6 Tips for Entrepreneurs

1. Make sure that being an entrepreneur is your thing

This may seem pointless to say, but we are not all made to be entrepreneurs. I am not saying that this is a good or bad thing, but if you are one of those people who prioritize security and tranquillity, or you don’t feel comfortable swimming against the tide, perhaps entrepreneurship is not for you.

2. What should we be afraid of?

Although it may seem incredible, our greatest fear when we start a business (losing all the money invested) is not the biggest risk we face. Being unable to solve the various problems that an entrepreneur faces on a day-to-day basis, or not possessing the adequate knowledge to overcome failures, can be much worse.

3. Leave aside the “I’m going to….”

You are what you do, not what you say you will do. I am sure that like me, you know someone who always has a plan in mind, who tells you about the megaproject with which he/she will become highly successful. How many times have you said, “I’m going to start going to the gym,” or “I’m going to learn a new language,” or “I’m going to change my eating habits,” and yet we never do. We always find a reason, an excuse for not doing so; to become an entrepreneur you must leave “I’m going to….” behind and start doing.

4. Draw up your plan and take the risk

Think about what you want to do, try to make your idea as precise as possible, visualize where you will be in the next five years. Study the competition, suppliers, potential customers, calculate the costs of carrying out your venture, analyze the possible scenarios that you will face and take a chance.

Often, we are prejudiced regarding the verb “to risk.” To take a risk is not synonymous with leaving your destiny to chance. To take a risk it is necessary to study the market hard, and make forecasts while examining the environment. But an entrepreneur must know that ideal conditions rarely exist, and therefore, when the time comes, you have to take risks.

5. Have patience and be disciplined

To be an entrepreneur, you have to have a passion for what you do, but above all you have to be disciplined. Discipline is doing what you planned to, whether you feel like it or not. Remember that every time you are set to spend long hours working on your future, rather than going out or doing something that you fancy much more.

As a rule, results do not come overnight and you will face problems that have no apparent solutions. At those moments you need to be patient; such an ability is not just about waiting, but about how we behave while we wait.

6. There is nothing wrong with being a failure

In my opinion, hiding behind the excuse that we have learned something each time we have failed is not the best option. One of my favorite books on entrepreneurship is The Lean Startup. On failure it states the following: “Unfortunately, ‘learning’ is the oldest excuse in the book for a failure of execution… learning is cold comfort to employees who are following an entrepreneur into the unknown. It is cold comfort to the investors who allocate precious money, time, and energy to entrepreneurial teams. It is a cold comfort to the organizations – large and small – that depend on entrepreneurial innovation to survive. You can’t take learning to the bank; you can’t spend it or invest it. You cannot give it to customers and cannot return it to limited partners.”

But this doesn’t mean that you should feel bad if something does not go as expected. If a project is failing or failed, it means we were not able to solve the problems that sank the ship. In these cases, giving up is not the solution. The idea is above all to anticipate, organize, study well each of the steps and the decisions to be taken, and always have as a motto that it is better to dust ourselves off and start over.