5 Must-Do's Before Becoming an Entrepreneur
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5 Must-Do's Before Becoming an Entrepreneur

Millions of professionals today are working in jobs where they’re unhappy. Are you one of them? A recent Gallup poll shows 87% of the working population are not engaged (a/k/a excited about) their work. Honestly, I think many of these individuals dream of the day when they can become entrepreneurs. People are tired of the "golden handcuffs" they feel by working for an employer. More than a few of those unhappy workers are fantasizing of the day when they can work for themselves and feel in total control. However, before quitting the day job and becoming an entrepreneur full-time. I offer this...

Why do 90% of start-ups fail?

According to this Forbes article, 90% of new businesses in the United States fail. Why? Because they aren’t prepared to survive the start-up phase. More often than not, they cannot sustain themselves financially. Selling a new business is harder than most people realize. Passion alone will not make an entrepreneur succeed.

I recently was interviewed for a You University podcast, by the founder, Michael Peggs. In it, we discussed the entrepreneurial journey and how understanding you're a ‘business-of-one’ now can help you become an entrepreneur later. While we centered the discussion around what it takes to be a successful business-of-one and how that inspired me to become an entrepreneur (you can listen for free here), it made me think about the things I’d tell every aspiring entrepreneur to do BEFORE they launch their company. That being said...

Here are five things I think can help you:

#1 - Save lots of money. You will need at least one year’s salary, preferably two, so you have time to build the business and not worry about an income. The more financial freedom you have when you start the business, the less stressed you’ll be and the better business decisions you can make.

#2 - Identify where your passion intersects with their problem. It’s all about the law of supply and demand. If you can't offer something customers want to buy, you will not succeed. At the same time, you’re choosing to become an entrepreneur because you want to profit from your passion and do what you love. The solution is to find where the two paths meet. If you can identify the intersection between your passions and their problems, you’ll have a solid value proposition to launch your business with.

#3 - Serve your network. You will need a large circle of influence to help you get your business off the ground. This requires an extensive network of professionals and colleagues, friends and family. When the time comes to ask them to support you in your entrepreneurial endeavors, you’ll need to have put ‘credit in the bank’ with respect to their needs. This is called serving your network. To do this, you must find ways to assist as many people as you can so they’ll come to respect and trust you. Things like:

  • sharing relevant information and resources,
  • volunteering your time, and
  • helping people in your network connect with one another.

These are just a few examples of how you can serve your network today, so it can serve you tomorrow.

#4 - Create your ‘entrepreneurial journey’ story. This is a vital component to entrepreneurial success. Every successful company has an incredible story behind it. Especially, when the entrepreneur can tell the story with enthusiasm and conviction. It should be a story full of twists and turns, highs and lows. It should evoke emotions and make people want to engage and take action. Most importantly, the story should make people want to root for the success of your business. As the center of the story, your ‘entrepreneurial journey’ must be clearly defined and told well if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur. Learning to tell your story in the most exciting way possible is the key. That starts with defining it and ensuring it hits on all the right emotional touch points. NOTE: You may find you'll need help telling your story. It’s wise to consider investing in assistance with this, given how vital it will be to the launch and ongoing success of your new business. Michael Peggs (the colleague who interviewed me on You Unversity), offers a free series you can check out here...

#5 - Share your story...a lot! Once you have a great story to tell, you must let the world know! Share with your colleagues, family, and friends. Share it online and offline. Share it anywhere you can. The more you can tell your story, the better. It’s important you start to build your reputation in anticipation of the launch of your business. When people know why you are compelled to build this company based on your passion, they will support you. But, they won't know anything about it unless you tell them!

I hope the five tips above will help you prepare for the day that you leave the traditional working world and launch your entrepreneurial endeavor. Owning your own business is extremely rewarding, but only if you succeed at it. Of course, there will be challenges, twist, and turns, but anything you can do to better prepare yourself can help minimize the risk of failure. The tips above will help. Good luck!

P.S. - Have we met yet? First, thanks for reading my article! I have the privilege of being the CEO of CareerHMO.com. Besides writing for LinkedIn, I also write column for INC Magazine is called "Workplace Referee." I invite you to CLICK BELOW on some of my most popular articles:

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Yannick FOTSING TALLA

Technical Assistant at CANAL+ International

7y

Thank you, It's very interesting, I will take note

Leonid Shafir

Creator | Visionary | STEAM promoter | Play-based learning | Founder & CEO @ Play-A-Maze

7y

Very useful. Thank you, Michel!

💡✍Matthew J. Gaydos✍💡

Cost and Center Sales at Weis Markets, Inc.

7y

J.T. Great Article. I like the part about "sharing your story.":)

Anibal Sanchez

Directional Core Drilling Engineer at STYR PERU

7y

I love your article. I will continue reading your posts. Thank you so much.

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