Several people have approached me indicating that they would like to know my approach to the topic of Entrepreneurship and its risks.
It is common to hear about the terms Entrepreneurship, Starting, Venturing to mention the most common; However, when we think about creating a company, it is inherent that this is related to the risk oriented to the difficulty that it entails or to the danger due to the lack of security.
We call an entrepreneur the person who takes the risk and the adventure of starting something. In this case a lot will have to see the characteristics, qualities, abilities, the inverted energy of this protagonist to fulfill his objective.
Mark Suster, who is a managing partner of Upfront Ventures and a mentor at Techstars, said: "Entrepreneurship is more like climbing a mountain", it is something that if we analyze well is accurate in its assessment. Since it is about exploring the unknown. When you set out to climb a mountain, especially if it is a new mountain that nobody has climbed and where you can not imagine the distance from the top, it does not make sense to plan the route, especially because you do not know what is beyond the next one costs.
For this reason, I think the most sensible thing is to analyze in detail what we need to reach the next base camp, the next important milestone of our business in which it has been possible to clear enough hypotheses of the business model and therefore be able to observe what is beyond.
It is truly gratifying for entrepreneurs when they manage to capture their entrepreneurial spirit in a business plan. And the satisfaction is greater when they are their own ideas they get to become new businesses, and challenge that fear of failure. After all, failure is an unexpected result.
Many are the qualities and characteristics that are mentioned must have an entrepreneur or entrepreneur. And all are equally important, one of the most outstanding is the ability to transform problems or obstacles into opportunities or areas for improvement, to maintain a positive attitude and to dispel the fear of change.
Entrepreneurship is not one of those who can, but of those who wish to undertake. If you undertake outside of the experts, there would be a new company for each of the retired directors or senior executives and there would not be any whose management would have young people with 20 years of age. If entrepreneurs were only men, there would be only entrepreneurs and there would be no Associations of Women Entrepreneurs. In this way the examples swarm, which reaffirms that it is a discard activity or that it discredits a certain group of people.
How to start successfully
- Dominate the market. Have knowledge of the environment where the business will be developed. For that it is necessary, focus on your sector and detect what are the existing offers. Based on that research, you must develop your competitive advantage. Why should they buy you?
- Create a business plan. Here, the objectives of the company (short, medium and long term), the strategies to achieve it, the organization, the budget that is required to finance the project and solutions to solve future problems must be defined. Having clarity is these aspects, you could attract investors, request credits.
- Profile of the client. Study of the behavior and consumption patterns of the target or target market. It is necessary to identify potential consumers, so it is important to take into account variables such as age, gender, socioeconomic level and geographic location, as well as schooling and lifestyle. It is crucial to know which segment you are going to direct your product or service.
- Listen to your potential customers. The key to a company being well received is to exceed the expectations of the client. And one of the most common mistakes is to believe that your business will be a success only because a few of your friends like the idea.
- Analyze the competition. According to data from the University of Leipzig, Germany, 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs overlook "competitors" as a factor to be evaluated. This happens most of the time because the entrepreneur has great self-esteem and forgets other actors in the market. In another way; It is essential to study the environment of the competition and analyze if they really meet the needs of consumers. If you want to position yourself among the best options, you have to differentiate yourself from the rest.
- Draw a marketing plan. This document will help you define the direction the business will take in: market situation, opportunities and threats, as well as goals to be achieved. Take into account that the quality of your product / service today does not guarantee the success of the business.
- Invest in technology. A computer is a basic tool to undertake. With it you can develop your business plan, marketing plan, integrate databases and even make financial projections. On the other hand, social networks today will help you find new consumers, keep them in touch and give them a better service.
- Form your work team. A company is born and grows thanks to its collaborators. So its mission is to integrate a plural group, where each one puts his talent at the service of the company increasing productivity. It is also important to listen and take into account the ideas of the workers.
Some examples of ventures
Will Keith Kellog was a broom salesman who later decided to move to Battle Creek, Michigan with his brother John Harvey Kellog, this one being superintendent of a Mental Health Institute offers a job as a librarian to Will. Both employees develop a mechanism to facilitate the feeding of patients, thus creating corn flakes, innovation added to the general approval of the inmates there opens the doors to entrepreneurship and give way to the overall production of Corn Flakes, today 103 years later, it is the largest cereal producer and owner of an extensive line of food products.
We must also mention cases such as the Nike that founded by Philip Hampson Knight was a member of the athletics team at the University of Oregon and teacher of athletics in 1964, could not until after 2 years just open their first store "sale" of sports shoes and in 1972 began with the production of his first original design to play football. Currently Nike is the leader in sports shoes.
Other highlights in entrepreneurship in the field of technology are: Bill Gates of Microsoft, Larry Page and Sergei Brin of Google and the youngest member of Forbes with 24 years, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.
Just as undertaking a business is a challenge, this adventure is applicable and beneficial to many areas of life. Does it depend only on that entrepreneurial spirit that the result be successful? It is affirmative that it is a key element, however the desire to make and transform our desired ideas into reality, in the constant search for satisfaction.
The daily task then is to educate the mind, avoiding these censures and preparing it to be willing to change, to take the risks and propose to turn dreams and ideals into reality.
And remember: "The one who seeks, finds and the one who starts, ends."
WHAT DO YOU THINK ... INTUITION IS REQUIRED OR NOT TO ENGAGE?