Turning an idea into million dollars (or not)

The internet is filled with different quotes and phrases that define an “entrepreneur”, but there are really few who truly understand the meaning of it. Ask a layman, who is an entrepreneur and without losing a beat you will get answers like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, or Bill Gates.

But is that all? Not really. In my opinion, entrepreneurship is truly about who you are, and your attitude partly determines the behavior you exhibit. By doing, you learn to fall and stand up, but also to stand out.

CEOs and founders of startups may face many challenges: elevating startup capital, building a strong team, developing a disruptive product, formulating and implementing a marketing plan, converting early customers, and more. The prospect of launching a brand new startup may be daunting.

But it’s not impossible. There are shining stars that seem to get it right. Of course, their success didn’t come without trials and tribulations, while it may paint a pretty picture to the world.?

Starting a company isn’t easy. When you find bugs in your software, or launch in a market that is not as lucrative as you had thought, get schooled in a meeting with an investor, or simply build a product not fit for the market and feel like your company isn’t where it should be, you’re likely to feel discouraged.

The single most important thing, I believe, in entrepreneurship is that it is always a journey and never a destination. It is because when you decide to be an entrepreneur, there’s absolutely no U-turn, ever.?

You might come across a few entrepreneurs who decide to go back to their corporate jobs in case their start ups don’t make a cut. But that never works. Simply because backup plans never work.

When people hear the word entrepreneur, they think about the kids in Silicon Valley or Stanford, and they come up with these billion-dollar ideas. They overlook ordinary people who start with whatever they got, and they make it happen.

I have learned a lot from being an entrepreneur myself. Several attempts that have failed and the select few which have succeeded. And here are 5 most important lessons that I have learnt over the years.

1. Have right people with you

Building a business is tough and so is building a team. It takes extra time, planning, thoughtfulness, humility and requires an investment that goes beyond money. You will go through your own learning experiences every day, collecting valuable insights on what does (and what doesn’t) work in business which will help you guide your businesses to prosperity.

No entrepreneur ever made it far without a stellar team. While you consult in the boardrooms, your team will keep your companies functioning.

And, the most important aspects of having the right team is first, to hire people with diverse skill sets and more importantly, hire the right people, people that you can trust and believe in and people who are as passionate about building your business as you.

2. Value your customer

As classic as it gets, valuing your customer along with building a product keeping your customer as your north star is always the best way to build your product. A well-built product along with stellar service is the way to retain a customer. Because, in all honesty, customers are the only ones who trust you for your product.

A sure-shot way of avoiding disappointment when you start is respecting the fact that customers will buy when they want to buy. You and your team might be working for weeks and months towards your product’s release only to find out that no one wants to buy it even when they told you they liked the product. Why? Because people buy when they want to buy and not when we want to sell.

3. Just do it.

Like Nike says, “Just do it.” There is never the perfect time to follow your dream and start your own business. Life will throw obstacles at you and fear will continue to make you think “now” just isn’t the right time. Put that all aside and take the plunge. There’s never anything wrong or right when you start a business. Planning, strategizing and weighing options all have important roles within a business. But there comes a point in time when you just have to do it. You know the quote: “Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.” Analysis paralysis or simply the lack of ability to execute a plan will stifle growth, innovation and progress in any business.?

4. Focus on financial well-being

As a startup founder, not enough is spoken about how your personal finance gets hit badly. When you startup, you let go of a well-paying job and the salary that comes with it. Your monthly income is no longer stacking up. The opportunity cost inflates quickly, you don’t have savings to show for any emergencies. Your wealth creation is notional and based on a future event that has, statistically, almost close to 0 probability. Focusing on personal wealth is important, frugality is supercritical and saving as much as possible is inevitable. While you work towards scaling massively & building new things, focusing on financial well-being is super important.

5. Treasure people and relationships

Remember to build a people-first organization and value people around you. People want to feel valued, and they have great ideas. It is important to remember the right way or the best way is not always your way. You need to trust the people who are on the grind every day getting the work done. If they are telling you that there is a better way to get it done, implement their ideas. If they are complaining about something, listen. They may have some valuable insight that you need to hear. This is an incredible way to show you value to them.

As an entrepreneur, you find yourself in new and unknown situations more often than you would like, which sometimes demands the utmost. Things that don’t go as you expected. That makes a massive appeal to your motivation, to your passion—the reason you ever started your own business. But if the reason you started for yourself is still there – no matter how small or far away – then you will eventually continue. And continue to rise and build a stellar business.

My entrepreneurship lessons are based on my own experience as a business owner and scientist on this topic. For me, entrepreneurship is primarily a matter of doing. However, it requires an entrepreneurial mindset.

I would love to hear stories, anecdotes, and insights from entrepreneurs. But more importantly, I would love to speak about one achievement that you truly value while you navigate through entrepreneurship. I am always an email away on [email protected] .