Starting a business isn’t easy. It’s going to take a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and drama. In most cases, it’s also going to take years before you see and real success. If you’re willing to take the plunge and go for it, please review the following five keys to launching a successful business.
Don’t Burn Through Your Own Capital
If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, it’s likely you just want to go for it. However, this process is going to be much easier if you already have a job. If you have a steady income, you can work on your new business on nights and weekends until it takes off. If you were to jump into it on your own without steady income, you would burn through too much capital.
Your business is likely to cause financial hardship until it gets off the ground and becomes successful, so it’s a good idea to get your personal finances in order and reduce monthly expenses. Whether it’s refinancing your mortgage to a lower interest rate, cutting out unnecessary expenses like cable or gym membership, or if you have any outstanding education debt you can research the best option to combining multiple student loans with different rates and term lengths into a single loan consolidation.
Stick-To-Itiveness
Approximately 50% of businesses make it past five years, but even if a business makes it that long, this doesn’t mean it’s going to be a success. And only 33% of businesses make it past 10 years. The good news is that if you make it past 10 years, you’re much more likely to have a successful business. In order to make it that far, you will have many sleepless nights, you will have to fight through the temptation to quit, and you will have to make difficult decisions. When you have to let people go that you have become close with, you’re going to have moments of doubt because you’re going to feel guilty. If and when this happens, remember that its business, not personal.
Networking
This will begin with friends and family, but you will also need to find a network of peers that can promote your product or service in exchange for a discount. It’s also imperative that you launch a business account on all major social media platforms so you can build a following. From there, develop relationships with your customers. If you treat your customers as numbers, they will not remember you. If you develop relationships, they will remember you and they will be happy to help.
Differentiation
What makes your product or service different? Are you fixing something? Did you take something that’s seen as boring to many and make it fun? In regards to the latter, an example would be taking a chess training course and making it an adventure, which would draw more people to the game.
Are You in Line with Current Trends?
If you’re thinking of building and selling washing machines, not many consumers are going to care because you’re not an established and trusted brand. If you’re thinking of launching an online retailer, you’re going to have a ton of competition. These are not new concepts. On the other hand, if you created an app that listed every major U.S. attraction by distance from your location along with hours of operation and prices, that might be something new and exciting. This is just one example. Brainstorm your own idea and launch it. If you only dream about it without action, you will never know what could have been.
