What it takes to be an Entrepreneur - Doing my part - Clayford08's Opinion Corner
Do you have the desire to be self-employed or share the need to own your own business?
Today I break down everything entrepreneurial spirits need to succeed, in four easy segments.
NETWORKING
This is the biggest and most important aspect of starting any business. In order to thrive and grow, you need backers. In order to get backers, you need to network. You need to be going to the bottomless pits of 4chan and reddit to explain why you're idea is better than anything else before you. You need to join a facebook group that is inline with what you're trying to accomplish. You need to call up friends you haven't heard from in a while that you know would have your back if you needed it. Family is the biggest benefactor to startups. Never take them for granted. You need to be meeting people in voice chats, text chats, and in person, to spread the wealth of knowledge you have on your business model and what makes it so special.FUNDING
Without capital it is very difficult to get any ideas off the ground. This segment goes hand in hand with the first point I made. In order to seek funding, you have to know some people and they have to deem you trustworthy. That kind of relationship doesn't just happen overnight. Therefore, family and friends are the best places to start. If you don't have family or friends go back to square one. Make family and friends. If that doesn't pan out, it's time to look at lending. Personally, I think this should be a last ditch effort. If all else fails, then it might be time to look at a small business loan or a business credit line. The thing is; if nobody is listening to what you have to say and are willing to back your venture, it might not be as good of an idea as you thought. Keep that last part in mind.RESEARCH
If you haven't already done this part, you're ten steps behind your competition. If you have already done your research and you aren't constantly refreshing your knowledge on that research or learning new things, you're also ten steps behind your competition. Research is the driving factor for any industry. Most businesses have a specific department named "research and development". Interesting how that works, right?!TIME/EFFORT
This last segment is probably just as equally as important as networking. You MUST be honest with yourself at this point. If you think that starting your own business will be fantastic because you're going to be your own boss, you're not entirely wrong. If that's the only thing you think will be involved in starting a business, you're incredibly wrong. The average full-time job requires you to work 40-50 hours a week. The average entrepreneur will work more than 70 hours a week in their first two years of business. Some never have a chance to work less. It all depends on your situation. The point I'm trying to make here is that this will require much more of your time than a full-time job. Dedication is a key word that many people use to describe an entrepreneur. I completely agree.
I'm not trying to draw anyone away from starting their own business. If you have a great idea and others agree that it's great, please do start your business. We need more businesses with great ideas flowing. The point I'm trying to drive home is that this lifestyle is not for everyone. It takes a special type of person to own a business. Are you an entrepreneur?
I'd love to get some feedback on this one. What do other entrepreneurs think are important factors in starting a business?
Cheers,
@clayford08
https://cryptomarketinvestments.com
Information:
Want to join my discord and start networking today?
Crypto Market Investments Discord
Want to join a discord full of other steemians?
https://www.steemspeak.com
Absolutely agree with networking being number 1.
And you need people who are determined to walk the walk with you through all the hardships of starting up.
I've gone to all networking events I could. Whether it be conferences, cocktails, mixer-events, alumni conferences etc. I always had a simple rule in mind for 2 things I wanted to know about each person I got to know:
If I know the answers to those 2, then I know if they are the right person to join me, or someone who's asking me for recommendations. 1. Are their interests and motivations aligned with solving the problem my StartUp wants to solve (i.e can I count on them to put their best in to the startup without additional incentives) and 2. do they provide the complementary skill that I need.
Because the product or service developed, and the business model used, will be subject to several iterations and pivots throughout the process, the team is what needs to be left standing. So take your time to get to know the right people before beginning the journey :)
It sounds like you've got some experience in this department. What business are you currently running?
Not hands on myself. I am yet to start a business myself but intend to do so at one point, which is why I keep note of the people I meet who could potentially be relevant early stage co-founders or co-workers. Some of my best friends are entrepreneurs however and so I've been continuously speaking with them, and both seen and heared the challenges and success stories there.
But I've always attended every StartUp Weekend, LEAN StartUp workshop etc that I could. And in my work starting an incubator I was working with a lot of people who were experienced with VC investments and selecting StartUps for incubation centre spots etc. All of whom focused on what they saw in the team before thinking about the quality of the idea itself. Because as I said, how the idea plays out in practice will most likely change, but the team needs to be the right people to make it work in the end.
very nice article sir this surely be help all steemians out here i am loving it as i reading it.
thanks man!
Cool. Agreed with your points and yes, networking is key.
So this business you're talking about is your Crypto Market Investments? When do you think you'll move into a full-time role with it? I'm probably wrong but don't you also have a day job as well?
Thanks for sharing!
My business is crypto market investments. I do have a full-time job, however, that I will be done with in November. At that time, I'll be working on this full time and working in real-estate. :)
Nice, sounds like a great little set-up. Not sure what you'll be focusing on in real estate, but I know of a lot of people that have a lot of success in that field while also maintaining flexible schedules--which I'm sure would be great for somebody trying to promote their own stuff (like your investment help services).
I was just wondering, so thanks for answering. Keep up the good work man!
well said.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by clayford08 from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.