Starting Your Own Business: Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
Running your own business requires a lot of patience and dedication, and it is undoubtedly challenging in the initial phases. It is, however, incredibly rewarding when successful, and can often lead to decent profits and a life where you are your own boss. Here is some basic advice for entrepreneurs starting out.
Manage Expectations
The first thing any budding entrepreneur should do when starting a business is manage their expectations. This is before the venture has even been set up, as too many people believe that running a startup is a quick and easy journey to financial success. It is not.
In fact, some figures say 80% of businesses fail overall, which is a truly astounding number considering the amount of businesses appearing nowadays. One of the main reasons for this is poor planning, which nearly always means the owner expected to be more successful than they were.
Plan/Budget
To avoid being disappointed/defeated in the early stages of startup, then, you should make an extensive plan and budget which covers every eventuality and is as realistic as possible. Take into account every single cost of running the business, and calculate the profits you will need to be making in order to survive long term.
It is better to overcalculate than undercalculate, so be pessimistic in the first instance whilst remaining positive about your enterprise overall. If you are running a shop, for instance, don’t expect your products to immediately start flying off the shelves.
Most business owners will need help at some point in their life, and it could be for a number of things. If the business is struggling to get going because of a lack of funds, you should look for a loan or an investor to get it back on track. If the workforce is stretched or the workload is too heavy, hiring new staff could be essential.
You should be willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the survival of the business, and many entrepreneurs have relied on getting help (in whatever form it takes) before becoming successful/self sufficient.
Invest
Finally, you must continually invest in your business to prevent stagnation and maximise chances of long term success. Investment helps a business to grow, so you should always put some of the profits back in ensure it is healthy and progressing in the right direction.
Some business owners also choose to invest some of their profits in the markets through methods like CFD trading, which can be useful for those who are saving for a large reinvestment fund/have a surplus of investment money. However you choose to do it, make sure the crucial parts of the business have a steady stream of money to keep them ticking along and up to date.
It may take time, but ensuring every part of your business/business plan is watertight will prevent unexpected financial shocks. Making an accurate and extensive plan will set you on the right path for success, and ensure that you have effective guidelines for the direction you want to take the business in the long term.
