THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURES. FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship is both thrilling and daunting.
The journey of transforming a vision into reality, creating impactful products or services, and enjoying the freedom of being your own boss draws countless individuals to this path.
However, the road to becoming a successful entrepreneur is fraught with challenges, requiring a blend of creativity, resilience, and strategic thinking.
To help aspiring entrepreneurs navigate this complex landscape, we have compiled a list of 12 essential tips that cover key aspects of building a successful venture.
Whether you are just starting out or looking to refine your approach, these insights will provide the guidance needed to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into tangible achievements.
Becoming A Successful Entrepreneur: 12 Tips to Guide You
#1. Make a Realistic Budget
Launching a business costs money, and to increase the chances of success, you have to make smart financial moves.
Especially in the early years.
This is why you should create a budget.
Compile a spreadsheet of what you expect to earn and what you expect your expenses will be.
While the first few months might not be the most accurate, you can adjust as you go and learn.
One smart idea is to try to stick to a cash budget at first and avoid loans.
Loans make it way too easy to overspend and before you know it, your business is at risk of failing.
#2. Make a Business Plan
At the start, your business plan doesn’t need to be more than one or two pages.
Detail what your business is, the cost to make what you are selling, the price you will charge, who your target market is, and how you will attract them.
#3. Get Registered
If you are running your business as an LLC or corporation, you are going to have to register with your state.
In some cases, you might even need to register at the local and county level as well.
Depending on the business, a sole proprietor may be able to avoid registering. TO be certain, it is smart to talk to an accountant.
With your license in place, you can go to any financial institution or credit union and open a simple checking account for your business.
This allows you to keep business and personal expenses and taxes separated much more easily – which then helps bookkeeping.
#4. Put The IRS on Notice
When you are a licensed business it is a good idea to contact the Internal Revenue Service to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
Even if you do not plan to hire any employees in the coming year, having the EIN in place will just eliminate any future headaches, especially if your business takes off faster than you think and you find yourself moving up your hiring schedule by a few months.
#5. Get Online
Most businesses reach high potential when they get out of their local area and join the Internet.
You can start simple by developing a business e-mail account at first, and then expand that to buy a domain name for your business, and then eventually build a website.
And while it might be tempting to take to Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest to spread the word about your business, it is much better to tie social media to the actual website after it is launched, not before.
#6. Shake Hands
While an online presence is great, there is nothing like face-to-face connections with potential clients.
This is where networking is important. In many places, networking is more effective at becoming a successful entrepreneur than any other skill.
Get involved in networking groups like a chamber of commerce, small-business organization, Lions Club, or any other entity where you get to meet other business owners or professionals.
But don’t just join; be and stay active. Community engagement is an effective marketing strategy.
#7. Focus on Growing Revenue
As a small business, you are tasked with a lot of duties.
Many of these don’t add to your bottom line, but rather take away from it.
For example, let’s say you are a real estate agent. Part of your job is driving around, showing clients potential houses, driving to open houses, and more.
While it is great that you can deduct your mileage as a business expense, it is a lot of work.
Trust me, I know because for a previous job I had to do this. I kept a little notebook and pen in my car, diligently writing down my miles, saving receipts, and more.
It was a nightmare.
Instead of wasting all your time doing what I did, use MileIQ instead.
MileIQ automatically keeps track of your miles so you can focus on the important stuff, like creating advertisements to promote your business on social media or meeting potential clients.
Not only does it free up your time, but it ensures you deduct the miles you drove.
It’s the best way to track your miles, proven by having over 1 million active users.
The point is, take some time to figure out the tasks that take you away from growing your business and find solutions to save you time and money.
#8. Show Flexibility
As you shake hands and mention your product or service offerings, you get a vibe as to whether what you are offering is what the market needs.
If not, see and understand where the market is; maybe your innovation is so radical that it’s too much of a leap.
Find a step in between.
The point is, to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be humble to understand your market and adjust your business to meet where the market is without being the same as everyone else.
Find that spot where you stand out, and adjust your business model to exploit it.
#9. Under Promise, Overdeliver
The companies that do well and build their brands are those that serve their customers well.
This means don’t promise to be over the top in service and meeting deadlines; actually deliver.
When you don’t tip your hand early and focus on execution, that comes across as exceeding expectations, which puts a smile on your customer’s face and leads to positive referrals and more business.
Of course, this is a fine line to walk as you need to make some promises to get customers in the first place.
But if you can find the sweet spot of exceeding their expectations, you have found gold.
#10. Delegate
When the business grows to the level where you just don’t have time in the day to even sleep, much less have dinner with your family, it’s time to hire people and delegate tasks to them.
Determine what parts of the business you really don’t like, or not as good at or find are the most time-consuming for you, and hire someone to fill that role.
If your business will grow faster with you out in front, then hire an accountant or bookkeeper.
If you are better at watching the money and doing administrative work, then hire a front-line sales person to delegate that part of the business.
You can always start small with part-time work, but if you need to hire a full-timer right away, then you are essentially too late in expanding.
One word of caution is to not delegate too early. While there will be parts of running a business that are not very interesting, it is important you know how to do them.
First, if the person you hired quits, you can take over temporarily until you find a replacement.
Second, by knowing how to do the task, you will more quickly spot when someone isn’t doing a good job and needs to be let go.
#11. Know Your Expansion Plan
As part of your business plan, even if it’s not written explicitly, you should at least have mileposts in your business that trigger certain actions, like when to hire new people, when to buy new equipment or supplies, when and where to get new clients, etc.
As your business reaches certain milestones, be specific in what you are doing next to continue growing the business.
When do you hire new people? When do you expand social media? When do you lease a bigger space?
#12. Know The Costs of Expansion
Especially when it comes to leasing a bigger space because you need it, or if you are ready to open a new restaurant or a new location for your product, you need to know the cost involved.
Often those brick-and-mortar decisions are expensive, so you will tend to be conservative in making those determinations.
However, if you just can’t grow anymore without a bigger space or a second (or third) location, then this might be where you consider finding outside investors.
There are different ways you can structure your partnership, from offering equity or debt, to even a royalty agreement.
Putting It All Together
While there are some small details contained within each of these steps, this should at least give you a road map to get your business to the level where it can be a solid income stream for you.
You have to be patient, creative, work hard, and be specific in each of your goals and expectations for your business.
I have over 15 years experience in the financial services industry and 20 years investing in the stock market. I have both my undergrad and graduate degrees in Finance, and am FINRA Series 65 licensed and have a Certificate in Financial Planning.
Visit my About Me page to learn more about me and why I am your trusted personal finance expert.
Read the full article here
