The five stages of entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is a process. It doesn't happen overnight. Even after being cautious, you are bound to take a few missteps and fall. Failure is inevitable in entrepreneurship. However, the speed with which you rise after a fall defines the kind of entrepreneur you are. A smart businessman doesn't simply aspire to build products, he strives to deliver value.
Image : shutterstock
Here are five stages of entrepreneurship every successful entrepreneur goes through.
The perfect business idea
The first and foremost step is to develop and round off on a sensible and solid business idea backing your decision of being an entrepreneur. Combine your market research with your capabilities to mould that idea into a more tangible and feasible form.
A business plan
Once you have a business idea in place, you need to formulate a strong business plan. Your business plan might not take the anticipated route if the market reacts differently, but that is no reason to lose hope. Re-testing and correcting your business drafts won't just help your business succeed, but it will also help you make a plan poised for growth.
Raise funding
This is one of the most important stages of your entrepreneurial process. Now that you have a viable business plan in place, you must understand the financial implications of your project. Start by raising seed funding by getting an investment from grants, bank loans or angel investors.
Get your first customers
No business can stay afloat without patrons. If you don't get paying customers and clients soon, your business will die out. Try to gather happy customer testimonials to help spread the word about your business and strive to provide customer service in the most efficient way possible.
Be prepared for the outcome
After all the hard work, time and effort you have put in, your business might still tank. Or it may turn out to be an amazing success. While everyone strives for the latter, sometime if your business fails it is not because of your shortcomings but because of external factors you have no control over. If your business model didn't work, try to identify what went wrong. Don't lose faith in yourself and try to make it big the second time around.
Entrepreneurship is exciting but it is no bed of roses. If you want to end up successful, you have to understand the entrepreneurial process and work smart even in the face of failures.
