Tips for Entrepreneurs
By Geoff on Jan 7, 2009 in Entrepreneurs, small business
It’s well-known that entrepreneurs usually have to work hard to overcome inexperience and gain credibility. Here are some tips to increase the odds of success when starting out and launching a new business.
Acquire Experience
If you’ve never clocked a day of work in your life, take a job before striking out on your own — even if the thought of doing time in a cubicle makes you shudder. Think of it as a paid research position. In a couple of years, you can give your business a go.
Build A Winning Team
Recruit people who add to your own skills and fill in the gaps. There is a lady we heard about in the Washington, D.C. area who studied at Georgetown University, and always dreamed of opening a boutique. Unfortunately, her brief retail experience didn’t provide her with all of the details of operating a shop. She had a hometown friend who studied fashion design and merchandizing. Naturally, she asked the friend to be her business partner.
Fight inexperience with advice
Seek out local organizations. There was a news item recently about a New Yorker who founded an online boutique for stationery and gifts. She gained the confidence and the practical skills to accelerate the startup date after taking a four-week class with Ladies Who Launch, which has local chapters in metropolitan areas.
Write a solid business plan
A strong business plan is your key to raising capital. You can demonstrate your penchant for using sound judgment by creating a document that sells your business and attracts financers. It’s your greatest opportunity to fill the credibility gap. Find inspiration from sample plans at www.bplans.com.
Raise money
You should overestimate how much money you will need from the beginning. It’s easier to raise money before the launch than it is after you have failed to meet projections. Clutching a business plan that sells, go first to a bank to request a loan. If the banker can’t offer you a loan, ask for his or her advice about how to improve the plan so you can try again.
Follow the money
Count on a cash cushion to live on for at least the first six months because you likely won’t have an income. Once the business launches, regularly compare your actual income and expenses to your original forecasts to take the pulse of your company.
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Posted by: Geoff Caplan
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