If you’re passionate about something and now you finally have the time to pursue it, you will get a lot of questions and you will be very confused at the start. People with no experience in running a business will hit you up with their advice or tell you not to seek after it. It’s normal for you to panic and want to get advice from experienced women who went through the exact same or very similar situations.
There is no perfect and precise formula to run a successful business but there are some tips that have helped many people stay focused and achieve their ultimate goal in the long run. Do not expect to know everything beforehand because you learn better with experience, as years go by you will have gained much wisdom in this regard and may be you will even be ready to pass it on.
1. Say no to excuses, and stay motivated
Many women long for getting to be entrepreneurs but fail to do so. Especially women, who are expected to perfectly juggle a thousand different balls simultaneously and tirelessly. They’re weighed down with reasons and fears of coming up short. From cash to time and duties, you will have many reasons to not pursue your dream, and you can make up a million excuses for not wanting to begin your own business, but I suggest you to think about the one reason that drives you to wanting to be an entrepreneur.
Let us be honest for a second here: working for yourself is frightening. Much of the time, new entrepreneurs have a lot to lose with little understanding into their odds of accomplishment. Agonizing over the dangers and risks of running a business while running a house at the same time is typical and natural, but letting these fears take over and dominate you is where you lose. Address to them, find solutions for your problems and get over them instead of letting them hold you from making progress.
2. Listen to customers
Criticism, be it of any kind, is great feedback if you take it positively. Listening to the validation you get from your customers is good for your confidence, but paying attention to criticism is just as important. Listen to people and find out what’s causing the problem and why they won’t buy your product/service. Discuss the solution over with trusted friends or partners and come up with solutions.
There’s a reason why people say that the customer is always right. Don’t just word your response and make promises you can’t keep. Let the customers know that their complaints are being heard and considered. Ask them what change they want to see if you don’t have a solution for the problem yourself. Bad customer experience drives traffic away from your website/page faster than anything and the negative reviews eat away the progress you’ve made like locusts.
3. Be different
You must have seen many businesses that jump on the bandwagon, invest themselves in whatever is currently popular and end up losing it all. It’s not because they weren’t good enough or had any flaw in their services, it’s because they couldn’t bring something new to the table. Whether it is your price range, your discounts, your deals or shipment speed or quality, you have to have a USP that offers customers something that they are not getting elsewhere.
Before setting up your business, think like a customer and critique your website. If your business was someone else’s and you were a random customer, why would you spend your time here? Find the answer to that why. It is important to be different than just better.
4. Choose something you care about
It’s not necessary for you to choose your ultimate passion n life as your business theme but it is very important for you to pick a field you have an interest in and contain deep subject knowledge of, otherwise it probably won’t work. Many a times people pick topics that are famous or “in” and end up losing it all because of not having enough passion for it. Your business will require 24/7 attention and round the clock creativity, so don’t pick something you won’t enjoy doing or something you don’t care about. If you love what you’re working towards, finding the strength to carry it on won’t be too difficult.
Also, take time; don’t be impulsive with your choices and decisions. Give yourself a year or two to know if you’re serious about it or not.
5. Plan the costs
Once you’ve decided what you’re going to work on, it’s time to start calculating your costs. Make a list of the things you will need and factor in almost all the expenses you will need to launch and operate. Go over the list for a week or so in case you forget anything. Once you have that number, triple it. You have to be prepared for unexpected expenses and costs when you’re running a business because things don’t always tend to go as planned.
As you plan the costs for the business, set aside the amount you might need for yourself. Bills, food, health care and emergencies can take up a lot more than you think. The total amounts and costs of things might surprise you at first and give you a lot of anxiety, but it’s better to get them out of the way and be prepared for the worst instead of having nothing at hand when the worse actually hits you.
Go over your options again and again, imagine yourself living yourself with no money in case things don’t go as planned. There’s a high chance for every business to fall and not make it.
6. Social media marketing
Getting the right PR and the right marketing is very important. You need to know who your target audiences are and on which days would your promotion be more fruitful. Send out PR packages to get noticed. Participate in effective social media marketing but remember to not shove it down people’s throats at all times. Do your research, find out how other brands are marketing themselves online and see what trends they’re following in order to be successful. Be subtle and don’t sound too over powering.
7. Don’t quit your job
You have to keep earning as you build. Quitting your day job completely to focus on your business might not be such a great idea if you’re not filthy rich. Launching a startup is continuous process that will take time and you will have to go through many stages before it’s ready to earn you some big bucks, keep your job till your business starts bringing in a good inflow of revenue.
