Advice From Business Founders For New Start-ups
In just a few short weeks the unthinkable has happened for business, education, healthcare and social interactions. With the bulk of shops, restaurants and bars closed, our country is faced with a soaring unemployment rates within the next year. Definitely there are challenges but also huge opportunities. While the market is still unsteady at the moment, this is the time for women to step up. COVID19 will certainly redefine our way of thinking. But a crises is just an opportunity to teach us how to deal with change and help us grow.
If we are entering into a bear market, this is a great time to start a business and a great time to be an investor.
It’s said that fortune favours the prepared mind. As being in lock-down becomes normalised I hope to see more, not less innovation, some of which may have a positive, lasting legacy. These are certainly interesting times, but I don’t view it as a curse; it’s a blessing to be here and to have the freedom to adapt to this brave new world.
Talk to any entrepreneur or business owner, and you'll quickly learn that starting a business in any market requires a lot of work. An idea on its own doesn't become a business without effort. So, if you have been toying with the idea of starting a business, the time is now. And to get you started on the right foot, no matter where you are in your startup journey, I wanted to share advice from 6 inspiring businesswomen who anyone can gladly listen to. Here’s a little insight into what helped them take their businesses from an idea to reality.
1. Create Your Own Opportunities
I got my start by giving myself a start. I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them. Open Your Own Shop; Secure Prosperity and Freedom.So what can we learn from this? Madame Walker's story shows the importance of taking a chance on your passions and doing it with a witty edge. In the end it all comes to doing. The little secret to starting is this. You simply start. You will never get presented with opportunities by sitting and watching TV all day. You do not start up because everything fits neatly in your life plan. You simply startup because you want to. So, take the initiative, put yourself out there, step out of your comfort zone and see what happens. A lot can happen in a life, especially nothing.
2. Find Mentors and Ask for Help
As the famous saying goes, no man is an island, and this is never truer than when starting your own business. New business owners are generally ambitious, independent, and optimistic people. While this is advantageous most of the time, sometimes these characteristics hold small business owners back when problems arise. There is a tendency to act as if asking for help is a deficiency. This is the lesson that Boitumelo Ntsoane, a qualified pharmacist and a business woman learned early on. Boitumelo is the founder of Afrillink Healthcare and this is the advice she shares with young entrepreneurs:
To young entrepreneurs starting out, I would say keep your eyes on the vision, continuously work on yourself and develop those individuals around you, because they will ultimately assist you in achieving success.So what can we learn from this? It is necessary to ask for help if you need it. Sometimes help comes in the form of an ongoing mentoring relationship where you nurture a professional relationship with a colleague or someone with specialized knowledge and experience in your field. Remember, as a business owner, the success you experience may be directly tied to your willingness to ask questions and admit when you don’t have all the answers. Many of the businesses who have proactively sought the advice of older, more seasoned heads, have gone on to become notable success stories.
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3. Be Willing to Learn
Everything I’ve learned so far has led me to this moment. I’ve been slowly evolving throughout the fashion world. First wearing it, buying it, being recognized for my style and then collaborating with brands. I never just wanted to put my name on something and sell my license. I’m very hands-on, so I wanted to take it slowly and gain respect as a designer.
So what can we learn from this? Riri is proof to proved to us that we don’t have to stay in one lane for the rest of our lives. By taking a chance on her other passions, she redefined herself and challenged her own expectations on success. Her key to success is that she never stop learning. You can always learn something new. Always maintain the attitude of student.
4. Choose Your Partners Very Wisely
Just like a marriage that starts off all hearts, roses and dreams, a partnership can quickly turn into heartbreak, anger, lawsuits and bankruptcy. A partnership has the power to propel a business to true greatness. So, it’s a smart move to think carefully before you make this decision, as it’s a crucially important one. Choosing a partner needs a very vivid assessment to avoid any future conflicts in the partnership. Without doing your due diligence, your company may not prosper because you may end up choosing the wrong business partner. Dr Judy Dlamini, a qualified medical doctor, accomplished businesswoman has this to says about partners:
Choose your partners carefully. I say this with experience after having made a bad investment a while ago by partnering with people who turned out not to be clean business people. When I discovered this, I had to get out of that business because my name was going to be compromised. Detangling myself from this partnership was difficult and I had to go the litigation route, which was expensive, both emotionally and financially. And conduct yourself with integrity from the outset and treat yourself and others with respect, because then there can be no skeletons and no risk of destroying your reputation and legacy.So what can we learn from this? In order for a partnership to do well, 90 percent depends on how the two partners are compatible. When you decide that you require one, make sure that you get the best match to your own leadership style, goals, vision, and skills.
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5. Find Fulfillment In Your Work
Your job is not always going to fulfill you. There will be some days that you just might be bored, other days you might not feel like going to work at all — go anyway. Your job is not who you are, it’s just what you’re doing on the way to who you will become. Give your word. Keep it. Show up. Do the work. Get your hands dirty. You build a legacy not from one thing but from everything.If that’s the lesson Oprah learned on her path to becoming who she is today, you probably want to put it in your pocket to take with you in your own career. Remember, to build a fulfilling career, you need to put in the work even on the unfulfilling days while grinding through what may be unfulfilling jobs. But more than anything, use uninspiring or difficult workday as a learning opportunity. Being reliable, being driven, striving to learn more and do more and be more is what will ultimately make you successful.
6. Have a Profit Strategy
Know you can have a very good business idea, but be prepared that sometimes the environment will not allow you to achieve it. Be flexible. Think out of the box. Think about ways to diversify. Think of ways to be profitable at all times. Once you are in business it does come down to profitability. It doesn't help to be so passionate about something that is not bringing in money for you. You should be able to realise profits. If you can’t make money from the initial idea, then alter it to help keep you afloat.So what can we learn from this? First, the obvious use for profits; wages, dividends, and/or return on investment for the business owners. So forget leaving your income stream up to chance. Knowing the ways to improve profitability of your business is very important to succeed. Set goals for profit levels and make decisions based on growing profit.
Final Notes
Remember, faith without works is dead—you have to put in the work and take control for the success of your business. Starting up a business is not for the faint hearted. It can be stressful and is rather time consuming, however is all the more worthwhile. Hard work really does pay off and so you will see. You have a great idea, so why not make this happen?
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