7 Essential Success Tips Every Entrepreneur Must Know.

 

Essential success tips for entrepreneurs.

This article first appeared on Ayi Post.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs.

The idea of quitting a 9-5 to follow the entrepreneurial path, that seems to promise financial freedom, can be tempting.

However, you could be forced to discard the idea quickly when you realize that about 45% new businesses fail within the first 5 years.

Why does almost a half of new businesses fail within the first 5 years?

Research has found two common reasons. 

These are;

1. Failure to carry out a thorough pre-launch research to understand the market and,

2. Failure to raise sufficient startup capital. This failure is a direct fallout of not having a comprehensive business plan.

There are other essential business success tips which failed entrepreneurs don’t know and which you must know before you begin your entrepreneurial journey.

These tips are summarized as 7 essential success tips every entrepreneur must know:

1. Before you begin, validate your business Idea.

Before you become an entrepreneur, take necessary  steps to ensure there's an effective demand for the product or service you want to sell, before you invest heavily.

What is an effective demand?

An effective demand for a product means having a product or service which people would be willing to pay for.

How would you know that people would buy your product?

By conducting a market research.

Conduct a market research by collecting  feedback by potential customers.

The results would help you to test your concept and decide on its profitability or otherwise.

2. Get a basic knowledge financial management.

This is an essential success tip every entrepreneur must know.

Having basic financial knowledge would help you to keep track of your cash flow, minimize unnecessary expenses, make profit and reinvest a portion of your after-tax profit wisely. 

It is important to know how to keep accurate financial records, understand the basic parts of financial statements and how to interpret  them to make profitable financial decisions.

3. Building a strong network is key to business success.

“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” - Reid Hoffman.

Surrounding yourself with people who are already doing well in an industry you want to go into, is a basic tip for succeeding as an entrepreneur.

You can find supportive business associates, mentors and potential investors in local business clubs. 

So to succeed, you have  to become a member and gain access to professional business guidance and opportunities.

4. Be ready to embrace resilience and adaptability.

“It doesn’t matter how far you might rise. At some point, you are bound to stumble. If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher and higher, the law of averages predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do, I want you to remember this: There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.” - Oprah Winfrey.

An entrepreneur is a risk taker that operates in an environment that is full of uncertainty  and challenges. 

So, before you become an entrepreneur, you have to be ready to develop your adaptability to unfavorable circumstances, learn from failure, make a strategic shift in business  direction where necessary and deepen your resilience to stay committed to long term goals.

This is where you would have to focus on developing your time management and stress management capabilities. 

5. Accept that the customer is king.

A happy customer gives you a result that keeps you in business. 

A happy customer opens the door to repeat business and referrals.

What makes a customer come back for more  and bring others along?

A combination of quality product, responsiveness and top-notch sales and after-sales support services.

Now, you should make this combination a top priority when you want to succeed as an entrepreneur.

6. Make digital marketing a priority.

PwC carried out a consumer insights survey in 2023 and found out that; 

1. More than half (55%) of consumers rank search as their top source for pre-purchase information

2. A majority of consumers (63%)  have purchased products directly from a brand’s website.

Why is this information relevant to an entrepreneur  that wants to succeed?

It’s  important because most shoppers do their transactions online.

What this means is that, to meet potential customers and introduce your product or service to them organically, you have to master the use of SEO, content marketing and social media engagements to grow your brand awareness

7. Develop a growth mindset.

“The most dangerous poison is the feeling of achievement. The antidote is to every evening think what can be done better tomorrow.” - Ingvar Kamprad.

The development  of a growth mindset as an entrepreneurial success tip that can’t be over-emphasized.

 You want to succeed as your own boss? You have to commit to continuous learning, non-stop improvement, and continuous innovation in a dynamic business environment.  

Master the art of continuous learning and stay ahead of the trends in your industry trends.

What’s  the conclusion?

Know who an entrepreneur is. 

Who’s  an entrepreneur?

“An entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create.” - David Karp.

And know the only good reason you want to start a company. 

What is always the only good reason?

“There are lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: It’s to change the world.” - Phil Libin.