“As the Founder of The Body Shop, I often get asked to talk about entrepreneurship – even by hallowed institutions like Harvard and Stanford. It makes me smile that the Ivy League is so keen to ‘’learn how to be an entrepreneur, because I’m not at all convinced it is a subject you can teach. How do you teach obsession, because more often than not it’s obsession that drives an entrepreneur’s vision? How do you learn to be an outsider, if you are not one already? Why would you march to a different drumbeat if you are instinctively part of the crowd? “

–Anita Roddick

Although there is no “one size, fits all” theory for entrepreneurship, but in my observation the three raw essentials that determine success in any entrepreneurial venture is proper planning, Passion & Motivation, and finding appropriate business partner.

Planning:

Entrepreneurship is about building a business from scratch while managing limited resources (including time, money and personal relationships). It is a long-term commitment (like you would pick a spouse – assuming you are not a serial divorcee), so do not rush. Many people will advise that Entrepreneurs should be go-getters, they should take action first and later learn from mistake. I am not contradicting the fact but in my opinion planning for everything and having a ready solution for all possible risks may also prevent you from unforeseen circumstances and help you successfully launching your ideas.

Assume the Best; Plan for the Worst

—By Connor McDonald

Do a feasibility analysis; identify time and capital thresholds; take the deep dive with your limited resources. If your thresholds are crossed, look for alternatives and be prepared to take the next exit.

Passion:

If there’s one word that describes the fundamental trait in an entrepreneurship, it would be passion.

This one is tricky because it’s not clear whether passion causes success or success causes passion. Everyone assumes the former is true, but let’s be honest: it’s easy to get excited about a business that takes off, so the later may be true too. Still, success may take a long time, so you’d better at least not hate what you’re doing.

Partner:

The next big step is to find some soul mates to go on your adventure

Successful companies are usually started and become successful, with the contributions of at least two soul mates – think when Apple founded.There were Steve Wozniak(Who made the product) and Steve Jobs(who sold it).Founders need to complement each other to build a great organization.According to Sivers,the first follower plays an important role because he brings credibility to the leader.Subsequent followers emulate the first follower,not only the leader.

“The first follower is what transforms the lone nuts into a leader”

But try before you buy!

There are some critical considerations for choosing the Right Business Partner.

• They should have similar vision or intuition regarding how the startup and market will evolve.
• They should have the same expectation level regarding size of the business. Not everyone wants to build an empire. Not everyone wants a lifestyle business.There aren’t right or wrong,there are only expectations that match or don’t match. So, while starting,its nice if they are on the same page.
• Founders should share the same level of commitment.
• Founder and Co-founder should have different domain of expertise.

Finally,a few words of wisdom! Do not add founders to enhance fundability. The reason to bring in additional founders – and any other employee but especially founders – is to make your startup stronger and more likely to succeed. Ask yourself, “Would I hire this guy if we didn’t need funding?” If your answer is no, you’d be insane to hire him.

So get going. As long as you’ve a great idea(Planning) , team(Partner) , belief(passion) and the crucial ability to listen, learn and work very hard,you can become a successful entrepreneur.

“Ten years ago it may have been a choice to jump on the online bandwagon, but now it’s an absolute must to survive and thrive as a small business. With over 85% of searches for products and services happening online, it’s just a “duh” at this point,” shares Jenny Servis, Vice President of Marketing for marketing solutions company SnapRetail. Expanding on this, Servis adds that “being online means having a responsive, search optimized website as well as an engaging and growing following on social media plus using email as part of your marketing mix.”

The internet is not just an information superhighway and search tool now.Its an excellent marketing tool for your business. According to PwC global Total Retail Survey 2016, 54% of the shoppers buy products online weekly or monthly. In addition, Envesp has claimed that more than 80 percent of the people who use the internet have made at least one online purchase in their lifetime. With this much consumer power, it is vital for any business to have an online presence to stay competitive within its industry. Maintaining a good web design is one of the best ways to promote a business online.

Reach All Corners of the World :

A professional business web design gives you an instant global reach and allows your business to capture customers from around the world.I have US clients and European clients I’d never have had the opportunity to sell my services to without the web. No need to rely on passing footfall trade.

Around-the-Clock Access :

You can sell your products/services 24 hours a day,seven days a week and awake to see how much money you’ve made while you slept. Nice touch!

Cost Savings :

A business website can cost very little maintain. When compared to other advertising techniques, it is fairly inexpensive. Marketing is quick and cheap. According to Servis, a VP of Marketing with SnapRetail, “Consumers have too many choices these days and they have to be constantly reminded that you exist. The best way to reach them is where they spend a good bit of time… which is online”.

Customer Convenience :

Today’s consumers like their shopping experience to be quick and easy, which is why more and more consumers are turning to online shopping. Maintaining a business website will offer a more convenient way to shop for your customers. When is the last time you’ve ordered something by mail? Most reading this post might not even remember the mail order era, it was painful. Today, commerce and information is immediate.

Improved Customer Service :

Usually a business web design will include a contact us section that gives your customers instant access to ask a question, or notify you about a problem with your goods or services. This gives you the ability to provide instant feedback to the customer and improve your customer service satisfaction rate.

There are multitude of reasons for taking your business online. Without a website, it will be difficult to remain competitive in today’s market and generate more customers. Business websites are also easy to setup and maintain. If you don’t have a website, leave us a comment and tell us how you are doing business.

Since the beginning of time, society has always praised and applauded winners. Winning is and has become the central core of society, and everything that we do, revolve around this.

And why not! Victory tastes very sweet, and there are many advantages to become successful, especially in a competition orientated society like ours. So, we all dream to become successful, and there is nothing wrong to have a dream. But sitting idly and daydreaming about things that are impossible, make us stuck to take any decision. And making no decisions is still a decision. That you are decided not to do anything.

With the period of years I read and carefully analysed the secret of fortunes of hundreds of exceedingly wealthy men and the best lesson I learned is “Screw It, Let’s Do It”(Richard Branson).It doesn’t matter what it is, or how hard it might seem, as the ancient Greek, Plato said, “The beginning is the most important part of any work”.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with that first step. If you look ahead to the end, and all the weary miles between, with all the dangers you might face, you might never take that first step.  And whatever it is you want to achieve in life, if you don’t make the effort, you won’t reach your goal.To become a successful person you don’t have to be an exceptional high-achieving superhuman but its like ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Continue reading Spot the Winner! →