The UK has been enjoying a start-up boom since the height of the coronavirus pandemic – a boom which has been highlighted as a major boon for the national economy. Even as the number of new businesses continues to rise, the markets remain fertile for bright new entrepreneurs to stake their own claim. Entrepreneurialism is an aspirational pursuit, and one lined with challenges; in a difficult yet rewarding economy, how can you secure success as a start-up entrepreneur?
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Get Your Ducks in a Row
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is not something that happens wholly by accident. This is not to say that entrepreneurs become successful by surprise; indeed, there have been many examples of ‘accidental’ inventions, happenstance discoveries or fortuitous engagements with emerging markets. Rather, that successful entrepreneurs are able to make the most of rapid and unexpected growth opportunities through being otherwise prepared.
This is a vague tip, but one that can be applied broadly. If you are at the nexus of your next business idea and thinking of attempting to generate funding, are you truly in a position – with a solid and compelling business plan – to do so? If you are thinking of lightening your own load by hiring staff, have you already made the right legal and logistical steps to not only enable this, but ensure it is fully costed? The list goes on.
Build a Team
This ‘team’ is not a team in the conventional sense; partners, executive staff and employees come later. As an entrepreneur with ambitions and a business plan, you need a team that will fight your corner on all fronts in order to enable your short- and long-term success.
For example, entrepreneurialism will bring you to many legal, logistical and financial hurdles which you will not have the knowledge or experience to handle properly on your own. Retaining the services and expertise of a legal team geared towards entrepreneurialism can ensure your legal hurdles are little more than hurdles; likewise for the retention of financial advisors, who can help you develop effective strategies for holding and investing funding or income.
Stay Hungry
Entrepreneurs do not land on start-up success without passion. Making a start-up work is as much a labour of love as a professional undertaking, with start-up founders nearly always looking at long hours and overlarge workloads. Any wavering, or sense of dispassion for the work at hand, can result in institutional weakness. If you don’t really want your next business idea to take off, how can you justify its funding by venture capitalists or seed investors?
Just Start
Finally, a simple tip for those at the beginning of their start-up journey. It can be easy to interpret the above as reasons for which you aren’t ready, as opposed to guidelines for ensuring success. But there is no ‘right time’ to start your journey, and there should be nothing preventing you from taking that first foray into business planning. If you’re looking for a sign to get started, this is it.