In the U.S, 10% of the population comprises entrepreneurs. These statistics are no different worldwide. In Brazil, for example, the number of businesspersons is one in eight adults. Entrepreneurship encompasses all attempts at starting a new venture creation or business and expanding your current business as an individual or a team. It is a major contributor to a country’s economic well-being in terms of job creation and economic growth.
In the past, the four attributes that defined entrepreneurship were decision-making, initiative, innovation and risk-taking. Though these are still important, the entrepreneurship world is constantly changing. As such, you need the rights traits to break even as an entrepreneur in today’s cutthroat competitive business spheres.
Below is a checklist of what you need, while also keeping you on your toes and a step ahead of the competition.
Know your ‘’why’’
People change their careers and jobs at some point for one reason or another. Most entrepreneurs start their companies when they love what they are doing but believe they will earn higher pay and do a better job when they are the bosses running the show. Though there is nothing wrong with this notion, remember that your boss or the owner of the company you are working for had this motivation at some point as well.
To become successful in entrepreneurship, understand why you want to start your business. This understanding will help you keep going and keep your excitement alive when you face challenges.
Understand the challenges and commitment needed to run a business
Most entrepreneurs fail because they do not appreciate the time, energy and resources needed to run a successful business. Some of the biggest challenges you will face when running a business include inventing a unique service or product to satisfy the needs of your target market and coming up with a successful plan for your company.
Even so, hiring the best employees and firing the ones who do not contribute to your bottom line remains one of the main problems in companies.
Sometimes, your contract terms and dismissal of an employee might result in a legal tussle. It is best to have an employment lawyer evaluate your contract terms so that you neither lose money nor your brand’s credibility in these tussles.
Have a backup plan in case your primary one fails
Even the best-laid plans for a business sometimes fail. This does not mean you should give up on your entrepreneurship journey. Have a plan B, C and D in case the first one fails. Having backup plans does not mean that you have abandoned your primary company vision, but you know how to handle unexpected twists.
And as highlighted by Forbes in a recent article, it’s always good to have a backup plan in place — no matter if you are working at a 9-to-5 job, or running a full-time business of your own.
Know your weaknesses
Most people do not appreciate their weaknesses when starting a business. Even so, this might become an Achilles’ heel in your entrepreneurship journey because it determines how far you can go.
Successful entrepreneurs understand their weaknesses and take steps to mitigate their effects on a business. If, for instance, your weakness is paperwork, you can hire a professional to handle your company’s paperwork to ensure it is done right.
This is also where social media comes into play. No matter what your strengths and weaknesses are, it’s crucial to always be networking through the likes of LinkedIn and making sure you are building a network of connections at all times.
Secure capital for your company’s financing
Most startups close down because of a lack of capital to finance their growths. When starting a business, secure enough capital to actualize your dream. Some of your options for funding a company include personal funds, contributions from friends, angel investors, crowdfunding sites, loans and venture capitalists.
Before settling on one of these options, sit down with a financial adviser to understand the pros and cons of each of them so that you make an informed decision.
Be devoted in implementing your business idea
Most people think that setting up their business is the hardest part of entrepreneurship. Even so, implementing your business idea is generally among the toughest steps to actualizing the profits you envision in entrepreneurship. Most businesses fail at implementing their idea. One hypothesis for this failure states that implementation and ideas people are different breeds.
As such, it is hard to find someone who is both skilled in giving ideas and implementing them. Be careful to put together the best possible team to implement your business idea for it to become a success. Some of the key areas of implementation include promotion, public relations, human resource management, technology, finance, public relations and sales.
Being miserable in your current job does not mean that starting a business is the best choice for you. In fact, this could be the worst motivation for becoming an entrepreneur. Without taking the elements above into account, you will close shop within a few days, run into considerable losses and be too discouraged to implement another business idea.
However, with the right aspects in place, few things in your life will make you as happy as seeing the realization of your dream and enjoying the profits that will start trickling into your business’ account.
The Life of an Entrepreneur is Always Moving Forward
After reading through each of the recommended resources and tips above, you should have a much better idea on how to improve your own personal life and business ventures in the process.
If you enjoyed the content found in this article, be sure to read through our recent article on extraordinary people that went on to change the world in a positive way.
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