It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur—in the last decade, technology
has leveled the playing field and propelled an entrepreneurial
revolution. As an entrepreneur, you now have more access to information
that enables you to make more intelligent choices more quickly. You
have an advantage over big businesses in that you’re lighter, more
flexible, and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more
quickly, and you can turn on a dime.
But being a successful entrepreneur requires that you look at the big
picture and follow a plan through from beginning to end. Rieva
Lesonsky, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine gives some practical
guidelines that can help you when beginning your own enterprise:
1.Don’t Quit Your Day Job.
Consider starting your business part-time, especially if it’s online,
while you’re working and have a steady income. It usually takes six
months to a year to get a business going and you don’t want your
ability to make your house payment to hinge upon your company being an
overnight success. Start with what you can manage, financially and
time-wise, and scale up as your business grows.
2.Find Your Niche.
The days of general stores are over. Particularly online, consumers are
looking for stores that specialize. You have to find a need—something a
specific group of people want, but can’t get at the big chain
stores—and fill it. Advises Lesonsky, “You can’t compete with the big
guys, so you have to find where the big guys aren’t and go into your
niches.”
3.Have an Online Presence.
Even if you’re not planning to start an online retail business,
consider that the internet can still play a valuable role in your
company. Having an online presence eliminates the limitations of
physical location and broadens your customer base by, literally,
millions. It’s also a great tool for promoting yourself and letting
people, even in your own area, know that you’re there, and what you’re
doing.
4.Refuse to Quit.
Successful entrepreneurship requires creativity, energy, and a drive to
keep going when you fail. Few people realize that before Bill Gates
created the extremely successful Microsoft 3.0, he created a Microsoft
1.0 and 2.0, both of which flopped—but he kept at it. And that
determination and refusal to give up is what will separate successful
entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones. Says Lesonsky, “Arm yourself with
optimism to get beyond the ‘No’ or the trouble. There’s nothing wrong
in failure—just don’t repeat the same mistake!”