New year new business?
Helen Calder
Head Ginger at gingerhead | Purpose-driven leadership. Real impact. Measurable results.
If you’re thinking of starting your business this year, a mix of confidence, resilience, discipline, determination and competitiveness will help you get through to success. Here’s 3 tips I picked up along the way…
1. There are only three things you need to start a business — money, a strong work ethic and persistence.
No matter how small your business, it will cost money to get started, for a range of things that keep surprising you, be prepared. Follow that with a huge dose of self-confidence and a never-quit attitude. You will want to quit, a lot. You will feel like a failure, a lot. But success lies beyond. It’s worth it.
2. ‘There are no original ideas. There are only original people.’
Everyone wants to be innovative — the truth is that few ideas are completely unique or new. We all have competitors. Be aware of them but don’t get distracted. Learn from the strengths and weaknesses of your closest competitor and improve your business positioning, brand message, pricing and marketing to get an edge.
3. Doubt will haunt you, get used to it.
When you’re feeling the strain, talk to other business owners, it always helps. Whether they let on or not, all entrepreneurs have high levels of anxiety about their business — even when they’re successful. Running and building a business of any size in any industry requires a huge amount of responsibility and attention to detail. Things will go wrong. Frequently. You’ll second guess yourself (sometimes on an hourly basis) and you’ll always fear you’re on the edge of failure. Accept this. Learn to cope. And good luck!