Many people generalize that the world is made up of two types of people—dreamers and doers. Dreamers are those who think big, have strong vision and passion, but rarely follow through on their ideas. Then, you have doers. Doers are those who are practical, responsible, and consistent. They don’t necessarily think about crazy, big ideas, but at the same time, they excel at executing tasks. If you are considering starting a business, you have to become a rare commodity—both a dreamer and a doer.
In essence, successful entrepreneurship involves taking an idea, developing a product or service based on the idea, developing a business model, assembling a team, and then bringing it to market. The journey of taking something from the ideation phase all the way to market is quite an incredible accomplishment. Here are 5 tips to help you survive the early stages of your business launch.
Write It Out
This should go without saying, but you must have a detailed business plan. This should include a detailed breakdown of your business models, all of the risks the business must deal with consistently, full financial projections, etc. Include how you will finance the operation. SBLD.com is a site that offers information and resources for entrepreneurs seeking financing options.
Test Your Idea
This is a step that most entrepreneurs skip. You should take your idea and business model to trusted experts who know the business in general, and ideally your industry, and test your idea on them. If everyone you share your business idea with thinks that it is a bad idea, you should go back to the drawing board and tweak the model. On the other hand, if everyone loves the model, then you know you are on to something and can move forward with confidence.
Find The Right Partner
Partners can help tremendously in the early stages of business development. There will undoubtedly be high levels of stress during the initial stages of the company launch. A business partner can help alleviate this stress since responsibilities are shared. However, a bad business partner will increase stress significantly. For instance, when choosing the wrong partner for mortgages the result could lead to a major headache. Therefore, make sure you choose wisely, and never make any rash decisions concerning who you will partner with
Spend Less
A good rule of thumb is to take the number of months it will take to reach break-even in monthly operations, and then multiply that number by 3! It will always take longer than you think. Therefore, keep expenses intentionally low during the early stages. That increased cash reserve may be the difference between making it and closing up shop. SBLD.com is a great site to peruse if you are looking for business financing.
Find Mentors
The entire journey from ideation to launch is extremely challenging and, at times, will be very stressful. Therefore, reach out and find a mentor. The importance and helpfulness of an experienced entrepreneur can never be overstated. When times get tough, you have to have people in your network that you can lean on and get advice, feedback, encouragement, etc. This is absolutely 100% essential.
Entrepreneurship is an incredible journey. Although the risks are high, the potential reward is huge—financial independence. Follow these few tips and you will be well on your way to launching a successful company.
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