6 Things Entrepreneurs should know before starting their own business

An entrepreneur is someone who jumps out of an airplane and figures how to build a parachute on the way down.

That saying has been heard, but there are certain things one learn about how to build that parachute.

Most of the business ideas we get are driven by impulse.

We get struck by a thought, which converts into an idea and boom, next thing we know it we are at our comp researching how we can make that idea work.

Human beings are creators, we like to invent stuff and when we are not inventing stuff, we try to figure out better ways to do what is already being done.

That is how entrepreneurship works.

Which is why you hear of guys starting a bus ticketing app because they couldn’t go home for Christmas, or another guy starting a cab service aggregator because he couldn’t find a cab.

If you think about it, everything around us, that is man-made was first created out of thought.

The thought converted into an idea.

That idea was pursued tirelessly and it is probably something we use to this day, which includes the toilet seat.

If you are someone who is driven by the passion to bring their idea to life, it is good to move fast and break things, as Steve Jobs said, but, it is also good to know about a few concepts that can help you get on the way.

These concepts are:

Knowing Your Audience

Let's understand something, most of the ideas which we get are driven by the 'me' attitude.

We think we need something and assume that others will need or want the same thing.

This is one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make.

Thinking like that gets one so involved in creating a product that they think will sell, that they forget to ask people about what they think about it.

It is important, that once you are struck by your business idea, you canvass around like crazy to understand if people within your network feel the same way. If they do then you might be able to draw up a somewhat accurate conclusion.

That will not only give you a good understanding of where you stand, but it will also tell you who your audience is.

According to what your audience needs you will be able to build something that will sell itself.

A Good Product still doesn't sell itself.

My last statement in the earlier paragraph brings me to this point. Yes, you will develop a product which will sell itself but only when a person comes looking for it.

And for a person to come looking for it you need to tell people about it.

As an entrepreneur 75% of your time when starting off needs to be spent telling people about what you do and networking.

If you are a person who would get into a cocoon and focus on people finding you, you are pretty soon going to come out from under the rock and realize the world has moved past. Make sure you meet and talk to as many people as possible about what you are doing.

Asking for help

You might generally shy away from asking for help or you could be arrogant to ask for help and guidance.

But, if you do find someone experienced, who has been there and done that and is willing to help, then, my god that is a big advantage

Take it from someone who was too arrogant and had to deal with the unpleasantness of falling flat on their face because of that.

Planning

An idiot with a plan can beat a genius without a plan - Warren Buffet.

When you are starting a business, it is important that you have a plan to get the show on the road.

If you go in without a plan, you are pretty much going to find yourself torn in all sorts of different directions and end up with the nagging feeling of not knowing what you are doing.

You will show up at work not knowing where to start because everything is going to be urgent and everything will need to be done immediately.

Prioritizing

You have a limited amount of time during the day.

Make a list of the most important tasks you have to complete during your day. Prioritize that list and reduce it further according to their importance.

Warren Buffets' 5/25 rule would help here. If you have a list of 25 things on your schedule, figure out which 5 are the most important and do those, forget the remaining 20 until they become as important.

Also, some of the most successful people in the world schedule their most difficult tasks for the day as the first thing in the morning.

Choosing Who You Talk to and Work with

You might have tremendous and supportive friends and Touchwood to that.

You will probably have friends who would want to partner with you on your venture.

It is easy to get caught up with the idea that friends working together will be great.

STOP.

Treat it objectively, friends can be the biggest liability for your plans.

There are many reasons

The business might not be a priority for them.

They might be too negative.

And so on.

If you think of yourself as a mobile phone, imagine you wake up every morning with a 100% charge and you get to work and you have to deal with this every day.

Now stop and think, if who you are working with right now aligns with your thought process.

Never stop learning

You will make mistakes. You need to make sure you do not get dejected and learn from those mistakes.

Every day that you try to get your business up and running, you will find out something new, you will learn some things the hard way.

You need to nurture those learnings to help yourself evolve.

However big and great your idea is, what is most important from a growth perspective is that you never stop learning.

You will be rejected.

You will be made fun of.

You will have days that you will want to give up ( I know you have read this a lot of times, but it's unbelievable how real these feelings are when you are trying to do something ).

People are going to shoot you down.

You are going to find people who are at the same level as you telling you it's not going to work.

Advice is the cheapest commodity on earth and most don't pass up the chance to feel like experts

Shut them out.

Believe in your idea.

Find others who believe in your idea.

Work with them.

The part where building a parachute comes in after jumping out is you identifying red flags and replacing what doesn't work with what does work.

Just make sure you show up every day and are ready to go.