First-time entrepreneurs (with less experience or novices) often suffer from some weaknesses that must be overcome. In many cases they represent the main reasons for their failure or failure to take off.
1. Stop talking and do it (take action)
The first step is to stop spinning the idea and put it into practice at once. Many people have some project in mind for years and they repeat over and over again that they want to start a business, but one day for another they do not.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, just do it. Surely there are thousands of less talented and less intelligent people who have their own business and live the life they had dreamed of, because they managed to get it going.
2. Stop designing and start testing
It is the classic method of trial and error. Putting ideas into practice and seeing how they work is the best way to check whether 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’s why agile development is still the best approach. It does not make 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 looking for financing and start generating value
At the beginning, 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, this is rarely the case. Financing is not a means to generate value, but a result of the business value generated (especially now that the traditional rounds of seed funding have practically disappeared).
4. Stop selling and start sharing
Nowadays, 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 use the art of telling stories to spread the enthusiasm of our business to others and to 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 mental state, 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 being busy, having to attend to many different fronts and accumulating 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 more efficient and set a specific time for each task.
A good organization is the basis to save time. If we organize ourselves well, we will be more productive and we will not have that feeling of being always busy. We can also resort to 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 opens up with users, the market, financing, technological development, legality, competition, etc.
The first approach for every first-time entrepreneur must put his feet on the ground through a real business plan. Or better, to canvas. Here you have everything about the different types of business plans.
