What is an entrepreneur?

What is an entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is someone who sets up a company under their name and starts trading. This comes with its own financial risks although if successful it can be very profitable. This also comes with a lot of responsibility. Being an entrepreneur means, you have to lead by example as your employees will follow and learn from you.

So how to start a business?

First of all, you have to figure out what you want to do with your business and choosing the right industry and activity one can be exhausting. You will need to have to view all the aspects that come into building your own brand and business. Look at your entrepreneurial area of interest and consider what you think is lacking in the market. Explore the different possibilities that you might think would interest you and your customers.

You may be asking yourself, how do I know if the business is ‘right’ for me? This is when you have to look at the bigger picture. Look at what you have done previously and how you used your skills at work and think how you could use these whilst running your own business.

You might not be an expert in the business field you want to venture in. You can always do your research and start learning about other businesses who trade in the field and how you could start up yours. Once you have looked at the different businesses and found one that you like, try to follow what they do and it will make the process easier as new ideas will come for your business.

Plan, plan, plan!

Businesses plans are essential, they will give you a structure and will guide you through the process of setting up your own company. This will give you clarity, focus and confidence and therefore you will be likelier to succeed.

Within your plan write down your goals, strategies and action steps that you will conduct and everything will become clearer. This will give you attainable goals that you will achieve every month/year and it will help in staying focused on the goals as the company progresses, therefore boosting your confidence to progress further.

When writing your plan ask yourself some questions:

• What type of business do I want?
• What is special/unique about my business?
• Who will I serve and what product or service?
• Do I know my long-term goal when looking at my business?
• Define some clear objectives, how will I achieve them?

Know your target market 

Going in blind won’t do anyone any good. Know where you’re going and what is expected will make sure you go prepared. Knowing what your target market wants is essential because without them there would be no business. Making sure you fulfil their needs and wants . This will guarantee that they will come back to you and become loyal customers. Making your business prosper.

Look for gaps in the market. Is there a service or product that you would like to incorporate in the market? Do you think that it will be successful? Although you have to be careful as this can be very risky. You are trying to incorporate a new idea. It will be harder to attract customers to something they are unfamiliar with.

Before starting something new, always learn about the products and services you want to offer and become an expert on how to manage any situation as this will minimise the chance of failing.

Conduct market research. This will help you understand what is needed in this specific market. You will also get to know your competitors. And most importantly to understand what the customer wants, its values and the demographics.

Ready to start your entrepreneurial journey…

By taking these steps you will be on your way to success. Its important to keep in mind that you’re not alone and if you ever feel stuck don’t hesitate to contact us or give us a call (0115 721 0957).

Categorised in: Entrepreneurship, Uncategorised

This post was written by Chris Beck