Top ten tips for entrepreneurs by Susanne Hasselmann, Director, Scirum Ltd.
Starting a new business is not an easy task, but a challenge that can be extremely rewarding, frustrating, stressful and fun! Above all, be prepared to adapt as your new business evolves - things often work out differently to the way you expected!
Over the years I have been involved in a number of start-ups, I have helped to re-shape businesses and have had to adjust by downsizing or closing operations. During this time I have myself learned from my mistakes, re-shaped my expectations and celebrated the successes.
Above all, I have tried to learn from others through observation, research and by talking to people who have been through similar situations. The following TOP TIPS are my summary of what I have learned. I hope these are helpful to you entrepreneurs out there!
- Optimism rules!
- Know where you are going – have a vision!
- Know why your business is different - your unique selling point
- Be flexible
- Keep focused on your plan
- Enjoy what you do – and thus do it well!
- Sell yourself in the right way!
- Know what you don’t know
- Know when to stop!
- Control your cash flow and start small
1. Optimism rules!
What makes a good entrepreneur? Optimism, determination and resilience! When you are let down by a partner or customer or when things don’t turn out the way you expected, you have to get up, brush yourself off, adapt and try again. I guarantee you that this will happen often. I always think that being an entrepreneur is like being a bulldog - hang on in there until you have exhausted all the options. Stay positive!
Don’t hang on until the bitter end though... – but we will come to that later.
2. Know where you are going – have a vision!
Always have a vision when you start. You need to know where you are going – visualise where you want to be in three/ five/ ten years’ time, set realistic financial goals, then think about how you will get there. Why are you different to other companies? What resources do you need? How will you design and manufacture your products/ service? How will you distribute? Who are your customers (describe them)? How will you let them know you and your product/ service exist? How will you service your customers? What are the barriers you can foresee that could stop you from realising your plan and how would you overcome these?
3. Know why your business is different - your unique selling point
What makes you different from others? What is your unique selling point (USP)? This could be the skill you have, the unique features of your product or the positive impact you have on other people’s lives. You need to make sure you know your USP, you test it in the market to ensure it is unique and you can describe it in one or two sentences – a strap line is useful in that respect.
4. Be flexible
You set out believing in an idea. You have a plan. However, when you start taking it to market you suddenly realise that the format or design is not quite right. In this case, be flexible and learn. Adapt to market needs. Be flexible enough to change your plan in order to achieve your ultimate goal and vision.
5. Keep focused
Whatever you do, ensure you keep true to your vision and where you want to be in three to five years’ time. You may have to adapt your plans but only because you are staying true to your final goals. Keep focused on your customers and your finances! Make sure every decision you take gets you one step closer to your ultimate goal.
6. Enjoy what you do – and thus do it well
Being an entrepreneur is not a 9 to 5 job. It is a lifestyle. You will spend evenings and weekends working on your ideas, making sure the finances are stacking up and the product is perfect. Therefore, in order to do this you really need to love it. You will only succeed if you enjoy what you do!
7. Sell yourself in the right way
Start-ups are based on an idea that you have generated. You will need to sell it. You need to be credible, realistic and not over the top. If you don’t have a large company behind you with a brand people recognise, selling becomes more difficult. As a result, you are in the first instance selling yourself – remember that. Networking is the most important activity for you now. Use all the contacts you already have to let them know about your venture, make new contacts through social media, join local business groups and attend business networking meetings or speak at conferences (that way you usually don’t have to pay).
8. Know what you don’t know
To be able to enjoy what you do and to channel your energies into the areas of business where you can have the most impact you need to think about the areas of business where you do not have the relevant expertise. Make a list and think about how you can enlist appropriate help. You might like to ask a number of people to mentor you or you might think about outsourcing some of your functions to a company such as Scirum Ltd
www.scirum.biz who can help. Plan how to fill the knowledge gaps you have.
9. Control your costs and start small
Finding investors is always difficult. You can go to your bank but unless you have a well thought out idea you are not going to get very far. The same is true with grants that are available for start-ups and other funding sources. I always think that you need to prove your concept first which means you need to get out there and test the market. My rule is never to spend more than £5,000 on an initial proof of concept and never to lose more than £20,000 in a business idea. Suffice to say, I have never lost any money so far – and this is where we get to tip number 10.
10. Know when to stop!
The most important thing to know is when to stop. Make sure that when you draw up your plans you include a list of things that will tell you ‘you need to stop now.’ Think about how you would define success and failure and develop some lines you will not cross, i.e. need to have first order by month X and will not spend more than Y on this idea. What happens if market conditions change dramatically - a recession or changes in exchange rates?You will be tempted to overstep these lines because the next contract is just round the corner, but DON’T. Get out before it gets you! Most successful entrepreneurs have to fail before they win big.
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