At Kingsford we are encouraged to be business minded and innovative. We believe that the key to success in entrepreneurship is sustaining financial security before pursuing your business ideas. The romanticised vision of entrepreneurship promises a quick path to success and total devotion to your business from day one. Yet, the reality is somewhat different.
Being an entrepreneur can be risky but entrepreneurs who are in full-time employment reduce their risk of failure. They wait until they have built their business before they sever ties with a job that pays their bills.
If the excitement of becoming a full time entrepreneur is pulling you out of your workplace remember that you have grocery bills, rent, car payments and family expenses.
These five steps will teach you how to stay in your job and become what you’ve always wanted:
To become a successful entrepreneur.
Step 1 – Embrace Technology
Technology has advanced so far that you can systemise also every aspect of your business. Whilst working full-time your goal should be to free up as much time as possible so that your ingenious business ideas are not neglected.
Look first to outsource and reduce your personal involvement in tasks like filing for a business entity, dealing with accounting, taxes, designing business cards and obsessing over your logo. Try services like Hopscratch or Legalzoom to assist you with early Financial, Legal and Marketing hurdles.
Step 2 – Start creating content for your target audience
Reach out to potential customers by writing and discussing ways in which your business will provide a solution to their problems. The best way to start is by writing a blog whilst encouraging interaction with customers and influencers. A few weeks of active blogging could build you a mailing list of engaged email subscribers who eventually want to buy your products.
Step 3 – Embrace calculated risks
Risk behaviour is common ground for all kinds of entrepreneurs. However, choosing to embrace a calculated risk is a must for aspiring entrepreneurs who find themselves in a day job. Tony Robinson (best selling author) is quoted as saying that business is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. The biggest barrier for entrepreneurs is that few are natural risk takers and they are not emotionally ready for the challenges of building a business.
Step 4 – Tell your boss and family about your business
If you are starting your business in the same industry that you are currently working you should inform your boss. Check with your Lawyer if there are any non-compete clauses in your employment contract which could shatter your business dreams. Although clauses can be negotiable, if you don’t address them with your Lawyer it could result in an expensive court case.
Be sure to set aside time to work on your ideas when it does not interfere with your family and work commitments. You may find yourself waking up at 4:30am to work when others are asleep. At first this may sound grim but the enthusiasm for owning your own business will energise your sleepy mind.
Step 5 – Validate your concept
It is common for people to have a sound business idea and it never gets put into practice. Legitimate excuses could range from being in a full-time position, not having enough equity and having to care for family.
One of the main reasons that stops us from validation is that we over complicate the process of starting a business when we could keep it simple. The key is to produce the simplest form of your product which meets the demands of the customer. It is that simple. Focus on landing your first client and promote your product through their networks.
