Are you an entrepreneur who's getting ready to launch a startup business? If so, you're probably eager to get underway with your entrepreneurial journey. At the same time, most first-time business owners stay awake nights wondering what more they can do to up their chances of long-term success. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do now and in the near future to add stability and profitability to the entrepreneurial venture.
A smart way to begin is to examine a short checklist of skills that successful startup owners have in common. Of course, there are no guarantees that having experience, a degree, the ability to delegate, patience, and networking savvy will make a new company profitable. But taken together, the components ramp up the probability of doing well. How many of the following items can you check off as ‘done’ or ‘achieved’? Start at the top and assess your strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur.
4 Factors Of Entrepreneur Success
1. A College Degree Or Professional Certification
Depending what you sell or what type of service you provide, a college degree or professional certification / license can have a huge impact on a business's viability. In some fields, potential customers search out owners and providers who hold particular degrees in subjects like IT, marketing, accounting, design, and engineering. In many cases, it's a matter of deciding to invest wisely in yourself just as you would put money into a promising stock or venture capital project.
Earning a degree and paying for one are two separate efforts. To cover all the expenses of a four-year or graduate program, the most efficient solution is to take out a loan from a private lender. Applying is fast, and you have the chance to take advantage of competitive rates and terms no matter the school, program, or length of the coursework.
Not all entrepreneurs need a college degree, and some famous ones have skipped or dropped out of college, but they are usually the exception to the rule. Even legendary entrepreneur Steve Jobs admitted that some of his college courses directly helped him with Apple and Pixar's success. And tech entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook empire would never have been built if he wasn't enrolled in Harvard for a brief period of time. If you can avoid taking on too many large loans or other financial burdens, continuing education like a degree will usually help your future business ventures.
2. The Ability To Delegate
Unless you plan to work solo for the rest of your life, it is essential to acquire basic delegation skills. For the majority of new owners, that means getting used to the idea of outsourcing tasks that are not in your realm of capability. For some, it is hard to let go of complete control that comes with being a founder/owner. But, unless you know your way around tax law, accounting, IT, and business law, it's important to view outsourcing as a way to focus on the things you know best.
3. Patience
Few entrepreneurs value patience as much as they should. All too often, people who build their own businesses from the ground up confuse patience with laziness. In fact, impatience is a subtle form of being lazy because it entails a need for immediate satisfaction. Hard workers realize that results, like substantial profits, can take months or years to materialize. Blogging is a great example of this. While this is certainly a lucrative route towards entrepreneurship it might take some time before you are able to quit your job and blog full time while earning a comfortable income.
4. Networking Prowess
Handing out business cards and joining the local chamber of commerce are essential but not sufficient moves. True networking means making contacts on a continuing basis, spending time on the phone with potential clients, taking part in community service projects, hosting events that showcase your goods and services, scouting for new market segments, doing a few pro-bono projects to build up your experience, and engaging wisely with social media.
Entrepreneurial Excellence
Being an entrepreneur is one of the toughest jobs in the world. Keep these four tips in mind to ensure that you have the greatest chance at entrepreneurial success. But there are no guarantees, so you will have to work hard and keep adapting throughout your entrepreneur journey! Hustling hard and making sacrifices are the rites of passage for most successful entrepreneurs in today's competitive market.
