Everyone secretly (or not) wants to be a successful entrepreneur and take a break from the 9 to 5 tiring job. Don’t get us wrong: becoming an entrepreneur is also very tiring and demanding, but it has its perks.
Running a business gives you a sense of financial independence and empowerment. You can build things and then watch them grow. Entrepreneurs make their own decisions, realize their creative vision, and cultivate long-term relationships with other entrepreneurs and customers.
You don’t need a degree or a certain job to become an entrepreneur, but you need a lot of knowledge, passion, and drive. In this article, we define what an entrepreneur is, and we put together some tips to help you to become a successful one.
What is an entrepreneur?
This word came into the English language from the French word “à entreprendre”, meaning “to undertake.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. Britannica defines it as a person who starts a business and is willing to risk a loss to make money.
In general, anyone who takes a risk to make money is considered an entrepreneur. Risk-taking, typically in financial investments, is the common denominator among all entrepreneurs, even though earning money is not the only driving force.
Considering all different kinds of business owners when thinking of entrepreneurs is reasonable. Entrepreneur careers include restaurateurs, auto shop proprietors, CEOs of digital startups, and even independent photographers. The goal of all these entrepreneurs is to create long-lasting businesses. And they take the necessary steps to establish one that will continue to generate income even when they are not working.
To Contents ↑Freelancers vs. entrepreneurs
Many people have taken their skills online and become freelancers in today’s digitally connected world. They take available jobs and set their hours. Most times, freelancers write, design, or consult for businesses. But can you call a freelancer an entrepreneur?
Freelancers are like entrepreneurs in many ways, but they don’t build something new that will eventually make them money passively without continued involvement. So we won’t call a freelancer an entrepreneur.
To Contents ↑Are webmasters and bloggers entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurship doesn’t mean having a brick-and-mortar business with a website that sells physical products or provides in-person services. You can create an online platform offering services like movie streaming, PDF to DOC converters, music streaming & downloads. It can even be a celebrity news aggregator, but you are still an entrepreneur.
Every blogger is a businessman because they assume sole responsibility for their blog and all its aspects: from their brand image, marketing & content to making money from the blog. But to evolve from a content maker or copywriter to an entrepreneur, bloggers have to elevate their mindset. We have just the right article containing tips on evolving from a blogger to a blogopreneur! Make sure to check it out.
Most webmasters running their own websites often make money by placing ad slots. Site visitors interact with display ads on these websites even when the webmaster is asleep. That means they always make money, regardless of their location or occupation.
That’s exactly what entrepreneurship is about: independent moneymaking. And with Adsterra this independence is faster and easier to achieve. Don’t wait to reach a Google benchmark; sign up with us today and advance your entrepreneurship.
To Contents ↑Is becoming an entrepreneur right for you?
Most successful entrepreneurs have certain traits, qualities, and values in common. Even though these traits don’t guarantee success, they lay a strong foundation for a life of taking risks and getting rewarded. In particular, these distinguishing features help future businessmen and businesswomen successfully overcome the most common challenges.
First and foremost, entrepreneurs value independence. They want to make their schedules and be responsible for their own lives. They hate the idea of having a boss watching over their work. Still, entrepreneurs have hundreds, thousands, or even millions of bosses—called customers.
Entrepreneurs are self-reliant. They like being in charge of their success and are proud to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
They also need to be stress-resistant and be able to deal with risks. Suppose the idea of not getting paid regularly, not selling your product, or just falling flat on your face. If it scares you so much that you can’t move, you may have trouble dealing with the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
To Contents ↑How to become an entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is broad; you can be an entrepreneur in almost any field. However, you must choose a niche to work in and a business to start. Entrepreneurship is challenging, so you should devote your efforts to something you truly believe in so not to burn out in a year.
Anyone interested in starting their own business should make a plan that includes the following steps:
- Find ideas for profitable startups.
- Choose a growing industry and concentrate on it (or categories).
- Fill an unmet need.
- Create something superior to or more affordable than currently available.
- Use research on buyer personas to verify your startup idea.
- Create a minimum viable product first (MVP).
- Plan your business.
- Iterate further based on feedback.
1. Identify ideas for profitable startups
Every successful business starts with an idea. How is a product or service made profitable? It offers a solution to an issue or annoyance that people are ready to pay to resolve.
Start by finding out what annoys you and your friends. For example, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp founded Uber because they had difficulty finding a taxi. Similarly, after issues with check payments, Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail founded Venmo (later acquired by PayPal).
Ask your friends to keep a running list of the everyday things that irritate them. After that, scan their lists for issues you might be able to resolve.
To Contents ↑Get inspired by other new businesses
Looking at other people’s ideas can be a great way to get your own creative juices flowing. For digital inspiration, visit Product Hunt, a frequently updated collection of the newest websites, apps, and games. In the meantime, Kickstarter is fantastic for physical goods.
There are tons of product review websites like Wirecutter, Werd, and Uncrate that could also inspire your imagination.
The needs of people are changing as the world does. For instance, the popularity of ride-sharing apps like Uber, Lyft, and others led to a demand for a third-party app that would display the current lowest fares.
To Contents ↑2. Select and concentrate on a developing category (or categories)
Experts advise choosing a market that fascinates you but isn’t overly crowded. Stay away from fields like the toy industry that are known to be difficult: so many large companies are creating in that area. You’ll find it simpler to get your ideas licensed if you concentrate on expanding product categories.
After choosing a category, study every item in that category.
- What are the advantages of each product, and how do they differ?
- What is their marketing and packaging plan?
- Reviews: what do they say?
- What potential upgrades are there?
After choosing a product/service, think about issues like
- What could be done to make it better?
- Can I add a fresh feature?
- How about a different substance?
- Can I alter it in any way?
3. Satisfy an unmet demand
Knowing your customer’s needs in detail is essential to developing a product, service, or even a whole niche that produces results. And it is even more crucial to offer a high-quality product or service that gains the proper traction when competition is frantic and brutal.
Let’s be honest. Any customer won’t consider a product or service from you unless they need it or believe they need it. Therefore, you must clearly understand what your customer wants and figure out how to satisfy their unmet needs.
Sometimes, there are thousands of businesses like yours, but it’s you who pick the acme of interest. Like in this case study of a sports blogger from Pakistan, who makes good cash daily running a cricket blog. Another way is to satisfy users’ craving for shocking and unusual things. Like this lifestyle blogger does. His Facebook posts on facial health create a huge stir and help make $2,000 monthly.
To Contents ↑4. Create something better or more affordable than the competition
You don’t always have to create something entirely original. There will be plenty of buyers if you can offer an existing product at a lower price, better quality, or both.
5. Conduct buyer persona research to support your business idea
You have a great idea. But don’t quit your job just yet. It would help if you were sure that other people would want your product before investing everything you have. Start by understanding your customer persona, or the actual people you intend to sell to, to assess your product’s marketability accurately.
Interviewing candidates for your ideal client once you’ve determined who they are should be a significant part of your research. Ask them about their likes and dislikes, how much they’d be willing to pay for it, how frequently they’d use it, etc., then give them a working demonstration of your product.
Before creating any product/service:
- Create a landing page that briefly summarizes your product or service to gauge interest in the market.
- Ask people to provide their email addresses in exchange for early access, a free subscription, membership, or product, a discount, product updates, or some other alluring offer.
- Promote your video using paid search, social media, and other channels, and track the number of visitors who sign up.
6. Start with a minimum viable product (MVP)
An MVP is your tool or service’s simplest, most basic version. It works well enough to please early adopters and helps you determine what needs to be improved.
Imagine you want to create a mobile app that will link college students with online tutors. You could make a basic version, manually invite 150 tutors you located online, and then publish a link to the app on the Facebook page of the nearby university. If you receive a good number of registrations, you should proceed. If you only get a tiny bit, you should start over or reconsider your original plan.
By starting small with an MVP, you can keep your initial costs low while leaving room for expansion as your product continues to receive validation.
To Contents ↑Draft a business plan
A business plan outlines your company’s objectives and the steps you’ll take to get there. This could include a marketing plan, a budget, financial goals, and milestones. 69% of small business owners recommend writing a business plan before you start a business.
Setting your company’s mission, vision, and long-term and short-term goals is your responsibility as an entrepreneur. The business plan is a product of your work as you conduct this type of strategic planning for your enterprise, it aids in expanding your startup.
To Contents ↑Keep improving based on feedback
Remember that if you have lofty goals for your startup, your MVP won’t likely be sufficient to maintain competitiveness in the market segments you select. You have to maintain a complete business cycle by doing the following:
- Creating demand and interest through marketing.
- Acquiring clients through sales.
- Gauging customer satisfaction.
- Enhancing the product based on comments.
- Repeat 🙂
Developing business experience as an entrepreneur
You can gain experience as an entrepreneur in one of two ways: by doing the work yourself or hiring someone else.
1. Getting experience on your own
You can gain experience yourself in the following ways:
- Join a professional network
You can meet more professionals through networking in the workplace, and you might even find a willing mentor to help you out. To connect and meet other business owners, you can join online professional networks like LinkedIn to learn about virtual or in-person networking events.
- Carry out your research
You can better understand your responsibilities by doing your research from reliable sources and successful businesspeople. In addition to being helpful, behavioral analysis and finding tools like payroll management and inventory apps to streamline your business operations will help you expand as your company grows.
- Learn about entrepreneurship
Compared to typical internet sources, studying entrepreneurship through a college institution or certification program can provide more in-depth information about breaking into the industry.
To Contents ↑2. Hiring experienced people
An entrepreneur starting a business will often hire someone with experience to point them in the right direction.
- Consult a business coach first
Working with a business coach or consultant is a paid option to gain experience. Growing as an entrepreneur depends on acquiring crucial skills, clarity regarding the steps required for success, and other specialized knowledge. You can develop these skills by developing a close relationship with them as you conduct business.
- Add seasoned personnel to your team
Spend your money on the talent you’ll need to fill in the gaps in your strategy or when your business grows. You need more team members to execute your strategy, not to do the work you’re already good at.
To Contents ↑How to find money to launch a business
To make money, you must first spend money. Take into account the following options when funding your startup:
1. Request financial support from family and friends
Many business owners rely on friends and family to provide an initial investment. You can ask them for personal loans (with or without interest) or even donations to kickstart your business.
2. Apply for a small business grant
Most countries have small business assistance programs. These include grants, low-interest loans, and venture capital. You might not find anything, but it’s worth investigating because it’s free money.
3. Use a crowdfunding website
You can raise money for your project by launching an online campaign on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Fundable, and others. This strategy can help you raise money, get early product feedback, and brand awareness if you have a compelling narrative or cool product.
To Contents ↑20 tips to becoming a successful entrepreneur
These are 20 of our favorite suggestions for achieving success in your entrepreneurial journey.
1. Be passionate about your business
Don’t do anything if you don’t love it. You’ll need to work long hours and make sacrifices for your business as an entrepreneur. Working long hours won’t seem like a sacrifice when you’re passionate about your work.
2. Take risks
Although most people are risk-averse, a successful entrepreneur knows which risks they should and shouldn’t take. Recognize and accept the risks that will benefit your company: the opportunities they often bring are much more significant.
3. Believe in yourself
A successful entrepreneur makes intuitive decisions because they have confidence in themselves. Being an entrepreneur will be less stressful if you have faith in your abilities.
It’s perfectly acceptable to seek help or consult a mentor for guidance when you need it. Still, you also need to develop the ability to trust your own judgment without input from others.
4. Visualize your objectives
It doesn’t mean closing your eyes and picturing the goal in front of you. Define your goal so that it becomes real and tangible. For instance, which of these is easier to achieve:
- I want to launch a prosperous business.
- I’ll succeed as an entrepreneur if I launch a company that caters to this particular segment of my target market.
The second one seems better. Your goal becomes more attainable when you describe it in detail.
5. Hire partners to support you
Successful business people fail in a vacuum: they all have an excellent team and network of partners behind them. You should look for partners who are honorable, likable, and respectable. When selecting your teammates and partners, always remember that while you can teach skills, but not character.
6. Take action fast
Successful entrepreneurs take action. It’s easy to become engrossed in planning, worrying about potential setbacks, discussing funding, and engaging in meetings. Nothing will get done if all you do is talk. You must eventually put an end to the talking and take action.
7. Prioritize essential tasks and wait patiently for results
Do you believe that someone can become successful overnight? Upon closer inspection, people and companies that experienced “overnight successes” actually put in a lot of effort and time to achieve this.
8. Budget wisely
Startups and innovative businesses require funding. It’s just a piece of the way of life. A plan is still necessary even though many business owners spend too much time looking for funding and little time doing anything. Stay within your budget, but be aware that the strategy may need to be modified as you go.
9. Take complaints seriously
This is one tip that business owners should learn the most. Even when you may have customers interested in your products or service, you will soon run out of clients if you ignore their complaints.
Listen to your customers’ discontent, respect them, and take them seriously. Although you may believe you are providing them value, they might disagree. You can determine your company’s weaknesses this way.
10. Read case studies
As an entrepreneur, your business will consume you and require constant attention. You might be tempted to read a book or fiction when you get home and have some free time. We recommend reading case studies, especially about similar businesses that have already succeeded. It’s crucial to take note of others’ errors. You can avoid making the same mistakes by learning from them.
11. Promote yourself and your business
Many people are reluctant to speak highly of themselves or their company for fear of being egocentric, but you must promote your company. Know your business, be familiar with some essential statistics, and be prepared with a polished 15-second elevator pitch. Then, when someone asks about your company, you can quickly and factually introduce it.
12. Establish and manage a positive workplace culture
Company culture may not have been as influential in the past, but with social media and the 24-hour news cycle, your business and employees are now constantly under the spotlight.
You’ll be more likely to work with people you enjoy and who inspire you and attract great customers if you establish a positive company culture from the start.
To Contents ↑13. Keep networking
There is no such thing as too much networking unless it prevents you from growing your business. Never stop networking because your next lead can come from anywhere.
If you network with enough people, there’s a good chance you’ll run into another entrepreneur who might have the connections and ideas you need. You might even find your next business partner while traveling to a meeting in an elevator.
Have a brief conversation with everyone you encounter. You never know who you’ll be sitting next to or what resources or connections they may be able to provide you with.
14. Schedule everything in advance
Schedule everything on your calendar. Do you feel like something shouldn’t be on your calendar? It does. Put all of your appointments, downtime for quiet work, social time, happy hour business meetings, kid’s school games, workouts, meal times, and other activities on your calendar.
Everyone who needs to meet with you knows that time is unavailable once something is on your calendar. Another advantage is that once everything is scheduled, there are no more justifications for procrastination.
Protect your quiet work hours with your life if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. They might determine whether your business is booming.
To Contents ↑15. Exercise more to boost your mental and physical health
Sitting all day is terrible for your health. If you physically work too hard managing that company, you might not live to see its success. Successful entrepreneurs understand the value of taking care of themselves and exercising.
Make sure to block off time on your calendar to move around and engage in some exercise. You might practice yoga or simply visit the gym. Schedule time each week—or each day—for physical activity and self-care so that you can focus on your work and health.
16. Maintain focus
Although a successful entrepreneur’s life can seem disorganized and dispersed, it’s crucial to limit the time you spend multitasking.
Multiple studies have demonstrated that multitasking is ineffective. It is not natural for humans to focus on multiple tasks for a long time. Concentrate on one thing at a time and take your time. Giving one task all of your focus increases the probability that you’ll complete it successfully.
Having an excessive number of tasks on your to-do list can also lead to inefficiency and distraction. Learn to concentrate on the tasks on your to-do list that you can complete in the allotted time.
Set the three tasks you’ll complete the following day, for instance, each evening. Set a broad objective for your business each month you want to accomplish in the next 30 days.
This approach can help you concentrate and manage your business more skillfully.
If you do decide to take time off, let your team know ahead of time and explain why it’s important to you.
To Contents ↑17. Always ask questions
You don’t have all the answers. No one does. As you set up and run your business, you should ask for assistance, guidance, and mentorship. Being able to ask questions is a valuable entrepreneurial skill.
The more you know, the more you will understand and be able to make decisions. By asking questions, you can maintain a learner’s mindset and be open to receiving guidance and information.
18. Study your mistakes
Failure is a possibility. The sooner you accept it, the better. You will eventually fail. Your company’s success will depend on how you respond to these setbacks, so don’t be afraid of failing.
Fear prevents action. Entrepreneurs need to be flexible to change course and act without delay when they spot an opportunity or make a mistake. If you let fear lead you as an entrepreneur, you won’t be able to follow your intuition, and your judgment will be affected by emotions. If your first business does fail, remember that you can start a second one using the knowledge you gained from the first.
To Contents ↑19. Help others
This advice occasionally misleads entrepreneurs. Just because they are so busy, you might feel like you don’t have time to help anyone else. Helping others can be incredibly motivating and rewarding.
Additionally, having your own business gives you access to a network of people with whom you can collaborate on projects and hire staff. Why wouldn’t you lend a hand if you could? When you help someone, they will probably try to help you in return. They may not be there right away or tomorrow, but they will be there for you in the future.
20. Take breaks often
Finally, we reached the measure that most business people find the most challenging to implement. You will need a vacation. Even though you might not need time off each day or every week, you still must take time off. We are all only human and require rest.
A break enables your mind to wander, rest, and think. Ever wonder why you have so many creative ideas while taking a shower? It’s because your mind is free to wander and just think.
FAQs for successful entrepreneurs
Attitude, zeal, perseverance, resilience, and foresight.
The most common factors include:
– Stress.
– Business model selection.
– Government regulation.
– A lack of knowledge.
– Market conditions.
– Hiring the right people.
– Proper scaling and infrastructure.
– Avoid debt or keep it to a minimum.
– Be prepared for success with scalable management models and quality control.
– Don’t depend too much on a single income source.
– Have a diverse client base.
– Avoid internal conflicts.
– Avoid high employee turnover.
Conclusion
Business success does not happen overnight. Successful entrepreneurs require extensive planning, preparation, creativity, grit, and patience. Even though starting your own business is never simple, it might not be as risky as many people believe. While an employee only has one employer, an entrepreneur has several. If an employee is fired, they lose their paycheck. But entrepreneurs who lose one client still have many other clients to rely on.
