Entrepreneurship comes with a generous share of ambiguity. In such cases, having the steps towards success laid out can provide you with a sense of order. Hence, we have laid down ten points that you need to take in order to become a successful entrepreneur.
1. Ideating
If you’re reading this article, you either already have an idea (in which case, go to the next step) or you’re still stuck in a state of limbo when it comes to the list of possibilities. In the latter case, answering the following questions helps you narrow down your options:
What’s a problem that bothers you? Airbnb started because two friends couldn’t afford to pay rent on their San Francisco apartment. Snapchat was inspired by Reggie Brown’s wish that the photos that he was sending to a girl would disappear. The founders of Uber had trouble getting a cab. It turns out that solutions to your basic problems might carry a lot of potential in them.
What is your current skill-set? Your current skills are useful while determining your niche. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. And don’t think that going into a different job requires you to forget your current talents. Often, industries appreciate a fresh perspective.
Can you make something faster, cheaper or better? If you don’t have an original idea, improving the present state of affairs can always prove to be worthwhile. In this case, you even have businesses from whose mistakes you can learn and be better.
What are you passionate about? Whatever you choose, should be able to inspire many sleepless nights (you’ll need it) in you. Entrepreneurs may do it for the money, but money is not what keeps them going. If you want a regular stream of momentum and inspiration, then you’ll have to choose something that you’re passionate about.
2. Background Research
It’s crucial that you brace yourself for what’s to come. Doing market research is an art (you can learn more about it here), but here are a few things to be on the lookout for:
Timing: research conducted by Bill Gross, the founder of numerous start-ups, ranked the timing of the project as the most important determinant of its success. So it’s better that you educate yourself about whether the economy is ready for your product.
Other similar projects: if there have been other businesses similar to yours in the past, learn about their mistakes and strong points. Further, if you’re unable to find any other business similar to yours, there must be a reason, which you must fortify yourself from.
Possible partners and rivals: it’s always better to be aware of the current players before you tread onto the arena.
Future expectations: while trying to survive in the first few years is a challenge in itself, it’s useful to know how the demand-supply patterns might shift in the future.
Consumer base: getting to know about the behaviour patterns of your consumer base is essential to build a strong product.
3. Business Plan
A plan doesn’t have to be a ten-page long document. It can be just a single page listing down your goals, and strategies to achieve these goals. A bird’s eye view of your aims can give you clarity, confidence and a sense of control, which is very essential to maintain a sense of mental stability when you’re an entrepreneur.
4. Team Building
“I think the most important thing for me to do as a leader is recruitment”, Steve Jobs was not kidding himself when he said that. Every core member of Apple was handpicked, they took time to screen each candidate and did not shy away from taking risks.
When you’re building a team, it’s useful to keep these tips in mind:
Talent: when you’re looking for a team, you want to focus on talent and not experience, which basically means that you have to give enough time to every interviewee.
Personality: don’t ignore the personality of the individuals. You want someone who can positively contribute to your work culture.
Adaptability: look for someone who is capable of constantly adapting themselves to new requirements.
Use social media: platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter can be a useful base for recruitment. It’s easy and efficient and opens up your network to new possibilities.
Team cohesion is key: once you’ve assembled a lot of reliable employees, it’s essential to create a sense of cohesion among the members. Celebrating successes, actively acknowledging and rewarding great work, etc can help.
5. Product Development
Once you’ve formed a rough mould for the idea you want to pursue, you can trace the following steps to develop your product.
A. Identify the problem and brainstorm to form various solutions. A single idea is not enough, collaborate with experts and designers to come up with different prototypes of your product.
B. Test the product. First, give it a go yourself, then invest in customer analysis. A fresh set of eyes can provide valuable insight.
C. Welcome feedback. While internalising the feedback, try to look for patterns in opinions, ask follow-up questions and always be grateful to the people for their opinion. There will be both useful and futile advice in the lot, which you must be able to differentiate based on patterns and corroboration with expert opinion.
D. Be willing to change. Alter your original prototype to suit the newly discovered needs of the consumers.
6. Legal Base
According to Matthew Faustman, one of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs do is that they don’t invest enough time in developing a solid legal structure. This can save you from a lot of trouble in the future and is essential to realistically see your vision succeed. Documents like an intellectual property assignment agreement, shareholder agreements, trademark, non-disclosure agreement, etc are all must-haves. You can learn more about the legal essentials from an article Matthew Faustman in Entrepreneur.
7. Funding
Funding is an obvious step towards establishing a legit start-up. There are many sources of funding. You can personally invest, use love money (money invested by family members), bank loans, government grants and subsidies, approach venture capitalists (VC), angels or business incubators. However, you need to keep in mind the kind of investment you’re looking for and the type of business you’re in. For instance, VCs prefer technology-driven businesses in the IT, communication and biotechnology industries. Also, no matter who funds your business, family or otherwise, they expect something in return. The degree of expectations may vary, but they always exist. Paying them back, with diligence, is a must if you expect to build any kind of a rapport with your funders.
8. Networking
Building a reliable group of supporters, partners, mentors, and advisors is the next step you need to take care of. You can network locally, nationally and internationally via connections you already have or through social media platforms. According to Paul Koulogeorge, VP of marketing, advertising and PR at The Goddard School, building relations with local media is critical as “as they are the ones who can help to tell your business story on a larger scale.” Besides, always maintain an approachable attitude. When you’re entering a new relationship, always ask what you can give to them and how you can add value to their life. Being a generous leader will make people come to you when they need a service that you’re offering. Also, don’t let relations accumulate dust over time, keep in touch with people.
9. Marketing
Marketing your product is essential for start-ups. It can either give your company a major boost or be the reason for its fall. Mike Wood, the founder of legalmorning.com, says the best way to market is to read as much as possible. But since that can take decades, it’s always advisable to connect with experts. Other than that, creating a blog, using social media platforms, utilizing the power of influencers, etc. can help. Focus on quality marketing over quantity and use rich images and video tutorials.
But keep in mind that your marketing strategy should align well with your consumer base. If your target audience is elderly, then it’s best not to invest majorly on social media platforms, and use multi-channel marketing approaches, both online and offline.
10. Common Mistakes
Before you dive in, here are a few pitfalls to prepare yourself for.
Contracts are your best friends. Don’t enter into any commitments or joint ventures without a legally binding contract or agreement.
Define roles clearly. Responsibilities should be clearly defined to avoid chaos. Everyone should be aware of what’s expected of them in different situations.
Have a strong legal base. We’ve already covered this, but there’s no underplaying its importance.
Don’t let a single customer dominate your source of income. Make sure that no customer makes up more than 25% of your income. This way, even if they decide to stop dealing with you, you can still float.
Know how to deal with success. Yes, you heard us right, businesses can fail if they’re overloaded with orders. It allows cracks in the system to widen and brings up problems that may otherwise go unnoticed, surface to the top. This eventually leads the company to sink. So be prepared for success and don’t bite more than you can chew.
All the best!
Entrepreneurship Development Cell 
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