An entrepreneur differs from the rest not only in his activity, but also in his consciousness, way of thinking, habits. We have collected 10 recommendations for those who want to start their own business project
1. Love business processes - this is your priority
Success in business depends on two factors: a good product that solves people's problem, and well-established business processes. If your favorite business is baking cakes, running sports training or developing websites at the heart of the company, you should understand that you will be engaged in it only 15% of the time, and the remaining 85% will be spent on marketing, administrative work, sales, strategic planning and electronic mail. You need to love this job and learn to think like an entrepreneur.
2. Get ready to work on yourself
Business will change your life no less than marriage or the birth of children. When you work in an office, you rarely have to step out of your comfort zone. With your own business, it’s different: you will face your fears, complexes, excuses, restrictions, and ineffective time management. But you will learn to accept yourself, work on yourself every day, and over time, your weaknesses will become strengths.
3. Remember: the path to success will be long
Don't expect to be a pro in six months. There is a rule of ten thousand hours - that's how much it takes to succeed in one activity. Even if you are talented, and even if you work 15 hours a day without days off, it will take time for your colleagues to respect you and for your business to generate income. The main thing - do not rush to give up ahead of time.
4. Money can run out, be prepared for it
Starting a business, do not count on the fact that you will no longer have financial difficulties. Entrepreneurship is a risk, and almost every success story contains a period of no money or even bankruptcy. But once you go through such difficulties, you will become much stronger if you do not step back from your path.
5. Find a stable source of income
There is nothing wrong with finding a second job - don't take it as a failure. Financial stability and emotional peace of mind of an entrepreneur are essential to the success of a project. Create comfortable conditions for yourself, only in them you can generate creative ideas, think freely and on a large scale.
6. Read more information
The main problem in running a business is your resistance. Before doing marketing, social media promotion, financial management or time management, read read more about it.
7. Learn less, act more
Gathering data, doing research, and reading other people's blogs are forms of resistance. Clarity doesn't come from learning more - it comes from throwing yourself into a fight, even if you don't quite understand what to do.
To start working more productively, protect yourself from distractions: hide your phone, close your social media tabs in your browser, turn off email notifications. Then get to work: do something meaningful and measurable. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work until you see results.
8. Choose Your Business Partners Carefully
Carefully study any potential project and people with whom you have to cooperate. Make sure all agreements are in writing before starting a project. Clearly define the distribution of responsibilities and deadlines.
Most likely, you will share income, so you should have two numbers in your head: the first is how much you need to earn to compensate for the time spent, and the second is how much you would like to earn. Set the first financial deadline as early as possible so that any of the participants can leave the game if the project does not turn out to be profitable enough. In case one of the parties wants to continue working on the project, consider a transition strategy.
Write down all the details, even if you are friends or have already worked together. Do not rely on good relationships and mutual trust. New projects often do not develop as planned, and participants begin to react emotionally.
9. Get serious about promotion
The product part is the most interesting for many entrepreneurs. However, if you do not invest time in promoting in the market, you will not earn significant money. Even if the product is perfect, people won't come by themselves.
"Package" your product so that it attracts attention and makes you want to buy it.
Choose the channels through which you will promote your product.
10. Organize your email
Your inbox will be littered with letters, but you won't be able to answer each one in detail. Remember: not every email sender is your client. People will write thanks, try to get something for free, start a partnership with you, or offer their services. Your task is to quickly distinguish who is who, and not spend a lot of time answering.
Minimize correspondence as much as possible. Create several templates that you will send in response to frequent requests, and if the question is non-standard, offer to call - this way you will save time and respond to the request in a quality manner.
Let's fix
1. Do not focus only on the product part, devote more time to business processes.
2. Work on your fears, complexes and limitations.
3. Do not count on quick success and do not give up after the first failure.
4. Don't count on stability. The money may run out one day, but it will make you stronger.
5. Don't quit your job until the business is profitable.
6. Before learning the tools, learn to overcome your own resistance.
7. Learn new information only as needed. Take action.
8. Carefully choose partners and detail the terms of cooperation in the contract.
9. Learn marketing and promote.
10. Minimize the time you spend on email.