What does it mean to start your own business? What are the steps required to become a successful entrepreneur without breaking the bank in the attempt? What are the real risks when starting your own business adventure?
There are as many paths to being an entrepreneur as there are types of entrepreneurs. For example, the owner of a courier company would not follow exactly the same steps as a renovation company. However, there are some commonalities that everyone would need to take.
What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneur and entrepreneurship are two of the words that are repeated the most when we talk about a newly created company. We are talking about entrepreneurs and we all get the image of a person starting a business of any kind: restaurants, dealerships, psychological consultations, shoe stores… all of them would be considered entrepreneurs.
But what really defines an entrepreneur? In which entrepreneurs take risks in order to obtain financial gains. Although making money is not the only motivation for many entrepreneurs, taking risks (usually in the form of financial investments) is something inherent to anyone who is willing to undertake.
Entrepreneurs are also looking to build a lasting project. They take the steps necessary to create a business in which, when the time comes, it allows them to continue generating income even when they are not working. That is, the owner of a cafeteria would not only earn money when serving customers, but would also generate income when you are picking up your children from school.
What is the difference between freelance and entrepreneur?
Still today many people confuse both terms, since in a world so digitally connected, anyone can train online and start working from home as a freelancer. In this way, they accept projects as they arrive and work on their own terms. They can generally be copywriters, graphic designers, or consultants of some kind.
Sometimes, the self-employed are similar to entrepreneurs, with the difference that it is the entrepreneurs who build something that when the time comes is capable of generating income even when they are dedicated to something else. Although these are ambiguous terms, by definition, a freelancer is not an entrepreneur.
How to undertake successfully
Find a niche or industry
To start a new business, the main thing is to find a specific market niche. If you are thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, surely choosing the industry in which to participate is one of the first questions that cross your mind. On many occasions, your niche may be something you have years of experience in, but to be successful for years, you first need to love what you do.
For most entrepreneurs, money is not an attractive enough motivator to keep you working more than seventy hours a week. To be an entrepreneur, it takes more than money to get motivated - you need a purpose.
Research your market
You need to know the available market and find a way to align the area of demand with the need.
That is, if for example you think about opening a pizzeria, you may need to ask yourself if there are other similar restaurants that are already succeeding, what alternatives consumers have, if customers can afford the prices or if they like pizzas. Being clear on these types of points can make the biggest difference between success and failure in the long run.
Get financing to promote your project
Many entrepreneurs start with the mindset of a mid-level North American corporate, but these types of organizations have some advantages that are rarely available in start-ups. In these types of companies, the assistant may have an assistant, but when it comes to entrepreneurship: get ready to do it yourself. While in traditional companies the approach may be to 'do your job', in the entrepreneurial world the motto is 'do what needs to be done'.
The fastest way for a business to fail is to run out of money. If you don't have enough capital to start trading, it's best to make sure you get it before you start. According CredyThe golden rule in this case is usually to opt for a loan from a financial institution. Today many entities offer fast, safe and flexible loans with very good contracting conditions. You can formalize your loan at your trusted bank, or request financing through loans in 10 minutes on online portals.
Scale your business slowly but steadily
Many aspiring entrepreneurs believe that continuous and rapid growth is synonymous with success. However, the reality is that most profitable businesses are built over years (and even decades), slowly, with dedication and with effort.
Any seasoned entrepreneur knows that building slowly is about starting with a sale and moving slowly forward. This is key to the learning process, to be able to make the necessary adjustments before being sufficiently trained. Only time gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to face new situations that in no other way could they face with any formal education degree.
However, the Internet has opened up new possibilities, making generating knowledge about your business possible in much less time. For example, if you want to improve the web positioning of your business, you can turn to companies such as NeoAttack, the best SEO agency in Spain, to help you improve the visibility and reach of your company through SEO services so that more people can know your value offer in less time.
What risks does it imply to undertake?
You should know right now: becoming an entrepreneur is never easy, but it is not as unlikely as many people think. Yes, you will have to dedicate long days, weekends to work and deal with a wide range of unknowns that most people give up before starting.
Risk is often the main reason why many people abandon their ventures, but think of it this way: when you are an employee you only have one source of profit, while if you are an entrepreneur, you will have a wide variety of income streams. If an employee is fired, he loses his salary, but if an entrepreneur loses a client, he will have many others. If you do it right, in the long term being an entrepreneur is one of the safest and most stable options out there.
