Congratulations! Inspired by the 10% of new businesses that succeed, rather than daunted by the 90% that don’t, you’re ready to become an entrepreneur. You’ve got ideas, talents and abilities in which are worth investing your time, effort and resources. Acquiring and developing the right resources is one of the most important factors in the equation of success.
Use the Right Financial Resources
One of the reasons that so many people decide to start their own businesses is that there are so many more alternatives to bank loans with high interest rates than there were in the past. While that is still an option for gathering the necessary cash to get your venture off the ground, it’s now only one of many. The internet, social media, and the emergence of the sharing economy has made it possible for people to trade services for necessary resources such as office space.
Satisfied customers can also be potential investors in your business. Organizations like Y Combinator, which has invested in over 1000 startups now worth over $65 billion since 2005, are always looking for new investment opportunities. Gust is another online platform where investors and entrepreneurs can connect. Crowdfunding through sites like Kickstarter have also made it possible for many new entrepreneurs to successfully launch their businesses.
Network Your Human Resources
The most important human resource you have is yourself. Before the internet, business people built professional reputations based on personal integrity. That hasn’t changed, but the massive influence of advertising has resulted in the word “reputation” being replaced by the word “brand”. While not everyone is comfortable thinking of themselves as a product, there’s no denying that social media presence affects sales of whatever product or service you provide. It’s important to take charge of creating and maintaining a social media presence based on your own principles and priorities.
It’s no coincidence that 90% of new businesses fail and that 90% of first-time entrepreneurs attempt to launch their businesses without asking for help. No entrepreneur can achieve success alone. The importance of networking in all directions of the social ladder cannot be stressed enough. Networking upwards provides valuable mentoring experiences, horizontal networking develops good peer relationships that provide feedback, and downward networking pays it all forward.
Developing contacts and good working relationships is essential for the success of any type of new business. Fortunately, technology has made every aspect of running a business easier and more efficient, including networking. There is business software available designed specifically for virtually every type of business that incorporates functions that all businesses utilize, such as scheduling, inventory, and accounting.
Take Advice from Pros
In interviews, several CEO’s of successful companies offered some advice to entrepreneurs. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, SolarCity, and Space-X, believes that it’s important to seek critical feedback “from as many people as you can about whatever idea you have”.
Ron Bodkin, the CEO of Think Big Analytics, advises new entrepreneurs that strategy, flexibility, and perseverance are essential elements of business success. “To get good payback on an investment…there needs to be a good strategy, a roadmap, adjusting the course with seven to ten corrections at different stages of the journey.”
The story of Steve Ells, the CEO of Chipotle restaurants, provides a good example of combining education, passion, experience and networking to achieve success. He attended culinary school after majoring in art history in college because he had a passion for cooking. Originally, he started Chipotle to earn enough money to open a fine dining establishment. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said “If you have an idea, just go for it. If everybody is telling you that it’s wrong, maybe that’s an indication that it’s an original idea.”
Identify and Manage Your Assets
Assets aren’t just financial. Your talents and expertise are assets that require consistent effort to fully develop and maintain. Becoming a lifelong learner is essential to remaining competitive in any business. Your emotional support system of friends and family is just as important an asset as your network of business contacts. Now that you’ll be setting your own schedule, remember that physical, mental, and emotional health is the most important asset that any of us possess.
Author: Philip Piletic is a freelancer, writer and traveler who loves to share his experience about business, marketing and tech. Thanks to LockedOn for their help with this article.
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