Entrepreneur is a title continually resonating through the world of business. It defines someone innovative, who is coming up with a new product, service or idea to offer, in order to solve an existing problem. And every entrepreneur’s journey looks different, albeit built with the same resilience to failure and willingness to continually improve. There is no great secret to being a good entrepreneur – but there are several things you can keep in mind to give yourself and your business a chance to thrive.
Have self-belief – and carry it through your vision
Henry Ford famously said ‘Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right’. Self-belief is vital to taking leaps of faith and making tough decisions in business, and part of growing that is simply to start ‘doing’. The more action you take builds a wealth of experience and knowledge, which will only allow you to be more assured. Having a grounding in your own confidence will help you to keep a clear vision for your business and its goals at all times.
Optimise Free Marketing Tools
With the internet and countless social platforms at your fingertips, spend time optimising your company profiles on each so as to remain visible and accessible to potential customers. Incorporating these into your core marketing plan is vital, in a world that is now so digitally-focused. Sites such as GoogleMyBusiness also let you track search traffic among other analytics, so that you can target your content and marketing with even more specificity to reach your demographic.
Don’t be afraid of networking
Very few of us genuinely enjoy networking – at its worst, it can feel awkward and stunted. But it is an essential part to growing your business.
When you start out, you might feel like you don’t have the resources to branch out immediately, or that you should be personally in control of every aspect, with all responsibility falling to you. This can lead to overworking, and ultimately, burnout. Actively seek effective collaboration, because there are people around you who can contribute on your journey to success. Whether it’s seizing informal opportunities to broach the subject of your business, or reaching out explicitly, these connections will carry you and have the potential to take your business to greater heights.
Follow up on new additions to your network by connecting with them online too, be it via LinkedIn or by following up with an email. This continued presence is as important to sustaining relationships within your own professional network as it is with clients.
Develop an effective business plan
Get your vision down onto paper so you can start to map out exactly how you will reach your long-term goals. In doing so, try to pre-emptively answer questions: how will your business operate day-to-day? Who is your target, and where does the competition lie? Where do you want to be in 5 years? This will enable you to have more clarity on how you will achieve success.
If you would like to discuss further support with putting a rewarding business plan into action, don’t hesitate to contact me at paulmccarthy@actioncoach.co.uk
