10. BE SMART
Set yourself clear objectives, ask yourself what am I trying to achieve? And be focused, to be an entrepreneur you need to be dedicated and the best way to do this is to create SMART targets. This means they must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and have a Time Frame. Don’t be too broad, set yourself something objective and quantifiable. This will help you to measure your success, for example increasing sales by 10% this is very specific and will be easy to measure. Your targets should be achievable if you haven’t made a sale yet don’t bet on selling a million, by setting smaller more achievable targets you can see your progress as steady steps and it will help motivate you. Give yourself focus by setting a time limit.
9. CELEBRATE SUCCESS
How are you going to measure the success of your venture? Will it be through revenue levels, becoming market leader in your industry, increasing awareness of your venture, becoming a recognized expert in your field. Know what you are trying to achieve from the start and integrate it with your SMART targets. Measuring success will allow you to see what works and what doesn’t, it will also help give you a sense of achievement. Remember to share your successes through your marketing.
8. NEGOTIATE
Learn the art of negotiating and also compromise. You have to be able to get key people to give you the resources, time or inputs you need to be successful. Essentially you have to grow something amazing from nothing and you are going to need help to do this. Negotiating well can give your business an incredible boost, but you have to learn when compromise is necessary. By giving something back now you may be able to call in a favour in the future.
7. THE TRUTH OF BRANDING
Your business has to build a brand, not just sell products or services. This helps identify your business and should if done successfully set you apart from competitors and build an emotional link to your customers. Your brand will eventually interlink with your reputation, therefore you should be truthful, honest This will increase loyalty. Branding should be clear, easily understandable and have impact. Consumers are bombarded with marketing, your challenge is not only to stand out but also to be remembered.
6. NETWORK
Make contacts at every possible opportunity, be nice make friends. Use the network you already have, friends, family, colleagues they can really help get your venture off the ground. Use social networking to spread the word and build links not only with customers, but also other entrepreneurs and mentors who may help your business grow. Also connect with other companies in your industry or who are compatible collaboration is a key ingredient in many successful entrepreneurial projects.
5. MISTAKES CAN BE GREAT
Know when you have made a mistake, has a promotion not worked, have you not achieved your SMART targets, have you had negative feedback from a customer? Don’t let this get you down, bounce back, this is an opportunity to- LEARN. And learning is key once you know what went wrong, and have analysed why it happened, it can help you to improve your business, your service and your systems. This will help increase future business performance.
4. ME, MYSELF AND I
Know what you do well and where your strengths lie, make sure your business uses them and that you maximize their potential. But also know your weaknesses and set a plan in place for how to overcome them. This will help you to overcome performance blocks before they happen and being pro-active rather than reactive can save you a lot of valuable time and money.
3. SUSTAINABILITY LIVES FOREVER
Your business idea needs to be sustainable and generate future income and have good developmental opportunities. Jumping on a bandwagon or following hype may score you a quick win, but how can you develop the idea to give long lasting returns. Is your idea unique, can others easily replicate it? Make certain your idea, product, business system isn’t too easy to replicate or you could disappear in the market very quickly! If your idea is everything investigate patenting it.
2. EXCELLENCE
You’re running your start up it’s going well everything is good. WRONG good unfortunately isn’t good enough, your business needs to excel it needs to be the absolute best it can possibly be, everything the service, the quality, your processes should be as good as you can make them and you should constantly review this and look for improvements. Give your customers the opportunity to give you feedback and make sure you respond to their input, this will only enhance your business and deepen the bonds with customers that you have made feel valued through listening carefully to their needs.
1. SPREAD THE LOVE
You have to enjoy what you are doing, you should love your business, your idea, your concept. You need the energy and motivation to keep going, even after setbacks or failures, determination is key. But the moment what you are doing has become a chore and something you don’t enjoy spending time doing your business will be dead. Be enthusiastic and passionate, share this with your customers and hopefully they will come to love your business as much as you do.
