Be mentally prepared to handle anything that is thrown your way-Any Challenges of a Business
As you already know, handling a business is far from easy. For one, you have customers to deal with, for another you have clients calling you up all the time, 24 hours and seven days of the week. Also, you cannot let the quality of your products suffer and so, making sure your product is in good condition is also integral to your business. Before Step 1, think of Step 0. In other words, ask yourself honestly whether you really want to be in the business of doing business. Ask yourself, “Do I really want to be an Entrepreneur?” If your answer is a yes, then you are ready to don the Entrepreneur’s mantle.
If it is a no, then maybe you should consider other career options for yourself. Running a business is not child’s play. And one needs originality of thought and a great deal of creativity in order to run a business. If you look at huge and sprawling Businesses like Microsoft and Google, you will realize that they usually have one thing in common-they usually have an individual or maybe three people at the helm. Be true to yourself and be honest about whether you can handle a business or not. Still, if you do happen to have a very bright idea, you can explore it by working on the idea, not giving up on it and expanding on it in your own unique and creative way. You never know, one day you could be the one with your name up in lights!
Do you have the time?
Another thing that you have to honestly ask yourself is whether you have the time or not. With school, a part-time job perhaps and other commitments, do you have the time to commit to a full-fledged business? Running your own business maybe immensely satisfying creatively, but do you have the patience and the enthusiasm to treat it like your pet Project and give it as much time as it requires? Also, starting out, it can be very frustrating. Your investments may get you no returns. Think carefully before you commit to a business.
Use Social Networking Sites to popularize your business
With the advent of Orkut and Facebook, Social Networking has almost become a form of alternative living. Use sites like them to network with likeminded people. To exchange your ideas and if you can, or even sell your ideas to people that you might wish to work with. Websites like Ryze and Linkedin are solely designed for the purpose of Business Networking. Use them to expand your business. If you are planning to launch your own Social Networking site however, do remember that these sites will be your competitors. Use keywords that will help your business come up on Google searches and maintain a weblog (preferably on blogspot because Google owns blogspot) that will chronicle your journey as an Entrepreneur. Not only will that help you create a kind of memo for yourself, but it will also help other Young Entrepreneurs who might learn from your mistakes.
A good business also means good planning, so plan immaculately
Plan what you want to do on paper. A good business needs to be sturdy. Also, for small start-up businesses, opportunities may crop up at anytime. You might be sitting in a small coffee house and opportunity might present itself. Carry your own Business Card with you at all times. You never know when you are going to need it.
Use a pen and a paper to chalk out your Business model precisely and concisely. If you want, you can draw in order to ensure that you possess the clarity of thought. After all, if you must explain a business model to someone else, you must have a thorough understanding of the business yourself. After you have planned correctly, make sure you are so confident of your business model that you can explain the business model to anyone- even someone who has no previous expertise or has no idea whatsoever on how to run a business.
Keep Tabs on the Progress of Your Company
The very last straw for your business would be if you missed your client’s deadlines. Make sure that the people working under you are reliable and trustworthy. Develop a system that allows you to keep tabs on deadlines, pending tasks and personal and professional goals that you have set for yourself and for your company.
Be prepared to fail
Let’s be honest here. Any business can fail and it is very easy to get carried away and think that your business model will really work. But there are chances that it may not.
If it so happens that you have to shut down your business, try and reflect on what you learnt from it and think about what could have gone wrong.
But most importantly, have fun. Make sure you have heaps of fun doing your work. Here’s wishing you all the luck in the world!
by Reeti Roy
