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Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is never an easy decision. Once the excitement is over there are questions that may arise from the fear of the unknown. You may start asking yourself:
Is this worth me leaving my job?
Or
How long will it take to achieve stability and will I be successful?
Entrepreneurship is a route that many believe is ‘easier’, but it takes putting in the work for your business to be established and sustained.
The truth is that South Africa is desperate for innovators and entrepreneurs who will boost the economy. The government is always encouraging the youth to develop skills for entrepreneurship. The government has diverse support structures that startup owners can benefit from.
As someone aspiring to venture into entrepreneurship, you should realise the vision of your business. This means defining what business you are going into, how this would grow and how this would be successful. Let’s further unpack some points that can help entrepreneurs to thrive in business.
1. What is meant by an entrepreneur with a vision?
As a business owner, your vision should include the objectives desired in order to achieve success in establishing your business in the industry. The vision should inspire you to have a growth plan which is crucial to the business. This means having a plan in place to market your business and to gain prominence in the industry.
It should also involve you having a good business plan or strategy to help you fulfill these goals. Working towards your vision will help you generate revenue and expand on your success. Your vision and faith in it will keep you focused and motivated as a business owner.
2. How to stay motivated in your own business
"People often say that #MOTIVATION does not last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily." - Zig Ziglar
You can never survive as an entrepreneur without constant motivation and inspiration. You have to make the choice to align yourself with some type of motivation that will keep you passionate about what you do. This could be following other business owners who are ahead of you and learning from them. You can also allow yourself to be mentored by someone who inspires you to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Reading books of successful people that you look up to is also a great way of being inspired. It can open up your mind to the possibilities of what you can achieve. You can also follow these inspirational figures on social media pages for entrepreneurial advice or tips. Attending seminars with other entrepreneurs is also a chance to interact with other business owners and be encouraged. When you are open to inspiration it will help you gain secrets to success that can elevate your business.
3. How to recreate your products
"Learn to evolve with your product or service. Hesitation can cost you the business." - Tweet by DJ Success Formula (Source: Twitter.com)
As someone coming into the market with a new product and offering, your main job is to firstly perfect what you offer. This means that you improve your product and ensure quality for good value.
The next step is to develop your product by enhancing it, offering more to clients and making it available to new audiences. Although you want to keep your signature product, you have to always evolve in what you offer and find ways to improve it.
4. How to survive and grow in hard times
As an entrepreneur, you have to anticipate that building your business will not be a smooth process. Your business will face challenges as you go through different stages. You should be ready to handle every challenge and come up with optimistic solutions.
Finding ways to power through difficult times as a business owner is crucial in helping you overcome them. When you prepare for difficult seasons it has less of an effect on the progress of your business.
5. How to manage priorities in business
To be successful at anything you should be able to recognise priority business goals and those that can wait. By doing this you will be able to see the results of your work which will positively impact the business.
When you lack structure in your priorities and are unable to discern which ones are more important, it can cause redundancy. Your best focus should be more on the critical areas that have an impact on the business.
6. How to survive startup failure
"Take a risk. It can be a challenge, but taking positive risks could be your secret to success." - Tweet by Leyland Hazlewood (Source: Twitter.com)
Failure is a part of doing business. As you build your business you discover which methods work for you and which ones have failed. Failure is also an opportunity to learn and avoid having the same issues in future. It is a chance to discover new solutions and take the lesson from your mistake.
As a business owner, you should not be afraid of making mistakes. Every decision you take in business is a risk and as you grow you can determine which risks are worth taking and which ones will result in the business failing.
7. Use the principle of excellence in everything you put your name on
"Give your clients value, and they will give you repeat referrals!" - Tweet by Adrienne F. Manson
When you are excellent at what you do it is hard for people to ignore you. Talent attracts people’s attention and builds awareness about what you do. As a business owner, it becomes your responsibility to impact positively on people through what you do.
The best way to influence people is to display excellence and provide exceptional service to your clients and colleagues in the industry. When you prioritise excellence in your business, you get people to love your brand and those who want to utilise your services. Excellence can be shown in how you treat your clients, how you deliver your services and how your client care team deals with people.
What support is offered to entrepreneurs?
The development of small businesses is something that the South African government supports. As a startup owner, it is to your benefit to know how government supports small business. The government offers financial assistance, reducing the red tape- reducing obstructive regulations and by investing in education, to groom more business talent. As a startup owner, you also need to explore the funding methods you can use to start your business.
What qualification do you need to be a business owner?
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When you make the decision to become an entrepreneur you should consider training yourself to become successful. With most professions, you train and qualify to practice in the field and entrepreneurship is no different.
Business management training can save you a lot of trouble and teach you many principles that will take your business to the top. When you study a business course, you increase your knowledge of the fundamentals of business, the dynamics of the business world and other entrepreneurial skills.
When you are an excellent entrepreneur it creates good publicity around your brand. It makes your brand more human and allows people to connect with your brand more. By being consistent and applying key entrepreneurial principles, your success becomes inevitable.
