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| 11 Things You Should Know Before Starting Business |
Let your action do the talking. When it comes to living a dream, most of us just talk about starting the journey, be it starting a business or simply pursuing a hobby. The real action takes the back seat and too much energy goes waste in unnecessary thinking. I am not against thinking, but it should be positive and aligned with the ultimate goal. In fact, studies show that just one in 60 people actually go ahead and do what they speak about and rest 59 people never really take action. So, stop wasting time in talking and let your action make noise.
I have seen several great ideas perish in the mental quagmire. An idea isn’t worth anything before it starts yielding results in the real world. A good idea does wonder only when executed brilliantly. So, focus on taking actions and making your idea become a reality. The only person who will tell you the truth about your idea is the person you want to invest in it. You should always focus on taking actions and don’t waste your time talking a lot about your ideas, as it means nothing.
The next important thing about real life is that nobody cares about your business more than you. It is very natural to expect positive contribution and participation from loved ones, but in reality, it is you and only you who will be responsible to take your business forward. That’s why you will hear people saying that entrepreneurship is a lonely journey and one has to pay a huge cost in terms of personal sacrifices. But, the good part is that you will be the only one who will get the rewards for it too.
People give too much importance to initial capital for starting a business. In reality, you don’t need big money to start a business. In most cases, I have seen people wasting mental energy in making wrong cost projections, based on the hypothetical possibility of scaling. Of course, one needs primary capital to start but benchmarking cost based on inputs from successful companies isn’t the right approach. In reality, businesses grow organically with the right dose of inputs at the right time. All you need is to remain focused on value creation and be honest towards your work. You can start small and let the business shape organically.
Success comes at a cost. You have to accept this truth and be ready to make sacrifices. Having a dream is good, but you have to work dedicatedly to shape the dream and managing time can the single largest barrier in your journey towards success. Can you imagine Mark Cuban, the billionaire co-owner of Dallas Mavericks, didn’t take a single vacation for 7-year? So, if you want to be in the league of unicorn owners then be prepared to make sacrifices.
Frankly, we all start small with an eye on big and in the course we create a highly complex structure, which becomes unmanageable. So, it is good to build a smart business from the beginning and focus more on building a stronger foundation, because the strong foundation ensures sustainable scaling. You should prioritize things to boost demand and have a stronger and reliable consumer base. Business is all about dynamism and healthy decision making, so don’t be dependent on just one supplier or your employees because if they leave then you cannot survive. Once you have a strong consumer base, you can scale your business as you can easily predict the demand trend and accordingly boost production. In a simple world, you will have a path with the freedom to escalate according to changing demand situations. All you need is to innovate and be in a competitive game. Your manpower should be trained enough to keep your engine ignited and leave you to focus more on strength building.
You have to be innovative as nothing lasts forever in a competitive space. So, it is better to identify opportunities in advance and mobilize resources to be in the game by removing all your weaknesses, without much friction. The best strategy is to hire experts who could help you scale and shine. Identifying talents and keeping them in action is the key to success.
The next thing is to fail fast and adapt quickly. So, whenever things aren’t going as per expectation it is better to realign and change your direction, if not permanently then for a while and let the phase end. Failures are bound to happen, so don’t take it seriously. Learn from your mistakes and adapt faster to be in the flow. Nokia is a perfect example of goal realignment. Starting as a rubber manufacturer and when things weren’t going the way as planned they changed direction and become a successful mobile technology company. They ruled the space for a decade but failed to repeat the realignment matrix and the iconic Nokia phone is now history.
It is not just about starting and initial boom. If you want to be successful then you have to think long-term with smartness of managing micros. Your ability to manage your resources will decide your fate in the long run. In the contemporary world you will survive and shine only when you know the art of resource optimization, meaning make the most of what you have.
The most important resource is the time and you have to master the art of using it perfectly. We all have the same 24 hours, some are managing unicorns and some can’t even manage 9-to-5 life. So, the choice is yours whether you want to be like Elon Musk or live a life of non-starter.
I agree, it is tough to remain motivated 24x7 for 365 days. The best strategy to live a purposeful life is to find a good mentor who could inspire you. Learning is the key, so be a neutral observer with strong filters to grasp things that you need in your journey. Freedom is important, but one needs to have the self-discipline to lead a successful life.
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