How to Become Entrepreneur – What to Do and Where to Start?
Becoming one’s boss is the pinnacle goal of many people nowadays. We long for autonomy in our artistic expression, the adaptability of our schedules, and the independence that comes with being our boss.
However, a significant amount of labor goes on behind the scenes, and a significant portion of becoming an entrepreneur involves planning, strategy, and committed execution. We have compiled this informational resource as a starting point for those of you who have always been interested in participating in the entrepreneurial business but have never known how to do so.
What is an entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is someone who initiates and oversees the management of a new business venture while accepting personal or financial risk as part of the process. Entrepreneurs can be people who own and operate small businesses, create material for the internet, find new companies or aspire to build a company in which they are their boss.
Should You Consider Becoming an Entrepreneur?
Having your own business may be a very enjoyable and adrenaline-pumping experience. First, you need to determine whether or not you are ready to commit to running a firm for the foreseeable future. Even while the idea of starting your own business can provide a rush of adrenaline at first, building a successful enterprise takes time. Are you prepared to devote yourself to this endeavor for the next few years?
There is a high percentage of failure among new firms. Aspiring business owners need to be willing to forego the security of a steady paycheck and a day job and remain resilient in the face of success and failure. It’s possible that it may be a while before your business starts turning a profit. Being an entrepreneur may be quite gratifying; you should ensure you know what you’re getting into.
According to a study by Shopify, many business owners name freedom and adaptability as the primary motivations that prompted them to launch their venture.
Even though it might be challenging to forecast an entrepreneur’s income, most entrepreneurs report making a comfortable living. According to Indeed’s calculations, the typical annual income for US-based business owners is $60,617. On the other hand, if you reside in San Francisco or Columbus, Ohio, that amount is much above $100,000. Your income is determined by several criteria, including location, industry, scalability, and others.
As an entrepreneur, having control of your pay is one of the most crucial things you can do. You have complete control over how much money you make for yourself. You have the option to develop quickly or slowly, or you can choose not to grow at all.
Many individuals feel that the positive aspects of starting a business exceed any potential drawbacks of doing so. Shopify customers who manage their small businesses have shared with us that there are facets of company ownership that are difficult to obtain in other contexts. In particular, the ability to govern their own time and act independently.
What Are the 7 Tips to Become an Entrepreneur?
We will take you through the seven fundamental steps you need to take to become an entrepreneur. During these processes, you will determine what you sell and how you generate an inventory.
Get a business idea
Your business will revolve around the product category you decide to sell; therefore, this will undoubtedly be one of the most significant choices you have to make.
Even if there may not be such a “perfect” product, there are ways to reduce risk by picking a product and a market segment with more items offering. Make use of the criteria listed below as a guide that can assist you better comprehending the benefits and drawbacks of the product you are contemplating offering—and possibly boost your overall chances of success.
Does your product satisfy a passion or a need?
Selling things that fulfill a passion or provide a solution to a problem will always be advantageous. When you sell products that meet these necessities, you have the extra benefit of typically having lower advertising expenses.
This is because new customers are already looking for a solution, and therefore, you won’t have to carry out extensive marketing to increase your sales.
Is this a fad, trend, or product category that is expanding?
Following the latest trend is not without its risks. A trend has the potential to be profitable. Stable markets are safe, and markets that are growing are great. Your level of success or failure might be directly correlated to how well you understand the market niche that your product serves.
Fad
Something that gains popularity over an extremely brief period and then loses that popularity just as rapidly is said to be a fad. It is possible to make money off of a trend if your entry and exit from the target market are ideally timed; however, this can be impossible to forecast and is a prescription for catastrophe; therefore, it is preferable to build your company on a more stable foundation. Recall fidget spinners? In 2017, portable spinning toys were all the rage, reached their popularity peak, and then fell out of favor virtually overnight, becoming irrelevant.
Trend
Trend is a market that looks to be moving in a particular way over a longer period. It spreads more slowly than a fad, continues for a longer period, and in most cases, it does not lose popularity nearly as rapidly as a trend.
Although it can be challenging to anticipate, there is a possibility that some trendy products will also become sustainable growth markets in the long run. There have been several trends that have emerged as a result of the pandemic. One of these trends is attributable to our time at home, which has increased demand for commonplace things such as kitchen towels and storage containers.
Stable
A market is considered stable if it does not regularly experience significant price fluctuations. It is stable over extended periods, exhibiting neither growth nor decline in its overall status. For instance, the popularity of teapots has remained quite consistent over the past 15 years.
Growing
A market with constant expansion and symptoms of a long-term or permanent shift in market conditions is considered expanding. Since 2014, the market for athleisure goods has been expanding, and the epidemic appears to have contributed to that expansion. Now that the market (and the need for it) is so large, it is quite unlikely that it will disappear anytime soon.
How is the Competitive Landscape?
What does the competitive landscape look like for the product and niche you’ve chosen? Are you the pioneer in the market? Is there already a small number of competitors, or is the market already oversaturated with people offering the same item or aiming for the same niche?
If you are the first to market with your product, you will want to conduct a substantial amount of market research to establish whether or not there is, in fact, a market that is interested in purchasing your product. There is a significant chance that the market has already been tested if there are currently a few competitors operating in the field and if those competitors appear to be doing quite well.
Another indication is that the market has been verified when several competitors are already in the industry. To carve out your own space, you will almost certainly need to figure out how your brand and products may be distinguished from the myriad of other options available to you to do so.
Product development
Once you’ve decided what you’ll sell, you might take a few different routes to develop your products. You, too, maybe an artisan and manufacture your goods by hand, much like the ones made by Heath Ceramics. You can identify a manufacturing partner who will build your product idea according to your requirements.
You also can acquire your goods wholesale, which means you will purchase items that have already been developed from a marketplace that caters specifically to wholesalers. Handshake, our online marketplace, is an excellent choice in this regard.
You might want to investigate dropshipping if you’d rather not keep any goods on hand. Dropshipping is when a customer purchases an item from you, but the item itself is sourced from a different company. You will never have to worry about storing, handling, or shipping any merchandise because the third party will ship the item directly to the buyer.
If you develop your t-shirts, art prints, mugs, and other items, you have a similar option: to offer to print on demand. The term “printing on demand” refers to a business model in which a company collaborates with a third-party provider to print its designs on white-labeled products, which are then sold to customers. This way, you won’t ever have to worry about storing or shipping the things yourself, and you’ll only ever have to sell as much stuff as there is demand for.
Product validation
The next stage is to validate the idea that you have for your product. During this step, you will determine whether or not the things you are offering are the ones your customers actually want. When you make your first few sales, you will finally have reliable data to validate your product. Therefore, doing a few low-cost tests is beneficial before committing a significant amount of time or money to your new product line.
You can generate prospects by creating a page titled “coming soon.” You might also try taking pre-orders to gauge the level of interest in the product. To establish the legitimacy of their goods, the proprietors of Jaswant’s Kitchen, a store that offers natural Indian spices and cookery kits, initially sold their wares at in-person shows.
After you’ve made a few sales, you’ll have a better idea of whether or not there is a demand for the product you’re offering.
Writing a business plan
Now that the product has undergone some much-required validation, it is time to draft a business strategy. A document known as a business plan provides an overview of virtually every aspect of a company’s operations. The following will be included as important concepts: who you can target and market to, your business strategy, what prices you’ll set for each product, the product lines you’ll begin with, and your marketing approach.
Even though it may sound appealing to commence with the fun stuff like establishing your social media profiles or designing your logo, having a business plan assures that you will remain focused and have a solid, well-thought-out approach moving ahead. Make use of a no-cost business plan template so that you may navigate the procedure with ease.
Getting the funding
It takes money to run a business, particularly if you intend to sell the goods that you make. While it is possible to reinvest early gains back into your company, the reality is that most firms require some form of financial flow. The following are some of the most common choices:
Personal funding
You can provide funding for your firm if you have the financial resources. Just ensure you won’t have any trouble covering the costs for the foreseeable future. Although it doesn’t take long for some enterprises to earn a profit, for others, seeing a return on their investment can take anything from a few months to several years.
Business loan
A small business loan is another alternative that can be considered. Bank loans or governments are available for individuals who meet the requirements, and your store’s annual revenue determines qualification.
Venture capital
Angel investors and venture capital funds are two common investors who provide capital. Accredited investors like these provide financial backing to fledgling businesses getting their feet off the ground. Clients are offered either equity ownership or convertible debt in exchange for their financial contribution. Convertible debt is a form of debt that can eventually be changed into equity.
Credit cards
If your supplier needs you to make cash payments for all your merchandise, you can use a service like Plastiq to get the most out of every dollar you spend each month and optimize how far your cash goes.
Plastiq allows you to pay merchants who do not take credit cards by transferring the funds to them in the most convenient format for them (check, automated clearing house, or wire). This provides you with an additional thirty days (or sixty days, depending on the terms of your credit card) to make payments for merchandise.
According to research by Shopify, new business owners spend most of their startup capital on product costs within the first year of operation (raw materials, suppliers, inventory, patents, manufacturing, etc.).
Launching the business
You won’t become an entrepreneur by thinking about things too much; you’ll get there by taking action and working hard. Prepare an opening day store launch checklist for your business. In addition to this, on the day of the launch, you need to ensure that all marketing efforts, such as organic social postings, are prepared and ready to go.
In addition, you need to have a strategy for customer support or, at the very least, a straightforward method for clients to get in touch with you if they require assistance. After that, you should concentrate all your time and effort on making your initial sales. You can broaden your purchasing efforts later.
Business management
If you want to learn more about business, the best way to do it is to run your own company rather than taking a class on the subject. However, effective business owners always try to educate themselves about business.
In the interest of advancing the sector, seasoned CEOs of successful startups gladly share their experiences… To this point in career, the counsel of other entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders has proved extremely helpful. Their experiences and insights not only teach you how to avoid the pitfalls they encountered but also tell you how to work through the challenges I had along the way.
You will be able to avoid making expensive errors and innovate in areas where others have not yet done to the extent that you devote more time to learning, particularly from those who have pioneered the paths before you.
You might decide to work with a mentor, study books for entrepreneurs, enroll in classes, listen to professional podcasts, or even enroll in email newsletters to further your business knowledge. Pick the strategy that appeals to you the most, but remember that you should be expanding your knowledge.
Where Will You Find Entrepreneurial Support?
The world of business may be a challenging environment. However, there are tools and organizations that you may turn to acquire the assistance, tools, and guidance that you require.
Resources
Shopify
Many people who started their businesses did not receive an education beyond high school because they decided to learn on the job instead. Because of this, it is essential to integrate the process of purposeful learning into your organization’s operations.
Shopify provides free resources for entrepreneurs, including courses and video resources, which you may utilize to develop your skills and expertise and get closer to achieving your goals.
Small Business Administration
Find places to get knowledge and tools that will assist you in starting your own small business. In addition to that, some loans are guaranteed by the SBA.
SCORE
You can get free counseling and assistance from a mentor in person or online with the help of SCORE, which helps you find a mentor. Its mentors are experienced businesspeople who want to assist other owners of small businesses in becoming stronger and more successful in their endeavors.
Small Business Development Centers
Use the free resources provided by SBDCs to get advice from industry professionals who can assist you in the beginning and expansion of your business. Get free assistance with your company’s operations by contacting the SBDC in your area.
Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center
You absolutely cannot forget to pay your taxes! Maintain compliance with the Internal Revenue Service by staying up to date on your company’s most recent tax news and filings.
FindLaw Small Business Center
On this website, you can find legal paperwork, obtain answers to legal problems, and locate lawyers who specialize in representing small businesses.
International Franchise Association
It’s not always the case that entrepreneurs launch companies from scratch. The International Franchise Association (IFA) is a resource that can assist you in finding businesses that are available for franchise.
SeedInvest
Using SeedInvest, you can locate possible investors for your company. You will come across angel investors willing to make financial contributions to your company in exchange for a share of ownership.
Organizations
Shopify Entrepreneurs
Over 100,000 Shopify store owners, developers, and service providers are members of the Shopify Entrepreneurs Facebook page, which is open to the public and free to join. Discussions can be found on a wide variety of topics, including suggestions for Shopify apps, queries about marketing and sales, and suggestions for making your Shopify store better.
Entrepreneur’s Organization
The Entrepreneur’s Organization is a worldwide support network with over 14,000 business owners and executives. The EO provides new business owners chances for mentorship and networking that are ideal for new business owners.
Vistage
Vistage is a mentorship membership group established in 1957 for chief executive officers and business owners. Entrepreneurs can receive coaching and advice from their peers through this organization, which has over 24,000 members worldwide.
Startup Grind
Startup Grind is an international network that was established with the goals of empowering, educating and connecting entrepreneurs. Over three and a half million business owners participate in the organization’s many activities, providing them with opportunities to network, educate, create, and feel a sense of belonging.
Young Entrepreneur Council
This organization provides support from successful businesspeople who have been screened to assist members in overcoming obstacles and expanding their companies. Although there are stringent requirements to join the group, once inside, you’ll find that it’s a great location to network and look for potential business partners.
International Council for Small Business (ICSB)
The International Council of Small Businesses (ICSB) was the first non-profit membership program that was committed to the expansion of small businesses around the world. Through various programs, seminars, training classes, and other activities, it draws together educators, investigators, and practitioners from all over the world to exchange their thoughts.
Conclusion
It is not simple to launch a new company. Growing it isn’t easy. You might not believe that you are prepared to run your own company, but the fact you have read this far indicates that you are. It all begins with a thought, preferably one that you have a connection to and are enthusiastic about. You will be well on your way to being a successful entrepreneur if you can develop that idea into something that offers solutions to problems encountered in the actual world.
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