It’s a great time to be an
entrepreneur—in the last decade, technology has levelled the
playing field and propelled an entrepreneurial revolution. As an
entrepreneur, you now have more access to information that enables
you to make more intelligent choices more quickly. You have an
advantage over big businesses in that you’re lighter, more
flexible, and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more
quickly, and you can turn on a dime.
But being a successful
entrepreneur requires that you look at the big picture and follow a
plan through from beginning to end. Rieva Lesonsky, who is
editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine gives some practical
guidelines that can help you when beginning your own enterprise:
1.
Don’t Quit Your Day Job.
Consider starting your business
part-time, especially if it’s online, while you’re working and
have a steady income. It usually takes six months to a year to get a
business going and you don’t want your ability to make your house
payment to hinge upon your company being an overnight success. Start
with what you can manage, financially and time-wise, and scale up as
your business grows.
2. Find Your Niche.
The days of general stores are
over. Particularly online, consumers are looking for stores that
specialize. You have to find a need—something a specific group of
people want, but can’t get at the big chain stores—and fill it.
Advises Lesonsky, “You can’t compete with the big guys, so you
have to find where the big guys aren’t and go into your
niches.”
3. Have an Online Presence.
Even if you’re not planning to
start an online retail business, consider that the internet can still
play a valuable role in your company. Having an online presence
eliminates the limitations of physical location and broadens your
customer base by, literally, millions. It’s also a great tool for
promoting yourself and letting people, even in your own area, know
that you’re there, and what you’re doing.
4. Refuse to
Quit.
Successful entrepreneurship requires creativity, energy, and a drive to keep going when you fail. Few people realize that before Bill Gates created the extremely successful Microsoft 3.0, he created a Microsoft 1.0 and 2.0, both of which flopped—but he kept at it. And that determination and refusal to give up is what will separate successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones. Says Lesonsky, “Arm yourself with optimism to get beyond the ‘No’ or the trouble. There’s nothing wrong in failure—just don’t repeat the same mistake!”
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