Helpful tips for new entrepreneurs. How to get started as an entrepreneur

After deciding to become a businessman, many beginners have a question - where should they start? There is no universal recipe for a success story, although the advice of those who are already considered not beginners, but experienced entrepreneurs, will not hurt anyone.

Quora users are the most popular tips for newbies who decide to become businessmen.

Often, having decided to start their own startup, future businessmen ask themselves a lot of questions. Among them, for example, questions of the following nature: “Do I need to learn how to program to make the next Dropbox?” or “Should I learn sales techniques?”

These questions can be very different and quite unexpected. However, the main question that comes from the lips of a novice entrepreneur is very simple and complex at the same time: “how and where do I start?”

Some people think that you don't need a qualification or a lot of money to become a successful startup creator. A businessman should not be a genius or even come up with a particularly good and original idea. All an entrepreneur has to do is to create something that can constantly bring in money (we are not talking about a money printing press).

One has only to think of a company as a machine or machine to be designed and built. Here, for example, how McDonalds would look like in this perspective:

Your "machine" always consists of certain parts. She sells something for someone, reinvesting part of the funds to increase sales in the future. What is left of the earnings is the profit for business owners. Compare McDonalds Business Diagram with Google:

If you manage to design, build, own and take care of such a machine, you can become a very rich and successful entrepreneur. This does not mean that it is easy and simple to do this, but most of the obstacles that you think will be in your way simply do not exist.

After reading the previous two paragraphs, you might think something like: “So McDonalds with Google, where are they and where am I…”. Therefore, it's time to imagine yourself in the place of a business founder - a young man who does not like his job very much, but is generally persistent and stubborn, and sometimes even stubborn. These qualities, as well as energy and determination, are important for a future entrepreneur.

So how do you make a lot of money?

Maybe an "idea" will help you with this? Please forget all the bullshit you've heard about the value of ideas. Ideas are cheap and fleeting, business ideas themselves are worth less than a half-eaten sandwich. At least you can eat a sandwich.

No, you certainly need an idea. But understand that even the most successful companies weren't founded on crazy or brilliant ideas. Starbucks chose a banal way to make money by selling coffee in Seattle.

Facebook built the best MySpace ever. Google has built the best search service, an analogue of Yahoo. Microsoft copied Apple, which in turn copied Xerox. Original ideas are overrated. But the real value is the time, the specific moment of bringing these ideas to life.

Google chose a great time to build the best search engine, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to repeat this now. Facebook, in turn, released its product on time, and Microsoft played on the interest of users in personal computers and offered them a more convenient way to manage them.

Therefore, when starting a business, you need to find something that is currently under-represented in the market, a product or service that can become in demand. It's no secret that it's easier to improve on an existing idea that hasn't been fully implemented or not successfully implemented than it is to create something completely original.

People are afraid of starting a business in areas where there is competition, but competition can be a great help for a future businessman.

For example, the best place to start your own restaurant is not far from another successful or, even better, not very successful restaurant, because its owners have already done the most important work for you - they have built a customer base, created an interested audience that is looking for a restaurant in that place .

A lot of good business has been created against the backdrop of another, less successful one. Therefore, sometimes it is better to have a few rivals than not to have any at all. You just need to become 10% better. The easiest option is to create something that you personally or your friends would love to spend money on.

Another secret to future success is to know as much as possible about what you are doing, to be truly passionate about your work.

Most entrepreneurs were able to convince other people to believe in themselves. When Steve Jobs founded Apple, he had neither money nor customers. However, what he did at the very beginning was an important hallmark of a great entrepreneur.

First, he convinced a local computer store to accept cash-on-delivery Apple computers that didn't exist at the time. He then convinced a parts supplier to sell him the parts he needed. Jobs acted in this order, thanks to which he received a guarantee that someone would buy computers created with the help of purchased components.

Most new entrepreneurs are forced to get out the way Steve Jobs did in his time. This and that may sound a little threatening, but that's the way it is. In doing this, the novice businessman will have to learn to navigate between building the perfect company (idealistic goal) and paying the bills (realistic). Having missed one of the parties, you can face a situation of a complete collapse of the business.

One more thing follows from this rule - you should not prematurely scale your business, you should not immediately build a large company, waste time describing the company's mission and program documents. Produce and sell. The time for HR will come later. Don't be surprised if you've changed your entire company by then.

Building a business process is ideal if the business is successful without its founder.

If you drop dead tomorrow, your business should continue to run without you. McDonalds has built a business that works even if they hire minimum wage employees.

Their business is successful because all processes are clearly written in it. Each hamburger consists of a predetermined number of ingredients and nothing is left to chance. Their brand is so strong that people are lining up all over the world to try the banal potato and sandwich.

But even when the business is already built, all business processes work perfectly like clockwork, keep learning new things. You never know what your next business will be, where else you will decide to apply your efforts and talent as a businessman. In the same way, you do not know which of your knowledge and skills acquired in childhood, adolescence, or which is your hobby, will turn into your business.

Every second employee thinks about opening his own business, but a little more than 20% decide on real actions. Moreover, half of those who nevertheless started in business lose interest in their own business as soon as they encounter the first difficulties. We have counted ten typical mistakes of novice entrepreneurs that prevent your dreams and ambitions from being realized.

Mistake One: Unjustified Expectations of Easy and Quick Success

It seems to many aspiring entrepreneurs that as soon as they start their business, everything should go like clockwork: sales will begin, suppliers will line up with tempting offers, all problems with government agencies will be resolved by an accountant or lawyer, and competitors will quietly disappear from the market. This is not at all the case, so a businessman must be prepared for difficulties and disappointments.

Practice shows that for some reason people are ready to make much more efforts to build a successful career in someone's business than to develop their business. Remember how much effort and time it took you to get your current position? Years of study at a university and additional courses, internships, learning the rules of working in a team and communicating with superiors, continuous development of professional skills, etc. Why does owning a business seem easier?

But instead of one boss, an entrepreneur will have at least ten: buyers, clients, government agencies, suppliers, landlords, etc. You will need to be able to interact with all these people and structures, understand their goals and needs, and fulfill your obligations. So running your own business is no easier than working for someone, although the difficulties in it will be of a different order than in a hired job.

Mistake #2: Not having a plan of action

Business is like a car, by itself it only rolls downhill. If you have no idea what exactly you should do and what the client or buyer will pay you for, then it’s too early to start real actions. Study all available information related to your business: business plans, books and articles, franchisor offers, real cases, etc. If you have the opportunity to at least temporarily work in a company operating in the direction you have chosen or adjacent to it, then be sure to use it.

As a user, you can get our books on the development of various business areas: retail store, beauty salon, wholesale, cafe. We are preparing to publish a book on opening a law firm and an online store.

Common mistakes in business planning include:

• lack of clear goals in the form of specific figures for sales and profits and the timing of their achievement;
• unclear distribution of areas of responsibility between partners or employees;
• understatement of estimated business expenses;
• too optimistic figures of expected incomes;
• choosing only one option for a business development strategy;
• lack of plan "B", if the original plan "A" for some reason cannot be implemented;
• underestimation of entrepreneurial risks and activities of competitors.

The other extreme is the desire to work out the plan to the smallest detail, in order to protect yourself from all possible difficulties. Unfortunately or fortunately, no one in business can guarantee you anything. You should become accustomed to working in unpredictable environments, but your competitors have to work in the same conditions. In addition, unpredictability is not always a bad thing, believe that life can present an entrepreneur with pleasant surprises.

Mistake three: misunderstanding your target audience

Another mistake novice entrepreneurs make is not understanding their target audience. There is a category of businessmen who want to do only what they like. For example, you are into slalom and want to open a mountain equipment store. But think about it - are there enough solvent buyers in your locality who are interested in such goods? Maybe you should open a sporting goods store with a much wider audience, and sell mountain equipment, since you really like it so much, to order?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Who are your customers and clients?
• What are their needs and income levels?
• How many customers and clients can you serve?
• What is the average check your customer is willing to leave?
• How often does a consumer need a similar product or service?
• What is the saturation threshold in your niche?

Focus not on what you can sell or offer, but on what your consumer needs and is willing to pay for.

Mistake #4: Not Selling

Any business is sales. You will make a profit only after you can satisfy the needs of your customers or customers. But the benefits of your service or product must also be conveyed to the consumer. Think about what advertising channels you will use and what marketing techniques you will use. If you have opened a store in a popular shopping center or provide in-demand services, then advertising costs can be minimal. Nevertheless, it is necessary to think about how you will advance in the market.

Mistake five: inability to manage money

Experience shows that the easiest way to start a business is not to waste your own money, but someone else's investments or loans. If you have a solid start-up capital on hand, then there is a temptation to spend it "for the benefit of the cause." Some start-up entrepreneurs (although there are fewer of them every year) are too fond of business attributes: an office in a prestigious location, an expensive company car, a corporate website with an individual design, etc. As an excuse, the fact is given that such expenses are the formation of an image and reputation, without which there is nothing to do in a serious business. In fact, start-up capital should be spent on organizing the first sales, building a customer base, improving the quality of a product or service, establishing business relationships.

Experienced businessmen advise beginners to start with minimal or no capital. Do not immediately aim at some grandiose projects. Try to get at least modest amounts from the provision of services to start with, or integrate into the chain of wholesale and retail sales as an agent. Nothing can replace your own experience in earning income on your own.

The mistakes of novice entrepreneurs in the management of finances are not limited to the inept spending of start-up capital. As soon as the first money from the business appears, there is a desire to spend it on personal needs. Still - after all, this is honestly and independently earned income, why not buy a new car on them? It is especially easy to succumb to such a temptation for individual entrepreneurs, because for them there are no legal restrictions on the use of money received from the business. As a result, working capital is spent on personal purposes, and further business development plans are not implemented due to lack of finance.

Mistake #6: Ignoring Your Competition

If you have chosen a profitable line of business, then you will definitely have competitors. And, of course, a part of the market will be occupied by those who started before you, invested their money and efforts and expects a certain profit. The presence of competitors should not immediately stop you from starting a business, but you cannot ignore them either. To understand how competitive your chosen niche is and how you can stand out, you can order a market research or conduct a quick analysis yourself. An example of such an analysis when opening a beauty salon can be found in our book, it is available in the user's personal account.

Mistake seven: lack of special legal knowledge

An entrepreneur should not only have a good knowledge of his product or service and the methods of its promotion, but also have at least a general idea of ​​the laws governing business activities in Russia. To help you understand the basics of this knowledge, we have prepared a series of articles for you, which we highly recommend reading:

In the process of activity, you will gradually begin to understand these issues, but at the start of a business, the mistakes of novice entrepreneurs when choosing a legal form, tax regime, registration of employees and relationships with partners can lead to serious financial losses and even become fatal.

Mistake eight: inability to delegate authority

“If you want everything to be done well, do it yourself!” - this phrase has ruined more than one startup. What happens if an entrepreneur believes that no one can do anything better than him? He himself has to look for and serve customers and customers, negotiate with suppliers, accept goods, deal with accounting, documents and other routine. The workers are all, as if by choice, slow, irresponsible and stupid.

Perhaps it is so, but hiring the wrong employees is the mistake of the businessman himself. Remember Steve Jobs: "We hire smart people to tell us what to do." It is impossible to build a business without a well-coordinated team of professionals, so finding and attracting such people is one of the main tasks of a novice entrepreneur.

Define areas of responsibility and assign them to employees. Part of the functions, for example, accounting, can be given to Where possible, introduce a flexible wage system - a small fixed salary and percentages for meeting indicators (sales, services, production volume). And moderate your perfectionism a bit - even if something is not done as perfectly as you think, but the business is developing, then everything is in order.

Mistake nine: unwillingness to enter into a business partnership

About 70% of LLCs in Russia are registered by a single founder, i.e. the partner business model is not taking root well with us. Moreover, partnerships are avoided even where it would be justified. Why? First of all, start-up entrepreneurs are unwilling to share the expected profit, although at the start of a business this is tantamount to sharing the skin of an unkilled bear. Another good reason is possible disagreements in the joint management of the business and personal problems in communication. To a certain extent, it can be recognized that the specificity of the Russian mentality is to mix personal and business relationships, and this is not always beneficial. But after all, many successful projects, especially in the West, are developing precisely according to the partnership model.

Let's see what a good business partner can offer you:

• resources and investments;
• business experience;
• business connections;
• skills you don't have, such as sales;
• unique business idea, invention, patent;
• emotional support.

Yes, it is possible that it is not so easy to choose your business partner, but it is wrong to refuse profitable cooperation just because you are afraid of possible problems. Of course, all the conditions of a joint business must be carefully discussed before the start of activities, be sure to fix them in writing. Also keep in mind that an equal partnership, when the shares in the company are distributed equally, can lead to a stalemate in case of disagreement. It is desirable that one of the partners be the main one and bear the main responsibility for business development.

Mistake #10: Giving up early

If you have read the inspiring success stories of famous entrepreneurs, you know that almost every one of them has had to go through a series of big and small failures. But only the one who gets up one time more than he falls wins. You don't have to look far for examples - the business portal you are on now also developed through crises. Learn firsthand - from team leader Alexander Raptovsky.

We would love to hear from you stories of overcoming difficulties and successes, and perhaps it will be you who someday will tell aspiring entrepreneurs about the mistakes to avoid when starting a business.

As part of the interview, we asked business consultant Mark Berman to give some advice to a budding entrepreneur.

Opportunities for the development of entrepreneurial activity - where, what, how not to miss?

The main thing is to understand that there are no worthy or unworthy, useful or useless opportunities. There is your predisposition and there is laziness.

Not so much, work with what you have on hand.

You need to use all the opportunities provided. Study the entire information environment of your future business activities in order not to miss the slightest potential opportunity for its development.

Any little thing can be useful.

Recently, a small redesign of the premises was done for one client, the step and threshold were removed at the entrance. The number of people entering the store has grown, so have sales. Step, Carl!

What is your motivation for not losing heart when solving problems that arise?

Any business is fraught with problems or flow difficulties - this is a normal process. Problem is a challenge, it is a chance to improve. A problem is an opportunity for growth.

If you understand this, then look at the difficulties from a different angle.

Do you need friends in business?
All successful entrepreneurs - including myself - insist that good business acquaintances and business friendships should be present in life. Contacts mean opportunities, more communication equals a larger circle of potential customers, partners, etc.

You need to regularly remind yourself with congratulations on holidays, make friendly business visits, take an interest in the success of others in business, etc.

How to choose the right assistants or partners for your business?

People who will work for an entrepreneur should not just want to work and earn money, they should be like-minded people who share your ideas and goals. Only in this case it will be possible to use their working potential to the maximum.

That's what I just said - something like this is written in textbooks. Nonsense all this. You and your employees always have different goals. Globally - one - to make money, but if in detail, then the employee on the salary does not care how successfully you organized the business.

But, look for interested people, if this is intellectual work, and if this is a seller, then the ability to communicate is enough.

It's more about employee motivation. And the methods are standard: a stick and a carrot - someone is helped by a salary increase depending on sales, but someone needs to be yelled at.

How does it relate to the criticism of others, who most often do not believe in your success?

If you don't pay me, then I don't care what you think of my business. If you pay me, then I will study your dissatisfaction and try to improve my business.

It depends little on useless critics, more precisely, it depends exactly to the extent that you yourself attach importance to it.

There are cases of planned information attacks, but this is out of the realm of competition.

After all, business is a kind of work, I don’t think it’s some kind of business where subjective opinion is very important. Objectivity is important here: there is sufficient profit - the business is successful.

• Evgeny Chichvarkin, creator of Euroset: People work to get money. Money is a means of achieving freedom. If the money you earn with pleasure allows you to fill your life with impressions and satisfy your passion for knowledge, life is a success. If you work in such a way that you don’t see white light, why are you working?”
• Paul Getty, an American industrialist, one of the first dollar billionaires in history: First make money, and then think about how to spend it - this is the best rule for people striving for success.
• , American industrialist, owner of factories for the production
  cars around the world, inventor: Invest in yourself. I never saved a dollar in my life until I was forty.
• Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda: I believe that success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success is only 1 percent of your work, and the other 99 percent is failure.
• Ruben Vardanyan, co-head of Sberbank CIB: If you are not ready to change and leave, do not try to run your own business.
• Tigran Telunts, General Director of the canning holding Uncle Vanya: We need to start doing business. Overcome the fear of loss of stability, leaving work, lack of salary. After all, in business you need to be able to earn not only for yourself, but also for the team. If there was no fear of loss, then everyone would probably be an entrepreneur.
• watson senior, founder of IBM: Double the number of mistakes.
• , one of the founders and former largest shareholder of the company: If your business is now off the Internet, then you do not have a business!
• , American entrepreneur, philanthropist, the first dollar billionaire in the history of mankind: Earn a reputation, and it will work for you.

1. Don't wait a moment - start now.
2. Start with what you have and gradually refine the product.
3. Don't be in a hurry to spend.
4. Work on returns, hook the client.
5. Study your sales funnel. Consider each step for expansion.
6. Write down business processes, get ready to scale.
7. Learn from colleagues: .

Life hacks for beginner businessmen

There is a lot of talk about supporting young and not so start-up entrepreneurs, we have all heard about various federal programs to promote the organization. At the same time, many people are very skeptical about such projects.

What can a young man who decides to open his own business really count on? Let's try to figure it out.

What kind of help can a start-up entrepreneur get?

Several options and directions of support are possible. Let's start with the most attractive and tempting - with grants and subsidies.

Financial assistance, loans and gratuitous grants are the most desired type of assistance. In fact, there are two main ways to get money, they are relevant for the whole of Russia.

60 thousand to start a business

A fairly well-known program to support small businesses, or rather, the transformation from the unemployed to. They give out not 60 thousand rubles, but 58,800 - this is the annual amount of unemployment benefits. This program is absolutely working (no wonder - the amount is small, and this money is paid by law to the unemployed anyway).

To get this money to start your own business, you need to go through a series of steps. To some, they may seem tedious and superfluous, but in such a situation there are pluses: namely, additional knowledge on the organization of the case.

What needs to be done to get 60 thousand for a business?

Here are the main steps:

1. Registration at the local employment center as unemployed, confirmation of this status (in some cases, you have to go to interviews repeatedly to demonstrate that you are looking for a job).

2. Submission of an application for participation in the program of self-employment of the population. Further stages are already carried out under the supervision of employees of the employment center.

3. (Not in all regions) After the application, you undergo a short training - the basics of doing business, as well as psychological testing that reveals a propensity for self-employment, private entrepreneurship.

4. Consideration of a business plan by a special commission. In the case of a satisfactory assessment, the grant can be considered received.

5. Registration of IP, standard procedures.

6. After receiving a certificate of registration (usually within a month), money is transferred to the bank account - the same 60 thousand (more precisely - 58800) rubles.

7. At the end of the quarter, you must provide a report on the use of the money received.

Is it worth applying for such "lifting"? It depends on whether you are ready to go through all bureaucratic procedures for the sake of this money (of course, you need to register as an emergency in any case) and whether you consider the proposed training useful.

Grants from regional authorities

In many regions, business project competitions are also regularly held, the winners of the competition have the opportunity to receive a gratuitous grant in the amount of a more serious one - about 300 - 500 thousand rubles. The competition in such competitions is usually very high, but with a serious approach, it is quite possible to become one of the winners, especially if you make efforts for high-quality design and presentation of the project, and also take into account that projects that have the maximum chance of winning:

• socially significant;
• involve the use of grant funds for the acquisition of liquid assets (machines, equipment, vehicles);
• create additional jobs.

Non-financial support

In addition to the actual money for the development of the business, government agencies allow you to use their other services. So, many business incubators have already been created that can offer beginners, for example, the following:

• lease of premises for offices at a reduced price;
• analysis and evaluation of projects;
• advice on taxation and the choice of legal form.

Moreover, getting help in such a business incubator is usually quite simple - few people know about them, and therefore such structures usually work with “underload”.

Thus, it is quite realistic for a novice businessman to receive certain services and funds from the state. Although, of course, the volume of such support can never be compared with full-fledged loans from banks. On the other hand, the support of the incubator can become an additional argument when the bank considers whether or not to issue a loan to you.

Andrew Griffiths

Andrew Griffiths is an unusual businessman. His parents left him six months after birth, so Andrew does not know the exact date of his birth. A difficult childhood did not prevent Griffiths from realizing his own dreams. Now he is a famous business coach and consultant helping entrepreneurs earn the coveted million. His portfolio includes talks at the Million Dollar Round Table, TEDx and 11 bestselling books on marketing and entrepreneurship.

1. Don't listen to the naysayers

Andrew Griffiths admits: most of his friends from the marketing world were adamant and advised not to. However, he ignored the skeptical remarks and did what he wanted. The first book was still written and published. It became commercially successful all over the world and brought Griffiths popularity and wealth. Since then, he has published 10 more bestsellers.

2. Pursue your goals

Getting out of bed in the morning, you should clearly know why you are doing it. Check your goals and aspirations daily. Sometimes you will feel that your desires are changing. In this case, you need to find out why this is happening.

Your daily and affairs should be organized in accordance with the global goal. If it changes, then so does your schedule.

3. Avoid Common Mistakes

Modern entrepreneurs are impatient and often give up long before their business is successful. You need to find your niche and do everything to occupy it. Then the business will work.

Another common mistake: entrepreneurs do not talk about themselves and their business. But after all, many consumers want to know everything about it.

By the way, Angela Ahrendts, Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Trade, also speaks about the importance of talking about your own company:

As the world becomes both more complex and connected, stories have an amazing ability to nurture, connect, and inspire. With the tools of the digital age in place, I believe that the future of storytelling may be even richer and more significant than its past.

Andrew Griffiths advises: you need to realize how your business is different from any other, and tell your customers about it in order to stand out from the rest.

4. Treat Problems as Opportunities

The problem should be regarded as a new opportunity. But you need to be ready for this. Identify bad scenarios and figure out how you can respond to them in each case. What will be the biggest damage? Maybe your company will only get better in the face of a disaster? It should not be taken as a sign that it is time for your business to change. You need to learn how to use critical situations to develop your company.

When I was 20, I lost $50,000. A little later, I realized that this was an investment in the future that would save me a fortune in a few years.

Andrew Griffiths

5. Don't Forget Reputation

Honesty and a good reputation are very important for an entrepreneur: they will feed you. Therefore, be careful when choosing partners. Respect people. Constantly . Lay the foundation for future steps and perspectives. Be patient. Make acquaintances.

Help people get what they want and they will definitely give you what you want.

6. Learn to empathize

Put yourself in other people's shoes. Think not of yourself, but of how to help the people who listen to you. Before you start talking, ask yourself what you can do for your interlocutor.