Having an innovative idea can lead to a “start up” of a new business. With this adventure of entrepreneurship will undoubtedly come a lot of challenges unique to an early stage business. Here are some tips to help with the transition and to keep your new business on the right track.
1. Follow your passion.
Starting a business to become wealthy and famous is never a good reason to own a business. A year into entrepreneurship, you will not be sitting on the stage of Shark Tank, fighting to get awarded an investment from a group of mega-wealthy entrepreneurs. Likely, you will be working long hours, with no glory or fame.
In my extensive experience working with entrepreneurs and business leaders, overwhelmingly, the successful entrepreneurs are the ones passionate about what they do. Simply put, they love their business, their jobs and their industry. It’s also important to love the work – the hours will be long.
2. You don’t know what you don’t know.
One of the biggest mistakes in entrepreneurship is trying to do everything. The most common scenario is that the owner has knowledge, skills and hopefully contacts in a particular field. While that may be a good start, you must also recognize that you cannot also be an expert in marketing, accounting, payroll, tax and human resources (as examples).
It might not be financially feasible to outsource everything in the beginning, but as the business grows, the focus should be to “stick to your knitting” and to assemble experts on an as-needed basis to help shape and guide the organization. Insignificant fees such as professional payroll services, ensures state and federal compliance while freeing you up to do more important tasks to grow your business.
3. Embrace the reality; you are a startup.
The first few tasks for the new business should not be acquiring commercial space, leasing a company car, or any other “business trappings.” Be frugal even after landing the first big contract/sale/project. While this might sound contrary to advice above, it’s not. There’s a big difference between fancy commercial space and hiring a professional to assist in marketing your business. One will expand your business while the other is a fixed expense that brings nothing to the new company.
Additionally, it is increasingly accepted that commercial space for many businesses is passé. Employees in remote locations are continuing to be a strong trend in companies of all sizes. “Lean and mean” will pay your business strong dividends over time.
4. Accept you are not perfect.
You are not a perfect human being so you should not expect to be a perfect entrepreneur; it’s impossible. No matter how much you feel you have the perfect business plan as your roadmap for success, it will not work out the way planned for the business. There will be some positive surprises in the journey, but there undoubtedly will be challenges.
A good entrepreneur expects some level of failure, and uses those experiences to become better in the business. Some of the greatest lessons come from failure—so don’t ignore them.
5. Focus on your strengths.
The opportunity for a piece of business—any business—is exciting, especially in the beginning. Whether it’s a desire for a “win” or desperately needing the financial gain, proceed with caution at taking just any business that comes your way. You know your bailiwick, so stick to the plan and seek business where you have strengths and can deliver successfully. Do not take business that will cause distractions or make you veer away from your core strategy. You risk producing poor results, which can lead to a negative reputation, adverse human resource issues, and take you off track from the business plan you so carefully created at the start.
While these five tips are good overall guidelines, this is a marathon and not a sprint. Each day will bring new excitement but new challenges. You will no doubt feel business “pain” towards a successful path, there’s so much more that is necessary to get on the right path and stay there. I look forward to working with entrepreneurs at all stages to help them maneuver these issues to allow them to fully realize their goals.
