Below are six top important rules for all start ups in any kind of businesses
1. Stop talking and do it (take action)
The first step is to stop thinking about the idea and put it into practice at once. Many people have some project in mind for years and repeat again and again that they want to start a business, but one day for another they don’t.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, just do it. Surely there are thousands of people with less talent and less intelligent who have their own business and live the life they had dreamed, because they managed to get it going.
2. Stop designing and start testing
It is the classic trial and error method. Putting ideas into practice and seeing how they work is the best way to check if our assumptions are correct or not. If they are, we can go ahead and if not, we will know why and we can correct it.
That is why agile development remains the best approach. It makes no sense to invest time, energy, effort and resources without having previously determined that there is demand for whatever we are building or offering. Testing our ideas will save us time and help us build or offer something that people really want.
3. Stop seeking funding and start generating value
At first, it is a common mistake of every entrepreneur to think that investor financing is the solution for everything and that if they find the right investor they could create the company they have always dreamed of.
However, it rarely is. Financing is not a means to generate value, but a result of the business value generated (especially now that traditional rounds of seed financing have virtually disappeared).
4. Stop selling and start sharing
Today, nobody likes to be sold. In general, people want to be part of the history, vision and / or value of the product or service. Case studies and testimonials are a good way to publicize the benefits of our product or service.
As entrepreneurs, we must resort to the art of telling stories to spread to others our enthusiasm for our business and convey the opportunity and benefits that our company offers.
5. Stop being busy and start being productive
There is a big difference between being busy and being productive. Being “busy” is a state of mind, while being “productive” is, in reality, carrying out the tasks and objectives that advance our business.
When you are an entrepreneur, it is usual to have the feeling of always being very busy, having to attend to many different fronts and accumulate the pending tasks. The trick is in:
Prioritize, that is, first complete the most urgent tasks to reduce the list of pending tasks.
Analyze at what times of the day we are most efficient and set a specific time for each task.
A good organization is the basis for saving time. If we organize ourselves well, we will be more productive and we will not have that feeling of always being busy. We can also use specific tools to improve productivity.
6. Feet on the ground: a business plan (better: a canvas)
and executive intelligence
In the world there are millions of excellent dead ideas almost before birth. What makes the difference in the face of final triumph is executive intelligence; The ability to pivot and find solutions to each problem that arises as the project makes its way with users, the market, financing, technological development, legality, competition, etc.
The first approach for every first-time entrepreneur must set foot on the ground through a real business plan. Or better, a canvas. Here you have everything about the different types of business plans.