We stand in a capitalistic society that values business ideas, the unlimited potential of businesses, and the prestige of having wealth and influence. Thus, entrepreneurship is highly romanticized in our culture.
With various knowledge about entrepreneurship, many misconceptions started to go around destroying aspiring entrepreneurs in our generation. Actually, entrepreneurship is not really easy, especially for start-ups.
The business world is painful, and you have to be mentally and emotionally equipped to succeed in your endeavor. There’s even a saying that entrepreneurship is a skill to endure pain for a long time. You will need endurance more than money.
Entrepreneurship Realities
Entrepreneurs all have a common ground that sets them apart from the crowd. Still, anyone can achieve it. What makes entrepreneurs exceptional is their ability to grow the market from the ground up. Here are some realities you must know before starting a business.
Business is hard
It is frightening not to see the light when you are struggling. While starting up a business, you might feel like in an underground tunnel where you can’t clearly see what’s inside because of the darkness. However, if you researched about that tunnel and know where it is heading, you will be at ease knowing that you’re doing just fine.
Entrepreneurship works the same way.
You might find it frightening to take enter entrepreneurship, but if you know where you want to be and the direction you are heading, fear not because you will eventually see the light at the end.
Keep your goal in sight. Of course, it won’t be fun hustling, writing, reading, and studying when all your friends are partying. It won’t be fun working hard while everyone is at home watching Netflix every day. However, business is a constant game of chess. You need to have profound thoughts in problem-solving to make a good move. If you don’t come up with creative ideas and unique solutions, you will be left bankrupt.
That is why you need to give your whole heart and time to establish a business. Yes, it will be a challenging journey for you. Your success won’t appear guns blazing. It will be scanty and visible to only you. But if you consistently do things in contrast to the crowd, you will see excellent results.
Sacrifice accommodates success. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you must be willing to make a sacrifice. Robert Kiyosaki once said, “Success takes an investment in time, dedication, and sacrifice. This is true education. It is a process.” You may not see it now, but present sacrifices will benefit you tomorrow.
The bigger success you want to achieve, the greater the sacrifice you have to make.
Anyone can be an entrepreneur
A whole world of elements will be thrown at you at your business venture, and you need to be constantly ready to tackle everything. How does a talented business entrepreneur look like?
A talented entrepreneur is excellent at reading people. Reading people is essential in negotiating, selling, and identifying risks. You need to understand what is going on in a person’s mind. Not like you need to have telepathic powers, but you simply need to know their thought (if they are telling the truth or not) by analyzing gestures.
Most often than not, people don’t always mean what they say. For instance, customers might say, “I am not interested in this product.” However, they might have said this to push you away because they are not in the mood or don’t have the money to buy it. If you know how to analyze their answers based on their moves, you will know how to approach the situation.
Besides, understanding a person’s frustrations is essential as it helps you identify the market needs that ask for a solution. This will help you develop a product that will sell because of its value.
Innovation is also an important factor in succeeding as an entrepreneur. As your product enters the market, you will find countless competition, and you have to stand against them all. Without innovation, your business will remain stagnant having nothing new to offer. When you have nothing new to offer, you will not make any progress.
There are natural-born entrepreneurs who have a mind that is wired to handle business efficiently. However, entrepreneurship is not limited and can be learned through time and effort.
Business Requires Time
How much time is required to do a business?
The time required to do business depends upon your initial capital and, sometimes, luck. According to Forbes, statistics show that successful small businesses are built over the years and not months. Start-ups take at least two to three years to be profitable and seven to ten years to be successful.
Walmart is an example of how a start-up typically grows and becomes successful. Sam Walton established Walmart in 1945, but it took him seven years to open up his second shop. And after half a century, it is now the biggest retailer in the world.
Walmart’s growth shows that establishing a name in the industry takes time. Even the most successful companies now took a long time before getting things right. You don’t have to rush too.
You Don’t Need A Big Capital
To start any business, money is needed. However, you don’t always need a huge capital to get your business up. This may seem a far-fetched idea, but you can start a business with only a little or no funding at all.
You will need a solid plan to make your plans business funds grow along with partners and investors. Think of what kind of business you want to put up and make a list of what you need for your business. After that, you can research alternatives on the web so you will be able to minimize your expenses. If you don’t have funds at hand, you could start by loaning an amount in a bank or from a relative.
You Don’t Need Connections
Having an initial connection is an edge, but it is not a requirement. You can build your own empire by building a new connection, apart from people you initially know.
You can build a network through LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, or any available online platform. Try finding clients, and you can ask for connections as well as referrals from them.
