(ARTICLE) 7 Critical Things You Need to Know When Starting a Business

Since becoming an entrepreneur, I’ve blown a lot of deals, had tons of awkward sales calls, and dealt with many flakes.

But I also gained knowledge with several (pricey) entrepreneurs, tested countless strategies, and attended conferences around the country.

And in the years since, I managed to build a solid 6-figure business with top-tier clients

After all of those experiences, I want to share the seven most powerful lessons that everyone should know when they start a business. Put together, they’ll help you avoid costly, head-smacking mistakes and boost your profits and growth.

Here’s how:

1. The number 1 priority: Find your first clients ASAP

If you’re just starting, here’s the most powerful advice: The first thing you need to do is find three paying clients.

If you can do that, you’re doing better than most people who “want” to start a business.

Avoid time-wasters that allow you to “play business,” but don’t really affect your bottom line

when you eliminate these useless tasks that drive no real business value — you’ll have more time to focus on the areas that matter:

Which is deeply understanding your customers, finding more of them, and serving them so well that they’ll be delighted to pay you.

- Ramit Sethi

It doesn’t matter how good you think your idea is:

If people pay you for it, it’s a good idea.

But if no one pays, it’s not.

And why three? Because one or two might be a fluke, but three shows you have potential and can grow from there.

A lot of people, however, want to start a business, but they seemingly do everything possible to avoid it.

For example, they waste a ton of time:

• Finding the perfect logo
• Designing their website
• Making business cards
• And doing a bunch of other things that don’t matter in the beginning.

5 years later, they’re still trying to start their business.

This is a tough lesson for beginners because debating website design, business name, etc....is the easy part

it feels like you’re being productive, but you’re simply avoiding action.

The hard part is putting yourself out there and finding work.

It can be crushing to put your business idea on the market, have people reject it, and realise the dream you had for years is dead.

That’s why, many people just work on the fringes of their business, never seriously acting on their idea.

You have to get over it.

You have to know that the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones that keep trying after their first business ideas failed.

That way, you test whether your idea is profitable rather than wasting a ton of time “creating” a business only to realise no one wants to buy.

2. Your product or service isn’t as important as you think

The truth is your product or service is only a small part of your business.

The two most important parts are actually:

• Marketing
• Sales

You have to learn how to promote your brand and you have to learn how to sell because your delivery is nothing without distribution.

The ability to sell is the number one skill in business. If you cannot sell, don’t bother thinking about becoming a business owner.

- Robert T. Kiyosaki

My best sales advice when you’re just starting out is to judge people by what they do, not what they say.

Many prospects say they’re interested, but they actually have no intention of buying or just want to get free advice / service from you

You have to be willing to put your foot down and assert yourself. Even if you blow a deal, it’s okay because you’re learning and growing.

3. Take the “ready, fire, aim” approach

If I fail more than you do, I will win. Because in order to keep failing, you’ve got to be good enough to keep playing… if you are always there shipping, putting your work into the world, creating and starting things, you will learn endless things.

- Seth Godin

When you’re starting out, don't worry about making the “correct” decision; think about making faster decisions.

If you’re not sure what to do, just test it—you won’t know if your decision is correct or not until you try, and only then can you change course.

REMEMBER: YOU are not the target market; the target market is the target market. Let them tell you if your idea is good or not.

Test your ideas out and see how people react to them.

Don’t hold onto an idea for years wondering “what if”

The longer you take to get started, the longer it’ll take you to get to where you want to go.

Adopt what’s called the “ready, fire, aim” approach (instead of the “ready, aim, fire” approach.)

Just take a lot of shots, find out what works, double down on them, and ditch the rest.

4. Don’t just “do marketing” when you need work

If you wait until your business slows down or you need more clients before you start marketing, it's already too late—it takes time to market your business, find leads, and convert them.

Marketing isn’t somebody’s responsibility. Marketing is everyone’s responsibility.

- Jack Welch

As an entrepreneur, there’s a tendency to be so focused on the work you’re doing that you forget about all the other things that create a “business.”

But there’s a big difference between working IN your business and working ON your business.

The easiest thing to do is just schedule time every week to work on your marketing efforts.

• Ask for referrals.
• Grow your network.
• Do cold calls or emails.
• Pay for advertising consistently

Just a few hours every week can help you avoid the dry cycle that ruins so many other entrepreneurs.

5. Stop worrying about what other people do

The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.

- Steven Furtick

Starting a business is hard enough; don't make it harder by comparing yourself to people with different experiences and backgrounds.

Instead,

• think about the lifestyle that you want to live; not what you think you should live.
• Then work backwards

You might discover you don't need a multi-million business; maybe for you, £60,000/year is perfect.

Bigger isn’t always better; it’s just bigger.

Unfortunately, many “successful” entrepreneurs struggle with work-life balance because their work controls their life.

That's why it’s critical to also think about building a lifestyle—then your business can fit into it.

Yes, in the first few years of starting a business, you WILL have to work hard initially. There is no way around this

But at least you'll know where your finish line is rather than letting the work consume you.

6. Your business only grows as big as your mindset

Ultimately, running a business taught me more about myself than it did about business. It revealed countless invisible barriers in my mind that were holding me back.

And I learned if you want to get 6-figure deals (or larger), it becomes more about your mindset than almost anything else.

Because the sooner you feel comfortable charging six-figures, the sooner you will charge six-figures.

Many new business owners get stuck.

They go from small projects to charging, say, £50/hour and then they keep charging £50/hour for years.

But once you grow your skills and reach the forefront of your industry, you need to level up otherwise you’ll always stay in the £50/hour sandbox.

You have to respect your unique value and contributions because no one else will do it for you. Once you do, there’s no limit to how high you can go.

7. You will get f***ked over; here’s how to get over it

I'm going to be very blunt and honest here:

Chances are, you're going to get screwed.

And you're probably going get screwed more than once.

• Someone is going to say they're going to pay you, but they don't.
• You're going to partner with someone you like and later realise they’re fucking crazy.
• Clients will lie on your name
• People will attempt to ruin you

It doesn't mean “people are evil” and it doesn't mean you shouldn't be an entrepreneur.

It just means you have to roll with the punches.

Because the only thing you can truly control with business is your own integrity.

And if you can do that, you will always feel confident knowing you did your best and you did what's right.

That confidence will help you navigate all the (many) ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

And that’s how to truly build a business you can be proud of.

Till next time