Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, which is why it takes some true grit to venture into the world of business-building. Make no mistake, creating and running a business can be challenging and takes plenty of hard work and perseverance to achieve your desired levels of success. But with the right tools under your belt, you can make the process easier on yourself, and everybody else involved.
Whether you’re already in the thick of your business-building, or looking to start a business from scratch, it pays to heed the advice of others who have walked in your shoes before and ended up on the right side of success. They say making your first million is the hardest, so millionaires are the pinnacle of success. If you’re hoping to one day achieve your own self-made millions, use these 5 tricks to get a head start.
Trick #1: Learn everything you can
Learning is a crucial part of taking on a new venture that you’re not quite 100% sure how to navigate. In addition to completing some extensive book-based and online research, be sure to listen to what others have to say. This shouldn’t exclusively include advice from other business owners or successful startup entrepreneurs, you should also lend an ear to friends, family, and colleagues along the way.
For all things associated with your entrepreneurial goals, be a sponge. Learn and absorb as much information as you can so you’re better prepared to tackle your business plan with insightful perspective. Write ideas down and keep those notes on your walls, desk, and phone. As you begin to create a more fleshed-out plan, everything will come to life.
Trick #2: Network network, network
Sometimes it’s not so much about what you know, but who you know. Networking has become easier than ever in the modern age thanks to social media networks like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Whether it’s reaching out to a former employer who may have genius ideas or a successful businessperson you admire, use social media networking to your advantage.
The same applies to in-person networking events. Getting facetime with like-minded, driven individuals may inspire you to change something about your business model or earn you a business partner.
Trick #3: Hire the right people
Between official pre-employment credit checks and drafting out the perfect job listing description, you have plenty on your plate when it comes to hiring the right people to make your business dreams come to life.
Trick #4: Keep a tight budget
Once you’ve started to develop your business idea and can more feasibly visualize how everything will come alive, you’ll need to add up how much it’ll all cost. This means calculating every business expense necessary to launch and operate to the extent you have planned.
Some costs to keep in mind include:
- Rent for your office space;
- Equipment;
- Inventory;
- Licenses;
- Marketing tools and budget;
- Insurance;
- Employee expenses;
- Utilities.
Trick #5: Monitor spending
When you’re feeling good about something, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and splurge on things that could eventually land you in a financial hole. Rather than letting things escalating too far, monitor your spending the moment you launch.
We recommend these stand-out business budgeting software programs:
- FreshBooks;
- Sage50cloud;
- FreeAgent;
- Xero;
- QuickBooks Enterprise;
- Vena.
Trick #6: Stay on top of legalities
Being a business owner will completely change the stress of tax season. There are a variety of legalities that need to be taken into account in every facet of your budding company’s operations, so it’s best to carefully go through and figure out what steps need to be taken in order to maintain compliance.
Trick #7: Accept failure
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Space-X once said of his company, “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” Sometimes it’s the most outlandish ideas that become the most successful down the road.
Should those ideas initially fail, keep working on it until it clicks— you won’t regret it.
Do you have any tips or tricks for first-time business owners? Let us know your strategies for success down below!