What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know
When it comes to being an entrepreneur, there are two realities you can testify to be
true, all at the same time:
- It’s easier than ever to become an entrepreneur.
- It’s harder than ever to become an entrepreneur.
The first point is correct because the world is your oyster, thanks to the myriad of platforms, services and tools available at your disposal to sell a product, offer a service or market a product.
However, the same is also true with the second point, for the simple reason the competition is smarter, making it harder (but not impossible) to stand out from the crowd.
With this in mind, the following 7 tips are practicable insights that every entrepreneur needs to know.
FREE Checklist: Common Business Mistakes You MUST Avoid
7 Truths That Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know
1. Get Your Finances in Order
Once you go into business for yourself, you can no longer be as carefree with your finances as many are when you’re working for someone else and can rely on a steady paycheck.
Unless you are one of the very few who has received a large prelaunch injection of funding, you will be tapping into your savings in order to help you to launch, maintain and when the time is right – expand your enterprise.
Subsequently, the key in all this is proper business financing. So, prior to launching your small business, be sure you:
- Start a budget and stick to it.
- Pay off all your debts.
- Cut back on your spending.
- Determine how much you need to get by.
- Calculate how much you can spend and use to maintain your start-up venture.
2. Operate Within Your Means
Whether you’ve taken out a small business loan or have received financial backing from a family member or friend, it can be tempting to splurge and spend every available penny on your business. But this would be a mistake.
A successful business does not, and will not generate sales and get more customers by spending all of its capital on operations. Instead, if you’re a start-up mode, best to operate within your available means. In other words, the basic financial skills an entrepreneur need to have include:
- Don’t take out enormous loans
- Don’t pay high rent to work in luxurious settings
- Unnecessary expansion into foreign markets
- Add a family relative to the payroll just to be nice
3. Spend Your Marketing Budget Carefully
Thanks to the proven effectiveness of digital marketing, you can get a lot of exposure without spending eye-watering amounts of money. There are many simple, and free, ways to promote your business.
- Engage with your audience and thank them for any and all kind words they post about you and your business.
- SEO your posts. Search engine optimization (SEO) is still key.
- Supplement your social media marketing with email marketing.
- Be active, not passive, on social media. Best to concentrate on only a couple of platforms.
- Website design is still one of the most important investments you can make.
4. Work with Experts
Many people think that one of the key facts about being an entrepreneur is that you have to be a jack of all trades. This may be true at the earliest stages of a start-up, but eventually, business owners will add and grow their talent pool. It’s important to remember, however, that when you do hire professionals to help grow your business, you need to do your best to locate and attract experts.
5. Treat Your Customers Right
Customer relationship management (CRM) is an approach of dealing with existing customers and prospects which uses data, analytics and automation to reach out and interact with them on your behalf.
It’s an effective technique that squarely positions your customers and prospects front and center in your business, with the intent and purpose of making them feel important (which in fact they are) to you. Your company will only generate the kind of profits you desire, if and when you treat customers the right way on a consistent basis.
It doesn’t matter who you are, or what industry you are in, or how popular your products are – your clients are your ticket to the winner’s circle in the business owner’s game of success.
Whether it’s abiding by the motto of “the customer is always right” or offering easy refunds, there’s always something a little extra you can do to attract and keep the support and trust of consumers.
6. Listen to Client Feedback
How do you know if you’re doing great or failing miserably? Of course, it’s only natural to refer to and use your generated revenue and bottom line as a measuring stick. But it’s not the most telling.
The number #1 indicator is client feedback, which can be priceless and is always unmistakable.
Feedback from your customers will be a direct reflection, and in proportion to how you treat your customers.
Since they are the ones who don’t have any skin in the game and interact with you or your business, they have an in-depth understanding of what is right or wrong with your operation.
It may be an unpleasant user experience on your website, or it might even be your mobile applications that are too slow.
There are a good many business owners who tend to despise negative feedback but devour and love it when it’s sugary and sweet. Never forget, feedback is an important tool that can help you grow your business.
7. Always Deliver More Than What’s Expected
There is a well-worn saying in the business world that every new entrepreneur needs to know: “Under-promise and overdeliver.”
It might come across to you as being nothing more than a relic from the past, but it remains one of the very best ways, to win the hearts and minds of your customers, prospects, suppliers, investors and partners.
It also creates trustworthiness, respectability and reliability between you and your audience. If you buy from a business that says it will take three weeks to get something done, but then complete in one week, and the end results are fantastic, wouldn’t you be satisfied?
Free Checklist: The Online Business Mistakes To Avoid
It’s been estimated that more than 500,000 people become entrepreneurs every single month. But unfortunately, they’re not all successful. Over 30% of new businesses shut their doors within the first two years of opening. Unfortunately, that number surges to 66% within 10 years.
But you don’t have to be one of these statistics. We all make mistakes. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t. It’s all part of the learning process. Although mistakes are going to happen, you can avoid the common business mistakes that are lurking around the corner. Download my free checklist, A Guide To The Top 10 Business Mistakes and that every new entrepreneur needs to know to avoid the false moves and slipups that even successful entrepreneurs have made.