Starting Your Journey to Entrepreneurial Success

Starting a new business can be scary—no two ways about it. That's okay! Millions of successful business owners were once in the position you're in right now. They were worried about finances, what would happen if they lost money or didn't have enough to support their business early on, how they'd find customers, and whether they even had the emotional strength to survive the entrepreneurial roller coaster. In short, they worried about failing.

Rest assured; every entrepreneur who is today a model of success had these same fears. So, you're not alone. Take comfort in the fact that these people succeeded despite their fears, and with the right preparation, help and guidance, so can you!

Where’s the best place to start? By looking inward.

Are You Ready to Start a Business?

It’s a simple question with a not-so-simple answer. Determining whether you have what it takes to start a business requires unvarnished honesty and a frank assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. You’ll need to assess your motivation, your skills and experience, your financial resources and your support system. It helps to have a mentor guide you through this phase, because this self-assessment will lay the groundwork for your future success.

Define and Validate Your Idea

Just because you have the skills and experience to operate a business like the one you envision; doesn’t mean you should start a business like the one you envision. You’ll need to identify how your idea stands out from the competition and whether it’s viable over the long term. You’ll need to research industry data, customer data and competitor business models. You’ll need to create financial projections and identify funding sources. Once you’ve validated your idea, you can finally start thinking about turning it into a business.

Create a Business Plan (or a Business Model Canvas)

Most successful businesses start with a business plan, but not all business plans are created equal. While certain financial entities and investors still require a formal business plan, there are easier and quicker options to help with decision-making. A business model canvas, for example, condenses all the information included in a traditional business plan and turns it into a chart that fits onto a single page. Ask yourself which option is right for your situation.

Find Funding

A lack of funding is one of the main reasons many businesses fail and if you can’t figure out a sustainable financial path, yours may be one of them. The good news is there are numerous options: traditional bank loans, investments, credit cards, friends and family, grants and more. Every option has an upside and a downside, however, so you’ll need to educate yourself on every aspect of the financing method you choose.

Build an Administrative Infrastructure

Accounting, insurance and legal considerations aren’t the exciting parts of starting a business, but collectively they are one of the most important parts. How you manage money, how you approach risk and liability, and how you safeguard yourself and your team from liability matter tremendously, especially in the vulnerable, formative stages of your business.

Develop Processes for Pricing, Sales, Marketing and Distribution

One of the biggest mistakes many entrepreneurs make when starting a business is giving away their products or services for a song as they seek to build a consumer base. While it makes sense in the moment, it actually hurts in the long run because it devalues what you’re selling. Building sales pipelines and identifying appropriate marketing channels early in your entrepreneurial journey can go far in educating prospects to help them understand the value your product or services will deliver.

Weigh the Pros and Cons of Hiring

There are tremendous benefits to hiring people to help you with your business. You have a team of people who can interact with customers, manage production, and/or process orders. There are also considerable challenges – payroll, record-keeping, job descriptions, screening, worker’s compensation, benefit plans, etc. Dive into the details before making your first hire so you have a clear picture of what hiring entails.

Have more questions? Reach out to SCORE for free, expert mentoring and resources to guide you through your small business journey. Visit score.org to learn more.