If you wish to be a successful entrepreneur, then you must know there are no secrets. There’s instead an attitude and a set of behaviours that must be adopted on behalf of an incredible journey of success. First, it’s necessary to demystify the true meaning of “entrepreneur”. An entrepreneur is not just a person who decided to open a company or a new business area. An entrepreneur is a visionary who identified a gap in the market and wishes, consequently, to solve that problem. If you relate to this, then get to know the six essential steps to assure you will be a successful entrepreneur, no matter if you’re a man or a woman.
#1 Fall in love
To start a business requires that you’re ready for a huge amount of work and to dedicate yourself body and soul because after all, this is your passion. It requires time, dedication, effort and focus. So, considering all these demands and the number of things you’ll have to give up on, make sure this business is something you’re passionate about, that motivates you, it makes you get out of bed every day with commitment, determination and a clear goal.
#2 Be different
If you wish to create a new product, service or brand, know that it’s not easy to open a company, survive and prosper in an increasingly global and competitive market. The main focus should be differentiation. Don’t try to be just another in the market, try to be unique, present solutions that were unknown until now, take the chance to discover who are your potential customers and what they are looking for. Make the difference and introduce a completely innovative product, service or brand.
#3 Set goals
Creating a new business area is not as simple as it looks. The entrepreneur, besides being passionate about this area, must set clear and measurable goals, establishing metrics to allow evaluating the evolution.
#4 Plan
After finding a business area you’re passionate about, after identifying the differentiating factor and establishing goals, it’s necessary to plan the best way to manage and operate all the actions to achieve the proposed goals. The creation of a business plan should be the starting point of your journey as an entrepreneur.
#5 Be exceptional
We know the market is global, extremely competitive and increasingly saturated, therefore the entrepreneur must be exceptional in everything he does because the success of the business area depends solely and exclusively on himself. The entrepreneur needs to be a set of things simultaneously: a manager, a leader, have technical and professional skills, be sensitive to the market, customers and people. He should also make sure that all the people who may eventually integrate the business area (future employees), have the same philosophy and believe in the same values. The idea and passion for a business area came from the entrepreneur but one can’t do everything alone nor is good at everything. So, the entrepreneur has to find the right people to complement his abilities and create efficient network contacts.
#Be patient and persistent
Build a business area from scratch is not an easy task. Besides, it’s a journey full of tasks, options and learnings and so, not everything is going to work out well. The entrepreneur needs to be patient, and able to withdraw the positive aspects of each learning and never give up in the face of adversity. Be patient and persistent is the path that all entrepreneurs must take. It’s also necessary to speak up for your ideas, face problems as challenges that need solving and learn from mistakes, reacting quickly and not giving up upon difficulties.
“If you can connect all the dots between what you see today and where you want to go, then it’s probably not ambitious enough or aspirational enough.” — Shantanu Narayen
By Márcia Monteiro
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