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The temptation of starting a new business might entice you to quit your job. This is because we get to hear many success stories of entrepreneurs that started from rags and ended up with riches. Unfortunately, what we do not get to hear about are the disappointments, failures, and struggles. Every entrepreneur starts their own business with the big dreams of making it big but only few turn that dream into reality. In this article, we tell you how you can also fulfill your dream of achieving success as an entrepreneur.
(1) Lead from the front.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”—John Quincy Adams
Did you notice the use of the word “actions” instead of “words”? This tells us that action speaks louder than words. To be a successful entrepreneur, you will have to set a great example for your team to follow. Remember that your team will follow you. It depends on you what you want them to follow a leader who hides behind a desk and pass orders or an entrepreneur who leads from the front. If you want your team to give it their best shot, then you will have to give it your best shot too. It is as simple as that.
(2) Hire the right people to work for you.
After setting up a new business, what is the first thing an entrepreneur wants? It is the team to run that business. Finding the right people to work for you is critical to entrepreneurial success. Hire people who are passionate about changing the world. Make sure you “hire slowly and fire quickly” in order to take your startup to success. Hire the right person even if takes longer and more resources because training a wrong person will cost you much more than hiring the right person. Few wrong employees’ selection is enough to pull down your company so you better be careful when recruiting employees in your company.
(3) Stand Out From the Crowd
Irrespective of which business domain you are entering with your startup, you might face some competition from already established players. As Dubai Monsters CEO puts it, “Even if you are lucky enough to operate in a business environment where there are no or fewer competitors, you need to be constantly innovating in order to survive because the competitors will catch up quickly.” You do not need an innovation that can put a dent in a universe. You can stand out from the crowd with great customer service, unique product or service. All you have to do is to think out of the box and look for untapped areas where your competitors have not ventured into yet.
(4) Track Everything
Put everything in black and white and keep a close eye on every business activity. This will help you to identify any issues beforehand so you can take corrective action to save your startup from disaster. Most startups took a very casual approach in this respect, which is why they have to bear heavily losses, could never recover from it, and ends up failing. Closely monitoring business operations reduce the risk of business failure and give you more control over your business. Whether it is financial resources or human resources, you should know what each employee is working on and where every dollar is spent. Inability to do that leads to inefficiencies, which later hampers your business growth.
(5) Promote, Promote, Promote
When you are starting a new business, no one knows about it. You want masses to know about your business. How everyone does know about it? That is where marketing and promotion comes into play. Take advantage of all the marketing channels whether it is social media or search engine to promote your business. Establish a strong online presence and create a brand reputation. Instead of telling your audience about product features, you need to tell your target audience the benefits. Highlight how your products and services can solve their problems. Focus on unique selling point and deliver more value to customers. Avoid pushy marketing and hard sell because it would convey a bad message and can put off your customers.
Conclusion
Remember that there is no fixed formula for success for entrepreneurs. It is all about getting the basics right, stay determined despite initial hiccups and keep an eye on business opportunities. Innovative ideas will help your startup to stand out from the crowd. I will end this article, with a quote from Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos, who advises young entrepreneurs to “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”
If you know about any other way that can help entrepreneurs to achieve business success, feel free to share your feedback in the comments section below.
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