we're looking at 15 things you should know when starting a business. you're planning on starting your first business or company so a heads up or a gameplan would be beneficial now. "let's just get this out of the way early on starting a business is not for everyone some people possess a particular set of traits which just fit better with the entrepreneurial template than others you can be happy and successful by working for someone else it all depends on who you are as a person.
If you believe you're destined to be an entrepreneur and looking to start a business this Script will help you to figure out both a game plan and double-check your existing beliefs about the problem.
1.Talk is cheap
Nobody cares about what you're planning to do until you do it we get hundreds of emails from people who say they plan on launching a company even among your friends. We are sure that at least a couple of them say they plan on starting a new project and even give you a glimpse into what that would look like how many of them did anything about it we can answer that one in 60 people for every 60 people that say they plan on starting a business only one does it the rest just talk about something they'll never end up doing. Most people will find excuses saying it's not the right time or whatever reason they find but the result is always the same the world doesn't care about what you plan on doing the world doesn't run on wishful thinking no matter how many times you read the secret the world works on people getting things done talk is cheap.
2.An idea isn't worth anything before it yields results
An idea is worth a million dollars only after it makes $1,000,000 newsflash Luxor's ideas are free everyone has ideas tons of them actually they're not that special talk to anyone around you and they can immediately bring up five ideas of businesses or projects but as we've mentioned in the previous point since everyone has multiple ideas. There is an abundance of them most of them are good ideas but that doesn't mean they're worth anything ideas are worthless unless they are paired with the right execution let me put it this way a good idea with poor execution not only will not yield any positive results it'll end up consuming resources and time.
Meanwhile, a mediocre idea with great execution will become a viable business good ideas and great execution rarely meet and they rarely happen in the early stages you start with a simple idea that in time could evolve into a good one but the execution is everything just because an idea sounds great to you doesn't mean the world will think so as well.
We recommend you find unbiased opinions don't listen to your friends and family because they care about you and they'll sing your praises if you want real feedback on your idea ask people to front you the money you'll find out that everybody says an idea is good and they'll pay for something like that until you ask them to put their money where their mouth is don't be protective of your idea it's not that special it all depends on your ability to execute also you don't need a revolutionary idea to get rich you don't have to reinvent sliced bread to have a successful bakery Facebook wasn't the first social network and delivering food to customers is not revolutionary you just need to execute it better than your competitors.
3.Nobody cares about your business more than you
No matter how much money you throw at them your business is the product of your dreams your desires and your need to materialize something you truly believe in you might inspire people to join your cause but nobody will ever want this business to succeed as much as you do this is something really important to consider in the very early stages. Especially if the business has multiple founders if you partner with other people to build it every single one of these members needs to want it as bad as you do and be willing to give whatever it takes so many times.
We see best friends teaming up to start a business only to realize six months in that one of them isn't that passionate about the idea and wants to move on to something else partners can be a great thing especially if they can fill up a void in your skill set but with every person you bring in remember that you're slicing up the pie as well rarely do you see businesses started by a single founder the upside is that you get to keep all the rewards. The downside is it's going to be a lot more exhausting than you think no matter which way you're moving forward think of your team as a chess set you want as many of them to be around you when you win but you don't refrain from sacrificing some of them if otherwise, you're going to lose the game.
4.You don't need money to start a business you are the business at the beginning
This is one of those things that stop people from starting they all think you need a ton of money to get started this is because most people look at the final stage of the company the part where you have a ton of employees marketing teams multiple products raw materials and registered intellectual property that's not how businesses are started. They start with one person you hustling your butt off and growing as the journey progresses you can start a business with under $100.
We'll link to a book that proves multiple business models all started on a shoestring budget if you don't even have $100 to start with get a 1 monthly job or add value to people in any way you can so they can pay you the small amount what you need to understand is that in the beginning, you have a lot of time that is your main resource you will convert your time into money and use that money to get more resources it's pretty straightforward if you think about it.
5.Be ready to make sacrifices
Something most people don't realize when starting a business is the amount of work and sacrifices that are needed to turn this into a success most people start a business because they don't want to work for a boss they want to be the boss they despise having to work the nine-to-five so they do something about it. It doesn't take long to realize that instead of working eight hours a day you're now working 16 hours a day every day including the weekends and you can barely sleep at night because you worry so much about the future. Yes, creating a successful company leads to a way better life and you would have had otherwise but those rewards don't come for free the moment you start a business it needs to become priority number one if you want to have a shot at success your social circle is gone your family will see you less it will take a toll on your health and that's just the beginning.
6.Build smart from the beginning
If the foundation of the company is crippled it doesn't matter how high you plan on going it's bound to fail. This is something you should consider when starting a smart business check at least some of the following boxes. One it doesn't have a demand ceiling which means that as you grow you will always have customers this used to be a problem in some small specialized shops in locked areas if you are the only one selling blue hats to a small town at one point you would reach a certain ceiling where sales cannot be increased any more people only need one blue hat and at some point in time you will sell one to every person in town no more growth. Tow every part of your business is replaceable which means the business can survive if one of your future employees or one of your suppliers decides to leave. Third your business can scale you have a clear plan on how you can increase production as the demand increases. For there is a clear direction for the business both you and your employees understand what you're working toward.
7.People should free up their time so they can focus on their strengths
Don't be an employee in your own business one of the most common mistakes people make is they trade their job for another one this time in their own company when you're starting you are the first employees you need to get your hands dirty so you understand optimized and perfected the system at the previous point we talked about building a smart business which means once you have your entire process figured out break it into smaller interconnected systems then find people unto whom you can unload that specific part of the chain your employees are here to make sure that the engine is running while you're holding on to the steering wheel getting everyone to the promised land the founder should be in charge of innovation and business growth your job as the founder is to figure out ways this business can grow so everyone who works for you gets paid that's your job their job is to make sure they take care of the day-to-day so you can focus on your job in the early stage you'll feel the need to micromanage everything but this keeps you away from the most important tasks you have which is growth.
Every individual who moves into entrepreneurship has some traits they can use to their advantage these are your strengths identify them and put them to work use them to get the biggest return on your time.
8.Fail fast and adapt quickly
Be ready for things to not go according to plan you are a novice at this so you need to keep in mind that there are many things that you have yet to learn there are going to be plenty of bumps in the road but if you're serious about this being your life you need to keep going you need to rethink the way you look at failure and what failure is for us failure is not achieving our dream life everything else is just a part of the game think about your journey as gathering data so you can make a more educated decision on the future.
Eight out of 10 businesses fail in the first 18 months this is because one they hit a bump so big they decided to call it quits and two they fail to adapt to their newfound reality a great example is Nokia for those of you don't know the history of the brand they used to be a rubber manufacturer before moving into technology they're rubber factories were struggling so they adapted to a newfound opportunity a few years later they failed to adapt to the changing environment of the smartphone and almost bankrupted the company this giant that once dominated the space is now fighting for bread crumbs left by those willing to fail faster and adapt quicker.
9.Long-term success depends on your ability to manage your resources
Life is a lot like a strategy game you have several resources at your disposal your time, your willpower, your ability to work, maybe some money, and some people you know this is the hand you've been dealt it's time to make the most out of it. Don't complain about not having enough, to begin with, yes other players have been dealt a better hand but you have your storyline you have your journey and your challenge is to make the most of the resources you have many people undervalue time is a resource we've all been dealt equally you have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyonce or Elon Musk it's up to you to use them wisely the best players are those who are strategic with the way they make use of everything they have at their disposal if you're disciplined enough you can get out of any hole start building yourself ladder towards the sky.
10.The right mentor is worth 10 years of struggles
They've walked the road you're on right now they know where the potholes are they know what's up ahead and you'd be a fool not to leverage their knowledge in your journey. You need people who inspire you and have done the things you're about to do analyze them study them see what nuggets of gold you can extract from their experiences.
If you are lucky enough serious enough to prove that you're worthy enough one of them might become your mentor think of mentors like power-ups things get so much easier when you have one the mistake new entrepreneurs usually make is they try to get a mentor too early when they just have an idea please remember the first two items on this list talk is cheap and ideas are worthless without action a good mentor will want to see the results first they're not going to waste their own time and resources betting on a horse they've never seen run before that's why you need to get a bit of traction to have some experience so they can see what they're getting themselves into now if this is something you're interested in we made an incredible script on why it is important to have a mentor and how to get one you can watch it by clicking in the top right corner.
11.There are no shortcuts to any place worth going
Don't try to cheat the game because it's hard we're fascinated by people who jump from business to business from shiny thing to shiny thing because they're looking to get rich quickly even if they settle on a business they never put in the work instead they spend most of their time looking for shortcuts for loopholes real value comes from building a solid foundation and laying brick next to brick until you put together your dream you can easily see this on social media there are so many Instagram profiles with millions of followers which only get a few hundred likes and several comments per post. People want the cake but they're not willing to learn the recipe and how to bake one when others offer them a cardboard cutout of a cake they take it because they don't understand what a real cake is if you're trying to cheat the game you're just cheating yourself.
12.keeping your head down and grinding is what will make or break you
The only thing you are in complete control over is yourself it's easy to see some initial results and let it get to your head there's a difference between winning a battle and winning the war you should be playing the long game sure celebrate your wins but the next day it's back in the trenches day in and day out until you have achieved the life you started all of this for we can't stress enough how important self-discipline is especially when you're building your life success is the sum of small actions repeated every day for extended periods. That's why you need to keep grinding keep learning stay humble and keep your eyes on that goal of self-discipline.
13.Sales solve all of your problems
Sales are the gas to your machinery without it you're just left with a pile of scrap metal as a new entrepreneur it's easy to get sidetracked into marketing branding and social media presence they all help but that's not what keeps the lights on your job is to bring money from the marketplace into your company and use it to grow to remember the saying money makes the world go round well without it your business isn't going anywhere it's shocking to us how many people leave the sales part out of their business for later they have no idea how they're going to make money or if people are willing to pay you to need better equipment get more sales, you need better marketing get more sales, you need a better accountant to get more sales. So you can afford one there are very few problems that sales cannot solve in a business and that's why getting paid should be your number one priority.
14.Raise capital from investors
Only when you can't do it by yourself Mark Cuban has a great saying and it goes something like this the first time you raise money that's the first time you lost because you were unable to do it organically we have a a lot of acquaintances in the technology space and they all celebrate their funding grounds like they won what did you win you just gave away 40% of your company in exchange for a little bit of cash which you would waste in less than 12 months don't get us wrong having access to capital is amazing but it's not something that should be your main focus we know entrepreneurs who spend more time trying to raise money than working on their product and business but instead if you spend all your energy improving your product and getting sales you wouldn't need an investor taking a large chunk of your business or at least get a better valuation there are strategic moments when a business can no longer grow or survive without external capital but this should not be something a new company is dealing with do-it-yourself figure it out bootstrap and get creative it'll teach you more about your business than anything else.
15.A business without an endgame is headed nowhere
Why are you building this when do you know you've made it what is the goal of the company what are your personal goals related to this company will this company be sold at some point do you wish to maintain this as a company business these are all questions you should be able to answer even at day one of your business because it puts everything else into perspective all your actions you will take from this point forward should align with this goal you need a game plan without it you're just going to be shooting in the dark businesses where the founder knows what the end game is not only have a better shot at success but evolve quicker it will take you less time to get to wherever it is you're going because you know what to measure for and focus all of your energy on checking off those boxes.
Now these are just some of the things most aged entrepreneurs would have wanted to know when they were starting if you're planning on being a multimillionaire or even a billionaire these 15 should become a part of your mindset as much as your goal.