7 CRUCIAL STEPS TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR

When we are young, we are commonly asked: “What do you want to become when you grow up?”Answers may vary depending on various factors such as the cartoons we watch, the profession of our favourite actor's latest character, the occupation of our favourite relative, and primarily, the aspirations our parents have for us.

?Once we attain a certain age, all our dreams and expectations crumble and we start to think practically and live to work on other's dreams a.k.a. A job.

Even though having a job and a promise of steady income every month looks tempting, a lot of people want to work for their dream, instead of having a ‘dream job’.

There are ample amount of corporate employees, lawyers, and engineers who quit their stable careers to pursue their dreams in an unrelated field.

To those people having a stable job and income doesn't matter, they are successful in their way.

Entrepreneurship is one such dream for a lot of people. Many want to have their ideas and visions in real life and work hard to grow them.?

7 STEPS TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR:

In one way or the other, every business tries to solve a problem. Those are the obstacles once faced by the people who then created a solution and made a business out of it.?

There are 7 essential steps one needs to follow to become an entrepreneur. They are:

STEP 0.1: The Need to be an entrepreneur

Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and work 24/7(you have to be available all the time in case you miss an opportunity to develop).

? Most of the people want to be employees in their dream company. Securing the highest position might be their actual dream. They don't have any other vision or ideas. They have a simple dream.?

The remaining are the ones who are not happy with their current jobs and have a different dream. Those people have the want in them to create something and they become entrepreneurs.

STEP 0.2: Willing to take risk

As you filter people from needing to be entrepreneurs, many don’t have the heart to take risks. A lot are stopped by their situation and many don’t get enough validation from their close circle.?

Breaking all the barriers and taking a well-planned risk is what safeguards you from failing.

STEP 1: Identify the idea

A lot of successful startups are simple solutions to common problems.?

We have plenty of examples like Paypal, Untuckit and Uber. Their business idea is simple, they faced a problem and realised many faced the same. Created a detailed plan around it and launched a business.?

A simple method to identify a business idea is talking to your circle. Ask them what problem they face in their day-to-day life, analyse it and voila, you have your business idea.

STEP 2: Skill and knowledge

To be an entrepreneur, one must be comfortable with researching. The desire to know and learn is an essential skill one must master to be successful in their entrepreneurial journey.

Having your whole attention on what matters will save you a lot of time from distractions.

STEP 3: Give life to your idea

Once you have an idea that you think might work, design your business idea. Prepare outlines and if feasible, prepare prototypes or samples of your products or services to showcase to potential customers or investors.

Make a business plan which includes how your business will be organized, the future budget and how are you planning to make money.

Identify the potential risks associated with the idea and plan how you will be overcoming them. Having your long-term goal in mind will help you refine your goal.

This may look like a lot of work that has the possibility of just being an idea, but this is not just about developing and designing. It’s all about evaluating and refining them to strengthen the chance of success.

STEP 4: Understand the market

You may have the best product in the whole world, it will succeed only when you have the right market. Not everyone needs your product. You have to find a target market where everyone needs your product or you need to have an answer to why everyone should make use of your product.

This step can be achieved easily by developing an understanding to look for people’s needs.

Having a specific market like Facebook can initially help you develop your business and help expand later.

STEP 5: Build a network

You are very ahead in your journey when you know the right person who can guide you and clear all of your doubts. Having a strong network provides leverage. The one who has access to that leverage has a few steps done for them prior.

The right kind of people may introduce you to your co-founder, your investor, maybe a dedicated and skilful employee or he might be any one of the above.

Be open to conversations. You have to speak with a lot of strangers in the future once you start your business.

STEP 6: Obtaining financial support

There are a lot of opportunities to secure funds to start a business.?

One can use his or her savings, get loans from friends and family or banks, pitch their business plan to a potential investor, or venture capitalist to optimise funds.?

It often requires planning, effective pitching and proposal writing to successfully obtain financial support. Having a good relationship with the investors also plays a major role in getting investment.

STEP 7:Assemble the ideal team

Intelligent people hire people who are more knowledgeable than them. Choosing the right team members greatly affects the business’s success. This involves assembling a group of individuals who possess the necessary skills, expertise and passion to move the business forward.

It involves assembling a motivated group that can tackle challenges and meet goals effectively.

Once you check all the boxes(the steps above), now your idea is eligible to be a business.?

Can you believe that we have done only less than 5% of the work in entrepreneurship??

It may seem like a lot of work before starting a business, but it is just the beginning. The actual work comes after starting the business.?