It takes time to reap the reward of being an entrepreneur. Some entrepreneurs don’t even see any reward. Most of them fail. But it’s better to try than thinking about trying. Not every entrepreneur is great. And a few entrepreneurs are remarkable. These are a few issues that come up when you first start your company. Not every issue is addressed in this post but a few things have been covered in the simplest way possible.
1. Should I do market research? Yes, find one customer who DEFINITELY, without a doubt, will buy a service from you but not necessarily buy your product, because your initial product is always not what the customer wants.
2. Get a customer before you start your business. You can do polls before you start a venture. Go around and just ask people “what do you think about x? Do you currently have someone providing it? Would you pay for it? Is it a product or service you think you need?”
3. Do your research before kick starting your business. Too many people have an idea and then just run with it before doing necessary research.
Related: 5 To-Dos for Every ‘Wanabe’ Entrepreneur
4. Hire character. Train skill-Peter Schutz: If you have ever started a business before, you understand the importance of good employees and how they are absolutely critical to your companies success.
5. Brace yourself for maximum impact. Entrepreneurship is not a job, it’s a life. If you don’t enjoy the stress of running a small business, just get an education that’ll earn you a good salary. Wasting your life away on a small business has a negative expected value, as most small businesses fail.
6. Should I blog? Yes. You must. Blog about everything going wrong in your industry. Blog personal stories that you think can your audience can connect with. Customers are attracted to honesty. Business is personal. Make it personal. Educate and inform on your blog. Don’t sell.
7. Execution is key. If you have an idea worth pursuing, then just make it. You can build any website for cheap. Hire a programmer and make a demo. Get at least one person to sign up and use your service. Just get it working and put it out there. You can always iterate.
8. How do I attract VC’s. Build the product. Get a customer. Get money from customer. Get more customers. Build more services in the product. Get VC. Chances are by this point, the VCs are calling you.
Related: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make In Front of VCs
9. Just show up. The more you show up, the luckier you will be. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t show up you’ll never be lucky. A lot of successful people will tell you that they were at the right time at the right place.
10. Build the absolute simple product. We all dream about building the next big thing. Building a scalable tech company is something everyone is trying to do these days. But only a few of people have built, sold and marketed the next big thing. Start with the simplest product that solves a real problem. You will figure every other thing out as you progress.
11. Plan to succeed but prepare for failure. Only an incredibly small number of people will buy your product. Even though 100 more people may have signed up to use it, you will only be able to sell your product to a few people. The rest will not buy your product. Accept it, act accordingly and increase the number of customers you’re talking to at least 10x right now. If you really want to do this, prepare yourself for every possible outcome.
Related: 7 Reasons Why You Should Get Used to Failure
12. It’s about trust. The only question you need to ask yourself: “Do they trust me enough?” It’s not about whether or not they like this or that feature. At the end of the day it all comes down to trust. Will people trust you with their data. Will your people trust your brand and do business with you. If people are already paying for your product or service or giving your their personal information, you are on to something.
13. Scarcity will make you more creative. The less you have, the more creative and innovative you will be. Don’t think money can make you successful. All the money in this world can’t save a crappy product. Build something that matters. If you don’t have funds, figure out a way to get-to-market. Even if you have funds, create some kind of scarcity and use your resources prudently. The longer you can stay in business, the better.
Related: The Smartest Product Launch Strategy You Should Be Using
14. Don’t be like that guy in the TV show “Silicon Valley”. If someone offers you ten million for a company that has no revenues, then sell it. Not everything is going to be a Facebook. And even the Google guys tried to sell their company for ONE MILLION DOLLARS to Yahoo before they were revenue positive.-James Altucher