Thinking Of Starting Your Own Venture?

10th Oct 17

It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur in India. Small entrepreneurs and businesses were mushrooming all across the country in the last decade but the
‘Make in India’ drive just added an extra push, opened up more paths for youngsters to turn their ideas into reality.

The idea of starting something of your own can be very empowering, after all you are your own boss, but it does come with it’s pitfalls. Starting a company on your own more or less feels like being punched in the face every day. There is no exaggeration here, just a metaphor of how much your life’s gonna turn around once you start this rollercoaster journey. We don’t mean to sound discouraging, but what is essential is that you realise what you are in for, before diving head-first into it.

You’ll have to be not just strong at the at the business game but much more. Here are some basic that things upcoming entrepreneurs need to keep in mind:

  1. Ignore the negativity: There may be a lot of elements in your life who will ask you to walk the safe path. One guaranteed key to success is not caring about what others think, especially when they are bringing you down. You’ll only end up wasting your crucial time and energy on it. What is most important is that you are confident about your idea more than anything else. Welcome the critics but not the haters. Don’t completely overlook all the negative elements also, as they’ll help you introspect yourself.

  2. Build Resilience: Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither can a business. It’s hard and it takes time to build a business. Only 5–10% of the companies survive after 5 years of operations. The key is not to give up when all things go south because it’s something bound to happen and so, still keep working through it all and keep that chin up!

  3. Poor hiring decisions: There's no doubt about the fact that it is the team which makes or breaks a company. Hiring is one of the most important steps towards building a successful startup. Hiring someone just because you know them or they are your friend or because they are a cheaper resource could be a fatal decision. Hire someone who is good for the job. Take your time to find the right people.

  4. Find The Need: Don’t start a business unless there’s ‘a wrong that you want to right’ or it is your absolute passion. There is no point starting something exactly the same as a hundred others. Steve Jobs said, “Find a way to solve the problem and figure out a way to make money out of it to eventually become better at solving the problem.”

  5. People Matter: Friends and family are equally important but unfortunately many people in business loose this crucial touch in their life. A TED speaker’s study claims that one of the biggest factor for happiness is social connections. Hustle day and night but always take out some time for the people you love. These are the ones who will stick with you in the storms.

  6. Start Small: Dream big, start small. Don’t go out and compete against the giants. Keep your focus on the end game but take small steps before scaling your business. Lots of companies focus on being big rather than being good, which eventually results in the downfall. Become great at the small scale or at any specific thing and then expand.

  7. Take Risks: In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks cites Mark Zuckerberg. There can’t be a perfect rule book on starting a business, you have to try out new and different ideas or strategies even if it’s seems impossible at first.

  8. Execute: Ideas are nothing until they are implemented. It can be solely said that execution is what differentiates the biggest companies from the smaller ones, not the idea! And give your best effort to any given task, they will eventually pay off.

  9. Embrace Failures: You will fail. There’s absolutely no way to prevent it. You’re gonna face tons of new problems each and every time. There isn’t a way where you can succeed without making mistakes. One should end up making mistakes in the start and learn from them sooner than the rest. You should always be on your toes looking for areas where you can do better.

  10. Keeping an open mind: Entrepreneurs need to be open. Open to new people, ideas and strategies. Having only your own opinion narrows down your train of thought, and that is, in no way, good for your company. Keep an eye on the market and keep listening to your customers.

  11. Stop Comparing: Bill Gates stated,“Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world…if you do so, you’re insulting yourself.” Stop comparing yourself with other startups. All startups are different, have different kinds of needs, and different parameters of success.

In the end, I’d like to wrap things up with this famous quote by Steve Jobs -

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!