Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, but not everyone knows how to get there. What steps should you take? What skills should you learn? The path to entrepreneurship is rarely easy, but getting started on the right foot can help you succeed along the way.
For those ready to take the leap into business ownership, leveraging your downtime will be key to making progress toward your goal. To help, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights with aspiring entrepreneurs and explain what they should be doing in their downtime now to prepare to start their entrepreneurial journeys.
Young Entrepreneur Council members share how aspiring entrepreneurs can get ready for business ownership.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Educate Yourself On Business Finance
One of the most important things anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur should do is learn about business finance. If you can’t understand your company’s finances, you’re asking for trouble. What is cash flow and why is it so important? How do you track it? How do you create a budget? What is a chart of accounts and why do you need one? Successful entrepreneurs can answer all of these questions. – Jonathan Prichard, MattressInsider.com
2. Learn A High-Income Skill
One of the most important things an aspiring entrepreneur can do in their downtime is learn a high-income skill. This could be something like coding, copywriting, marketing or selling. If you can learn how to code, for example, you can create a website. If you know how to sell, you can close more deals and bring in more customers. It will pay off in the long run. – Abhijeet Kaldate, Astra WordPress Theme
3. Connect With Other Experts
Network, network, network. Connecting with other experts in your industry who are willing to share their experiences can be extremely beneficial as you lay the foundation for your business and navigate the challenges along the way. Other professionals in your space can also be a great resource if you plan to outsource and are seeking vendor recommendations. – Samuel Saxton, ConsumerRating.org
4. Let Go Of Perfectionism
Ditch perfectionism; that would be my advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. Research is the key to ensuring the success of your startup, so you should definitely prepare. However, you have to consider the fact that you won’t know if a particular idea will work unless you put it into action. If you think you’re ready, just go for it. Don’t get into the unnecessary nitty-gritty. Just do it. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
5. Find A Mentor
One of the best things aspiring entrepreneurs can do in their downtime is find a mentor. A mentor can provide guidance, advice and support as you work to achieve your goals. Having someone who has already been through the entrepreneurial process can be invaluable in helping you avoid pitfalls and achieve success. – Sujay Pawar, CartFlows
6. Create A Test Website
If you hope to start a business of your own one day, I recommend creating a test website. You can use this to experiment with different images, texts, fonts, layouts and more. This will help you hone your skills, which will make it easier to figure out what type of company you want to start. Once you know what you want to do, you’ll have the skills and tools to build something great. – John Turner, SeedProd LLC
7. Read Books By Entrepreneurs
Read books by people who have already done it. Not only will you pick up incredibly valuable tips and tricks, but you will also gain insight and knowledge on things that may end up saving you an incredible amount of time in lessons learned. – Mary Harcourt, CosmoGlo
8. Develop A Sense Of Responsibility
The greatest skills to develop as an aspiring entrepreneur are radical responsibility and a servant mentality. Entrepreneurs are problem-solvers. When you or anyone around you encounters a challenge or problem, act as if you’re responsible for the resolution. It’s not about taking responsibility for what happened; it’s about taking full responsibility for everything that happens next. – Shane Levinson, Carpets of Arizona
9. Write A Business Plan
The one thing I would suggest working on in your downtime is a business plan. A business plan is often overlooked until someone, like a bank, asks for it. Yet, it’s the most important part of your business because it acts as the game plan for operating it. A business plan is also generally required for loans and desired by potential investors. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure