Interviews
How To Progress From Education To Entrepreneur
Jemima Hunter
August 27, 2021
With little money or experience, the entrepreneurial world can feel a little intimidating but everyone starts from somewhere; it’s the hard work and focus that will result in a profitable business that you can be proud of.
Here are the first steps you can take to follow your passion as an enterpriser:
Fulfill an underserved demand
Why invent what’s already been invented? Many entrepreneurs start their company by finding a niche and noticing what’s in demand based on the current trends and climates. Search for the shortage and set about creating a solution.
Perhaps you have found there is a lack of social interaction at work, so you begin to pitch team-building activities to larger associations. Whatever it may be put your heart into making it one of a kind and something that’s never been launched on the market before.
Understand your audience
Different types of businesses appeal to different types of people, so it’s crucial to determine what age group, income range and location fits your company. Attracting the right demographic makes it easier to engage your audience, so look at competitors and analyse your service to ensure your target group is suitable.
Develop a business plan
Creating a formalised document with a detailed plan of your business aims will help to organise each project and form a strategy. It’s important to include your long and short-term goals, along with the fundamental mission for your company. Financial projections and a marketing strategy in the plan will enable you to see the journey your business is on and how to reach your goal.
Focus on funding
Having a small income won’t stop you from achieving your goals, it’s just the route you take to start that counts for your future. Why not try a crowdfunding platform, apply for a small business grant or pitch to angel investors?
Network to the top
Networking is essential for aspiring entrepreneurs as it can help you find potential investors, more customers, and skilful people to help to inspire your business. Some ways to network can include:
- Utilising social media to seek contacts in the industry and find like-minded individuals to help you with your journey into the entrepreneurial scene.
- Attend events that could have your personalised demographic for a potential customer base or places you could find competitors.
- Make sure you create more just a business relationship with your connections so you’re not hard selling, rather sharing ideas and platforms.
Commercialise it
After the initial design and idea of your brand, be open to modifying and redeveloping the business after feedback from the public with market testing. Conduct a small launch to test the waters and see what works and what doesn’t, this way you can learn from mistakes and immediately create a micro-audience for your business.
Keep up to date with your online status so potential customers can share with friends and grow your clientele. Prepare to include subscriptions, sponsorships, and events to your growing company to encourage a recurring customer base and a loyal audience.
Take inspiration from these entrepreneurs who once started out in the same position as you find yourself and are en route to the top of the industry:
‘Like they say, Rome wasn’t built in the day, so another thing. Be willing to spend years fighting ups and downs until you make it successful.’
Kofi McCalla
‘Young people are the future.’
Joshua Browder
‘Everything I know, I’ve learned through books and trial and error.’
Robby Clark
‘So, I just went back to basics and went back to working with artists and creating like a signature style in a way and trying different things. I found a team that I worked with really well and then from there just kept going and I started to really build a name.’
Ashleigh Jadee
‘I think that the more you create, the more you know, people see your work, they’ll understand what you’re about, the more you will attract opportunities.’
Sebastian Thiel
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