Want to become a successful entrepreneur? Follow these tips
Starting and growing a successful business isn’t easy. And as an entrepreneur there are many lessons you’ll need to learn along the way. Here are some tips to help you.
Whatever stage your business is at – whether you are planning it, in those exciting first few months, or several years down the line – there are some key truths that will help you succeed. And to help you, we’ve compiled a few tips in this article.
Learn from the best
If you want to go far in business, you can do much worse than finding a great mentor. Even successful business owners choose to work with mentors – people who inspire them, and have connections and experience they can benefit from.
Some have become successful in several businesses at the same time such as David Karp, Catherine Cook, and Milan Kordestani. All these amazing young purpose-driven entrepreneurs have their own stories which can inspire and motivate potential innovative minds.
Following a successful entrepreneur’s business journey can help you set milestones, and also set goals, and find out what steps they took in their career path when faced with similar barriers and professional opportunities.
Finding a mentor is a fantastic way for you to learn more about your sector from someone more experienced, and can help you avoid mistakes as they share their advice and personal experience.
Your mentor may well have made mistakes themselves, but this makes them the perfect choice to learn from. They can give you insight into where you could be going wrong, and help you make better decisions in your entrepreneurial journey.
Continually expand
If you want to succeed in business, then you need to be prepared to continually evolve. Markets are constantly evolving, and it’s essential you stay up with the current trends and changing needs of your customers.
And its not just markets – technology and fashions change too. And your customers expect you to stay up with the trends and developments. If not they could be tempted to move to a more savvy competitor instead. So, for example, if you start a website or shop selling sheepskin rugs, but the trend moves onto cowhide rugs, what’s to stop you stocking those too?
Nurture your long-term relationships
One of the most important assets your business has is your relationships. You need to be a business that other people – both suppliers and customers – like and trust. So your ability to nurture long standing relationships with others is paramount.
If you’re ever looking for business finance, your ability to get on well with people and present yourself as a responsible reliable entrepreneur matters too. For lenders and investors don’t just look for profitable businesses to truth with their money, they look for an entrepreneur with the vision and ability to grow a business and produce results.
Inspire others
Even the richest and the most successful business owners cannot be good at absolutely everything. All entrepreneurs need to have a team around them, and that team needs to be inspired and properly managed.
You see, the real skill isn’t hiring the right people – it’s about hiring people who share both your vision and your passion. If you can invest in your team then they will invest in you, and together you will be able to achieve greater success in the future.
Trust your gut
You may have started your business because you had a brilliant idea, or a passion. But at some point along the way, you lost sight of your dream and the gut instinct that led you here, and started trusting data and spreadsheets instead.
Don’t get us wrong; data and spreadsheets are vital in business and should never be ignored. But don’t fall prey to allowing them to dictate every decision, and divorce you from your instincts.
Equally, as your business grows you’ll probably find yourself surrounded by a team of people who have options or even a say in the direction your business takes. And these people will have their own visions and, quite possibly, agendas.
As much as they may feel passionately about your business, it’s unlikely that they’ll know it as well as you. And if they haven’t bought in, it’s not their money on the table. So if your gut tells you an idea or decision is good or bad, don’t dismiss it out of hand. Listen to your gut instinct and weigh it up alongside any data or advice, and make a fully informed decision.
Have a plan
Starting out with a business plan is considered crucial to success. But continuing with a plan is just as important. All too often, we write a plan for our launch… then tuck it away in a drawer never to be seen again.
But without direction and clear goals, it’s easy for your business to go astray. So make sure you have a plan for what you are doing now, and where you want to get to. Consider your finances, marketing, offering, competition, marketplace and the people and suppliers who help your business to run.
Anticipate any potential problems and come up with strategies to overcome or mitigate them. And define what the success of your business looks like to you, so you know what to celebrate when you get there.
Photo by Christina
