After working as a mid-level employee for the last several years, and listening to your program director make promise after promise about promotions that never transpire, you’ve had enough.
You have the drive and you have the skill set. So you ask yourself: “What are you waiting for?”
You’re ready: ready to start your own small business. Starting a small business takes gumption, and you have it by the truck full. But there’s more to starting a small business than confidence, brains and skill. It’s about understanding the nuances and investing in the necessities early on that can make or break a small business owner. Creating and sticking to a budget, hiring stellar employees and getting a business insurance plan (and more) are prerequisite to owning and operating a dynamite SMB.
Before initiating the early stages of building your SMB, there are a few things you need to know, as told by other entrepreneurs who want to see their peers succeed.
Young entrepreneurs often believe that they ought to keep their business ideas on the DL for fear of a competitor making off with them. The Muse tells SMB owners that you shouldn’t do this. As your business begins to pick up steam, you’re going to need to speak with professionals in the field. Gleaning from their experiences will help you grow your company. “Discussing your [SMB] with others will give you greater insight into where there are holes, what does (or doesn’t) resonate with people, and the strategies you could utilize as you’re getting started.”
Speaking with other entrepreneurs and building relationships will also increase the size of your network—that certainly doesn’t hurt!
Starting a small business is stressful, it’s simply the way it is. The Small Business Chronicle reports that the leading cause of stress from owning and managing a small business is the lack of control SMB owners feel.
As you’re still figuring out the day-to-day schedule and workflow and managing different personalities, all without making a solid income, you will feel the pressure; this is to be expected. To help yourself through this stressful process, take an hour for yourself every day to meditate, exercise, read, knit or whatever else will bring you peace. You’ll thank yourself later.
Yes, the above line sounds harsh, and we apologize for that, but this section is coming from a good place! So often, new business owners try to take everything head-on. You can’t be the owner, director, assistant and employee; it’s too much, man!
Jared Reitzin, founder and chairman of MobileStorm Inc. tells new SMB owners like yourself to “get real with yourself. Ask people what they feel you are bad at, and then hire people who are good at those things.” Admitting to yourself that there are some areas in your business where you need help shows a strength in your leadership. It demonstrates to your staff (and yourself) that you are constantly looking to improve the business, and they’ll respect you for it.
FastCompany writes that small business owners should see this as a good opportunity for growth and to realize that “there will be moments of terror and maybe even defensiveness when you watch people talk about your product using tools and techniques you are unfamiliar with to connect to your potential customers.” Remember, you’re all working towards the same goal: the success of your business.
To make running a small business less complicated, make sure to get business insurance with CoverHound!
Insurance shopping simplified
Insurance shopping simplified
