7 Steps To Becoming An Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is being glamorized these days and it seems everyone wants to go into it to rake in some profits for themselves. It is worthy to note that for every successful entrepreneur, there are many others who failed in the venture. This is to show that becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy task and if you are not willing to do the intense work it involves, you should probably try not to get into it.

Before you decide to be an entrepreneur, you have to make research on what it entails. You have to find out what makes an entrepreneur and what doesn’t. You should not just go into entrepreneurship simply because you want to become your own boss and don’t want to answer to anyone. No, that won’t help you in the long run. Make sure you are clear on what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.

After figuring out if you really want to be an entrepreneur and concluding on becoming an entrepreneur, you should proceed to take certain steps needed to become a successful entrepreneur.

Steps To Becoming An Entrepreneur

Steps To Becoming An Entrepreneur

This article lists the 7 important steps you have to follow in becoming an Entrepreneur.

The 7 Important Steps To Becoming An Entrepreneur

Step 1: Pick a Niche

Before starting out as an entrepreneur, you should take your time to pick a particular niche that you are interested in and wish to focus on. Focusing on just one niche would make the business operation smoother. Also, it will help you to spend lesser time to learn all about the business compared to if you wanted to learn everything wholesale. You cannot afford to go into entrepreneurship blindly, trying to get your hands on whatever looks appealing. If you do this, you could fail woefully. So, focus on just one niche at a time.

The business you choose should be in line with your personal interests and goals. You would spend a lot of time working on this business. So, from the set go, settle for something that you really enjoy doing. It might be something you have worked on before or just a hobby you wish to expand into a viable business.

Step 2: Acquire and/or Update Your Skills, Get Help Where Necessary, Outsource

When you are just starting out as an entrepreneur, you need to be honest with yourself. Make a list of the skills you possess and those you do not have but know that you need or will need to enhance the business operations and success. If you lack some of these skills, you can get a friend or family to help you with this. This activity will give you a clear picture of your strengths and weakness. It gives you a better understanding of where you need to improve and also where you need to ask for other people’s help.

Many budding entrepreneurs make the mistake of wanting to do everything by themselves. They may do this simply to lower startup costs or because they feel they do not need help. Various aspect of your business needs different kinds of expertise some of which you may know little or nothing about. Be prepared to ask for help, you might have to pay to get professionals to work on certain things sometimes.

Step 3: Research Further About the Business (i.e., Conduct a Feasibility Study)

Even after you have chosen your preferred niche, there is still the need to make a lot of researched on the business before launching it. You should find out how profitable the niche you intend to go into is, who your competitors are, etc. For instance, let’s say you want to start a salon business in your neighborhood. You should conduct deep research otherwise known as a feasibility study to find out things like:

  1. How many saloons are in that area?
  2. How are those saloons fairing?
  3. Are the available salons making a substantial profit or are they just struggling to get by?
  4. Would the locals be able to afford your services?
  5. Is this a suitable location for this kind of business?

You need to find the answers to these and many other questions before proceeding to start a business. They would be of tremendous help in figuring out exactly how you should run your business -what to do and what not to do.

Step 4 – Draft a Business Plan

There is a saying that goes thus, “we plan to fail when we fail to plan”. A business plan is simply a must- have for every aspiring entrepreneur. Even if you are in the business already and you do not have a plan, you really should get one. A business plan clearly shows you in detail the various aspects of your business. It highlights your goals and the steps you need to take in accomplishing them. It does not have to be perfect at first, but it needs to be good at least.

There are various business plan templates online that can help you with this crucial task. Some are paid while there are also some free ones out there. If you have a good grasp of what your business is all about, then go ahead and deploy a template to draft out your own business plan. Also, there are various experts out there who specialize in helping people develop an adequate business plan for their business ideas. You can seek them out if you feel you need to.

Step 5: Acquire More Knowledge (i.e., Upgrade on What You Know)

It is true that you do not necessarily need a college degree to run a successful business. This does not mean you should not seek out knowledge that is relevant to the type of business you are involved in. Every business has a particular way to run it its own principle(s) and techniques which one has to follow to achieve success.

You do not have to go back to college to acquire this knowledge. There are short courses on business management which you can easily acquire from a business school near you. Besides, you can enroll on online certification courses in entrepreneurship that offer immense value. A course that relates to your business would give you better insights on how to run it effectively. For instance, if you are into the food business and you own a restaurant, you can take courses on how to make some foreign cuisines to add to your expertise.

Step 6 – Put the Right Team Together

You cannot possibly do all the work alone. Getting the right team to work with you is essential on your path to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Make sure you hire like-minded people. People who see and help you to harness the vision you have for your business. They do not have to be experts in what they do. But you must be certain that they have a good work ethic and are ready to learn new things. Also, you should make sure that their values and personalities resonate with the ones you want for your company. A good team would propel the business on a faster track to achieving the set goals.

Step 7 – Sell Your business Idea, Make Money

Even with all the planning and knowledge acquired, if you do not know how to sell your idea (product) to your customer for cash, it is no good. The business world has changed tremendously over the years and there is probably competition everywhere you turn. Knowing how to sell your product properly is a game-changer for you in the industry. One way of doing this is to find something unique to the product you are selling. Sell this unique property by attributing the value it gives to the customers.

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