You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you. It’s just the truth. Wannabe business owners know this, as financial control is one of the biggest motivators in starting a small business.
Budding entrepreneurs must also realize that it can be stressful in the start-up phase. There are big challenges and big opportunities that you must be prepared for in order to succeed.
Truly, half the battle for small business owners is showing up. The challenges and risks of business will tempt you to give up and walk away from entrepreneurship. But those who continue to show up are the very ones who beat the business failure statistics.
These challenges are also known as the pitfalls and predators of business. They are the very things you must be aware of and prepared for if you want to launch a start-up. Some of these dangers include legal regulations, lack of structure, decision-making issues, and lack of advisors. In order to beat the odds and overcome these pitfalls, you need certain structures in place. You need to answer specific questions and get specific people in your corner to succeed.
First, you need business structures. I recommend becoming an LLC or another type of entity because it is a separate structure. You are not the business. I’m not a big fan of sole proprietorships because they don’t separate you from the business.
Secondly, you need legal structures in place. Talk with a lawyer to figure out how to legally structure your business.
Finally, structure your taxes. Talk to your accountant to see what additional taxes you will need to pay as a business owner.
Once these structures are in place, you must get really clear with your customers about what problem you can solve for them and what the price is to them if you don’t solve that problem. Let them know who you serve and why you are doing it. This is one of the very first steps in starting a business because it is the story you will tell over and over again.
From there, start thinking like a big corporation. Think about all the different departments in your business that you need to hire for such as legal, HR, accounting, sales, marketing, and product development. Ask yourself who you need on your team to give you advice in order to invest in the business. You should never be the smartest one in the room but should hire people that are better in some areas than you are. Scale your business by hiring your weaknesses and working on your strengths.
I truly believe you can have, do, and become more. The risk you’re about to take could be the risk that changes your entire life. You just need to prepare.
If you want to learn more about how to launch a start-up, check out https://marissanehlsen.com/llr116.
