Do you want to be your own boss? An entrepreneur is someone who goes all in with capital and time bringing their ideas to life.
An entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of inspiration and good ideas. When you are an entrepreneur, you create or invest in one or more companies. When talking about entrepreneurs, we often talk about individuals that have found a hole in the market or a solution to a problem.
Every one can become an entrepreneur, if they set their mind to it. You have to be willing to spend a lot of your time on your business.
How to become an entrepreneur
If you have a good idea and have collected enough information about the market you will work with you have come a long way. It is a good idea to do a market analysis and make a business plan when starting a business.
A great tip is to use the Business Model canvas to creat a business model. It is a strategic management template used for developing new business models and it is useful because it gives an overview of what your startup will look like. Both for yourself and potential investors.
Select organisational form
When starting a business you need to choose what organisation form you will have. The two most common types are sole proprietorship and limited liability company (LLC).
If you plan to be a consultant or freelancer you might want to choose sole proprietorship.
If you plan for growth, employees and expensive equipment a limited liability company will be more suitable for you.
Know your audience
The more you know the market you want to sell to, the better equipped you are to make the right decisions. It is also easier to find your niche in the market.
It is smart to take a look at what potential competitors do, and what you can do to stand out in the crowd. Consider how you want to brand your business and what pricing strategy you think is smart. It is all about satisfying a need in the market and offering a service can compete with the existing businesses.
Learn to pitch
As an entrepreneur you should learn how to pitch your business. If you have investors on board from the start it can give you a head start. To get investors you have to sell your idea and your business plan. This is also important when it comes to selling your service or product to customers.
Know who you are pitching to, what they would be interested in hearing and be conscious of how you present both yourself and your idea. Practice makes perfect!
The best pitches have a story to tell. Convince the listener that you can solve a problem or a challenge, and express your passion for your business.
Get enough capital
Make sure you have the capital you need in order to get started with your business. What do you need to purchase before you can get started? Do your business need an office space? A car? These are things you have to consider. If you do not have enough money yourself, you should look for investors.
It might take some time before you can take out salary. It is not common that a business goes in surplus the first month.
Use your network
Do you know people with specialized expertise, or people who can help in other ways? Part of being an entrepreneur is knowing when you should rely on people’s expertise, and knowing when it can be useful to get help, either from acquaintances or professional actors.
Make a budget
During a start-up period, expenses will often exceed income. A start-up budget will be able to help minimize the negative consequences of this by mapping the real needs for capital, so that you overcome the problem.
You should also prioritize creating a profit budget and a liquidity budget to make the company better equipped and operations more predictable.
A profit and loss budget is a statement of income minus costs, and will be able to give a picture of where the company will realistically be financially after a certain amount of time has passed.
Keep accounts from the very beginning
Don’t wait to start accounting. Before you have sold a single thing, you should have thought about who will do the accounting – whether you want to do it internally or outsource the service to an accountant.
Use an invoice system
Unless you have a cash register system and a business that only takes payment directly, you are in need of an invoice system. With an online invoice system you can easily create invoices and send them to your customers.
READ ALSO: How to make an invoice: A beginner’s guide.
An invoice system makes sure that your invoices look more professional and legit. When you make your invoices in a dedicated system, you are sure that it follows the guidelines and laws. All invoices are stored in the system.
In need of an invoice system? You can send unlimited free invoices from Conta. Sign up!
READ ALSO: How to write an invoice in 5 simple steps
Know your limits
Being an entrepreneur can be quite labor-intensive, and there can be many late nights. And when you’re young, you might think that it’s going just fine, but it might be a good idea to try setting some boundaries with yourself. If you are completely exhausted, it will not benefit you or the people around you.
Take care of your own health and try to set boundaries between work and private life, although it can be challenging when you are your own boss.
Good luck as an entrepreneur!
