the ground up with Mark Zuckerberg the path to success aint easy!
1. Stop sitting on the Fence. If you have an idea, go for it. Like now !!! There will never be that perfect time. The economy will never be just the way you want it, the products will never be tweaked or perfected enough for your liking, and the market will never finish being polled or analysed. You could spend months waiting for the right moment. It’s far better to take the plunge, get it out there, & then perfect it.
2. Forget about that Light-Bulb moment. It isn’t likely to make you a billionaire. (Sorry!) You’re more likely to make money from business ventures you didn’t even think of initially, or got into gradually. True success not usuall just one idea. There’s a whole lot of other ideas complementing your exciting idea. Does that make sense?
3. Use Social Media to your Advantage. Social media is cheap. Yes, it’s super time-consuming, but for very little cash, you can engage with your customers, attract new business, & build your brand + a fabulous community. If you’re just starting out and you have no followers, do not try to buy them. For the following reasons: a) It’s unethical, b) It’s deceptive c) It’s ultimately a loser. You want Customer come to you because you offer value – that they’re willing to pay for. It’s super obvious when a business has faked it – there is very little activity per number of likes. If your likers aren’t legitimate, they won’t be engaging, commenting, or driving traffic. Whilst it might seem like the best way to go in the beginning, the easy way out never pays off. Facebook is gunning to shut down the fakers as data integrity is key to their business, just as it should be key to yours. Build your community from the ground up. Where is the satisfaction in faking it – you’ll get an amazing group of loyal people following and interacting with you. That is a treasure that can’t be bought.
4. There are no Short-cuts. If you don’t have faith or passion, you’ll not be able to survive the tough times. It literally boils down to this: “If you believe in yourself, you’ll win. I cannot tell you enough how for the first 3 years of running my business, every single day, getting despondent & frustrated at the lack of customers – I wanted to throw in the towel. Where was everybody? I didn’t get it. I just had to have faith. One day I knew it would be OK, I just had to keep moving forward, doing what I was doing! It really is nothing more than that. Your intuition is telling every fibre of your being, that one day it will work . You must believe in yourself.
5. Work hard & it’ll eventually Pay Off. There are no flexible hours being an entrepreneur, no sick pay, holiday allowance, or overtime pay. Not many weekends off, no finishing at 5 or ‘let’s have a picnic or dash away for the weekend’ type conversations. So the trick is loving what you do – otherwise you will resent it big time. Yes, you’re the Boss, often the Developer, but you’re also Marketing, Sales, HR & Accounting when your just starting. As you grow, you’ll have to be the visionary, cheerleader and sometimes even therapist. Until you reach the point where you can delegate all that down, you’ll be wearing many hats! The work/life balance is a good goal to have, but if you want to get ahead, there really is nothing that substitutes working incredibly long hours. What comes with this is that inner satisfaction of knowing you’ve created something fantastic and it’s going to do a lot of good.
6. Keep some Facts to yourself. Entrepreneurs that succeed never give up. I remember years ago we had paid the wages, paid rent, paid the suppliers and we had literally nothing in the pot for us, barely enough to pay for food even. Did I convey that to my employees? No. You can’t let them know. You’re the boss. You solve problems. You’re not the problem. Don’t burden the people working for you with them. It’s your responsibility to figure a way out.
7. Don’t be afraid of Failure. You’ll only be a successful entrepreneur, if you love what you do. There are no shortcuts. It’s hard, it’s tough, & you have to slog it out and have patience. You may fail at a few things, but the most pioneering ideas & the most successful ideas have come about, because of those setbacks & hurdles. Evaluate the situation. What are the other options you could take?
Conclusion: Do all of the above and one day you’ll look back and say, “Did I build that? You – all on your own – built this thing that gets recognized and appreciate. It’s a business that is financially stable and has enabled you to turn your dream into a reality! Going into business can be intoxicating – even addictive – and the possibilities of where you can take it are endless. Now are you ready to Start? Go for it !!!
Comments: Do you have any Ideas, that you could add, for a fast start of a business?
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