Blog #5 from our campaign "Secrets to become an Elite Entrepreneur"
Fun Fact: Over 69% of start-up companies started as home businesses... another Fun Fact: Only 40% of these businesses will become profitable. So, what is it that sets the 60% of these businesses above the rest? We've created the ultimate checklist which will help guide you to elevate you and your start-up above the rest!
1. Business Idea:
Ensure that you have a solid business idea before beginning your startup. Are there others like yours? What makes your business different than the rest?
Ask yourself these questions to ensure that your business idea is intriguing enough to gain attention and generate revenue. we recommend that you understand the laws surrounding your business category (for example, there are differences between how a CPA and an attorney should approach your business) - or hire someone that does!
2. Legal Structure:
It is necessary to choose the legal structure of your business before beginning your startup. This choice will affect many other important business decisions, such as where you register your business, whom you can hire, or who can own a stake in it.
3. Your Team:
Ensure that you have the right team members to assist with your startup. Will you need a lawyer to draft contracts? Or a CPA to help organize your finances? Make a list of all the roles that you will need to be filled in order to successfully launch and run your business.
4. Map it Out:
Having a business plan is becoming more and more important when it comes to securing loans or investor funding. It can, however, be very time-consuming - which is why we recommend finding a business plan template online that you can use to draft out your business map.
We do note, however, that businesses PLANS don't always materialize as anticipated, which is why we suggest focusing more on a MAP than a PLAN! You can find our 100 day business plan template HERE, to guide you
5. Marketing Planning:
What will you do to market your business? How will you attract customers? Effective marketing planning is vital for any entrepreneur!
We recommend taking the advice of entrepreneur expert, Gary Vaynerchuk, and putting together a 30-day social media marketing campaign in order to get your business off the ground.
6. Finances:
How much money will you need to start up your business? What are the ongoing costs of running it?
A start-up entrepreneur should always know where their finances stand at any given time - this is especially true for existing business owners who are considering expansion or transitioning into different areas of the business.
Most Investors consider DCF (Discounted Cash Flow) financial modelling when looking into potential investment businesses. You need to be able to clearly show the businesses growth path; how much capital you need, where you are going to deploy it, and what are the results of the capital injections.
7. Hiring:
This entrepreneur checklist wouldn't be complete without discussing investing in human capital, or hiring employees for your company!
The key to hiring the right people is really about assessing whether they will thrive within your business culture. We recommend developing a "personality" test that helps determine cultural fit or find an entrepreneur that knows all about entrepreneur personality tests.
8. Industry Solutions:
We've saved the most important for last... It is crucial that you have an in-depth understanding of the industry you are operating in.
Knowing the industry and the industry market players allows you to identify the customer pain points, which will help you produce a business idea and map that will outperform all your competitors!
To achieve this, you should
A. Identify Your Industry
B. Know The Market Players (competitors, suppliers and customers)
C. Follow the industry trends (social media, news outlets etc.) to understand where it's heading.
D. Keep up with all things related to your industry by subscribing to entrepreneur newsletters that focus on your area of interest.
E. Use entrepreneur hashtags to join industry chat groups on Twitter.
F. Join entrepreneur forums in your niche where you can learn from other entrepreneur experts. This includes Mastermind Groups
In conclusion, starting a business can be very exciting and rewarding, but it is also very challenging. Having the entrepreneur mindset will help get you get through some of the toughest challenges!
