The United States is renowned as a land of opportunity. People immigrate from all over the globe to this nation seeking change, and change certainly is available. Our country is full of immigrant entrepreneurs who make a living chasing their dreams.
At the same time, starting a business isn't easy. It can be even harder if you aren't a native English speaker or had to immigrate without much in the way of capital. That's why today we've gathered some of the best tips to help immigrant entrepreneurs start their journey!
Tips for Immigrant Entrepreneurs
If you have plans to start a business in the United States, it's going to take work. About 45% of businesses fail in their first five years, and 65% fail in their first ten. Those numbers can be a bit misleading though, as your particular situation might make success more or less likely.
If you want to boost those odds in your favor, consider the following immigrant entrepreneur insights:
1. Dreams Only Go So Far
This may at first read harsh, but it's true. A dream in your head doesn't make a successful business. Your dream can be a starting point, but you need to make it workable.
Once you know what you want to do, it's time to research the industry you'll be in. Figure out what people who have already succeeded are doing. You need to make an actual plan that has a good chance of succeeding.
You want to know how to achieve the American dream? You need to be incredibly dedicated and hardworking. It takes luck too, but that luck is meaningless if you're not ready to act upon a lucky opportunity once it arrives.
2. You Must Educate Yourself
Starting a business as an immigrant is intimidating. There is a large amount of information you have to absorb and you probably grew up in a country with different laws regarding trade and business. For this reason, many immigrants lack the background to just jump right in.
It may be a good idea to take community college courses to help you get the baseline knowledge you need to run a business. You should also consider consulting with experts too, who can help make sure you get started down the right track.
3. Keep Your Standards High
Business is competitive these days, which means you have to be invested in being the best entrepreneur you can be if you wish to succeed. Corners cannot be cut.
In many ways, this circles back to both of the above points. You should be well-versed in the way true professionals are running their businesses. One way in which you need to keep your standards high is regarding training and certification.
The exact kind of certification you need will vary depending on your business, and some of it won't be mandatory but will still be worth considering. As a general rule, your employees should be trained to be the best they can be and should always at least be trained as much as the law requires.
For native Spanish speakers, business translators can be a major help in this regard. They can interview you directly and figure out exactly what you need, helping you figure out a management system that can meet of just about any of the modern ISO standards.
4. Stay Adaptable
A strong entrepreneurial venture is adaptable. We live in turbulent times and the pandemic showcased how much businesses can be tested by unforeseen circumstances. If you can't adapt to changing markets, your business ventures will fail.
Staying adaptable is largely about watching your industry (and the powerhouses operating in it) and learning from their successes and failures. You can see what works and what doesn't, all without having to take the risks yourself!
Starting a business as an immigrant is challenging enough. Don't get so stuck in your current way of doing things that you ignore the signs your business needs to change. If the competition is doing something you're not (and it's working), it's time to consider doing it too.
5. Plan Ahead
This a broad tip but maybe the most important one. You need to plan for your business to grow. This is what separates truly successful entrepreneurs from the average restauranteur or hardware shop owner.
Most businesses fail in the first ten years. You should be figuring out not just how you'll survive in that time but how you'll thrive.
One of the easiest ways to do this is reinvesting in your business. Profits should go to improving some part of your business. It may be your marketing, your product selection, your website design...you should constantly be trying to make things better.
Not only does this help your business attract customers, but it also helps you scale down if you have an issue. If you've put work into hiring new employees, carrying a wide array of products, and heavily marketing yourself, you have places to cut costs if it becomes an issue. If you've instead been happy with the small profits you made early on, you may have no choice but to close if there's a problem since you have no real way to cut costs further.
Keep Learning and Earning!
If you're still interested in becoming an immigrant entrepreneur, we've got plenty of advice for business ventures of all types! The American Dream is still alive for those that want to work for it.
At Bootstrap Business, you can learn about marketing, technology, cryptocurrency, and more. Whatever type of business venture you're planning as an immigrant entrepreneur, we're sure to have something that will help you reach your desired level of success.
