Entrepreneurship Lessons to Learn

Many successful entrepreneurs have learnt several valuable lessons that have significantly changed their start up business. In retrospect, some wish they had learned the lessons sooner. We’ve put together some of the top tips entrepreneurs wished they had when they first started.

• Mentors Are Vital

Before launching your business, you should find a mentor with extensive experience in your industry niche or field.  Having a valuable mentor will enable you to match up to the high expectations placed on you and will also challenge you to reach your full potential.

It’s likely that, like most other new entrepreneurs, you are prone to making common mistakes. However, having a trustworthy mentor by your side can prevent any expensive business decisions.

It is imperative to put your ego aside and just listen. While choosing a mentor, keep in mind that the perfect mentor is not someone who is just successful but is someone who can provide you knowledge from their life experience and help you steer through the obstacles on your path.

A good mentor can teach you business values and tactics to overcome problems. Seeking guidance from a person who has industry knowhow and experience will help you to take action, rather than just worrying. Having somebody by your side willing to challenge you and raise the stakes will allow you to raise your game to another level.

As a beginner, there’s always going to be challenges and issues to overcome. The key to overcoming these obstacles is to remain true to yourself and listen carefully, as well as following the guidelines of your mentor.

• Branding is Important

Many people think that branding only applies to their products or services. However, that’s only half true as it’s also about the person representing the company.

To put this in context of the success of your business, you need to stand out from your competitors. If you want investors, you have to provide them something they would be interested in so they’d consider investing in your venture.

Business is all about relationships, and clients are looking for much more than just the service you offer. They need to feel comfortable and trust the person they are seeking services from, especially if you are new in the market.

You need to ensure that you are well-informed about your services and products. The more knowledge you have in your field, the more trustworthy and powerful you appear to customers.  At the same time, reliability will help you market your services/products and drive customer satisfaction.

You need to keep in mind that we live in times where everything is guided by opinion and perception. Being well dressed keeps you appealing to clients. This can also form personal branding as when you feel good about yourself, you tend to feel more confident; and it is no secret that confidence leads to success. This is just an instance of branding yourself; you can try your own ways to feel more confident. The best part is that there are no rules and guidelines about branding yourself. Go ahead and do your own research and development, anything that works to improve you and makes you feel more confident works. Remember that your business is a brand and so are you.

• Marketing is a Strong Word

You can have a great idea for a product or service, but if others don’t know about it, it’s not going to work.

Getting people to your website or shouting about your products on social media are a great way to get the word out to your target market, but there is an art to it.

Here’s the golden rule: target the right audience for your niche marketplace. This is important, for instance, you don’t want to be selling fat-burners to thin people. As a start-up business, PR is key to successful marketing. You need to make people aware that your product or services exist.

Strategies you implement to market your business can lead to more familiarity and favourability towards your brand name amongst your target audience through word of mouth, social media and getting featured on several vendor websites that highlight your services.

It may seem simple and ineffective but word of mouth can be an excellent way to build trust toward your brand, particularly within tight knit communities. This is why you must always place great emphasis on providing exceptional service to your clients and aim to leave them with an unforgettable experience.

Social media has become an excellent platform, that has immense business value. With the right strategy, you can access millions of potential customers in minutes.

Learn how to utilise social media platforms and create a stronger online presence to market your services or products. Engage people and you’ll notice the effect on sales.

• Having Emergency Funds Gives You Security

About 80% of start-ups fail in first few years due to financial instability. You can stave off such scenarios by planning for it beforehand and having emergency funds reserved for your business. During the early stages, businesses need to invest and it’s very easy to run out of funds in the quest of meeting all your requirements. It’s crucial to have reserve funds and more importantly, know where to get help if you need it. You can opt for alternative business fund such as Invoice finance, cash flow finance etc, as a great way to fill in your cash gap between business goals and reality. Look for a reputable business finance provider who can provide financial products such as cash flow finance, asset finance and invoice finance that are best suited for your business.

• Work Until Your Idols Become Rivals

Keep in mind that there’s always someone who is working just as hard as you or even harder. Make sure you’re on top of your game.

You need discipline, commitment and dedication to become a successful entrepreneur. There are always going to be people who don’t believe in your vision and they’re not worth bothering about. As humans we’re bound to make mistakes, which is how we learn and improve. There have been numerous success stories that started with mistakes and failure, but the key is to always keep fighting. Never back down or accept defeat in your pursuit.

In order to go ahead and realise your vision, you have to remove the negatives in your life and surround yourself with like-minded people. You need positive people who support you to truly succeed.

Find the right fuel for your business and it will sky-rocket you to success.