Profits, products, people, passion: the Entrepreneurship Guide
I am entering the seventh year of my entrepreneurial career in March 2017.
With that, I thought of sharing several aspects of my journey which have helped me sustain and grow my business over the years.
“Success is yours, focus on things that are relevant to your business. Never give up.”
1. Profits
The first thing you need to do as an entrepreneur is to ensure that your business makes revenue, and eventually – profits.
Not every business gets funded from day one with billions of dollars. So get realistic.
This means you need to have the willpower to say ‘no’ to those prospects wherein you have literally no chance of generating revenue, or you may generate revenue but at the massive cost of your limited bandwidth as an entrepreneur.
Do not spend your priceless bandwidth in terms of time, money, resources just for the sake of associating with a big brand.
Your business revenue is your financial responsibility, not theirs.
It will not only build a great level of confidence but also help you reinvest in your business to grow quicker, build a better quality of products and services for end users.
No business has ever grown merely by giving stuff for free ‘forever’ or simply because they have been associated with brands that are globally known.
You as a business need to ensure that revenue generation followed by profits is a top priority, especially if you are bootstrapping.
2. Products
Sometimes, we are so caught up in a dream of designing the perfect product or service that we do not realise the time we are losing because of it.
There is nothing called as the ‘perfect product’. The right time is NOW!
That does not mean that you should launch services or products that are not even tested. Test it, but not forever.
Have a strict deadline, adhere to it. Sometimes, it gets difficult to follow deadlines because you are your own boss. But have a rigid discipline and an impeccable work ethic.
Remember, exceptional products are those that add real value to its users and allow for customization to the extent feasible.
3. People
People were, are and will always be the greatest asset for any business. If you have enough financial resources, invest in the right set of people.
If money is a constraint, try to tie-up and/or partner with professionals, business and or brands to help you grow your business and network.
What if none of the above work?
Well, then learn from the professionals who have already made it and sharpen your know-how, skills, expertise and make it happen!
If you want to build a business and grow fast, work alone, but if you want to build an empire, form alliances
As an entrepreneur, never stop learning. Remember, for you, a ‘no’ from prospects should simply mean, ‘not now’.
The only person truly standing in the way of your success is YOU!
4. Passion
Regardless of how amazing your business is or your financials are or how innovative your products and services are, at some point in time you will face problems and difficulties.
The pressures of entrepreneurship are like no other, so unless you are really passionate about what you do, it will become impossible to even be afloat as a business.
Love what you do and you will never have to work even for a single day in your life.
When you are passionate about your business, it reflects in your work, your discipline, work ethic and of course, in your brand.
There are so many more things you can do to ensure great success in your business.
What are the things that have helped you in your business? Let me know what you think by leaving comments below. I would love to hear from all of you!
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