Is your job getting you down? Are you tired of the rat-race day after day, year after year? Do you wish that you could just quit and start over as your own boss? If you are thinking about entrepreneurship then read on.

In every venture, there are pros and cons and what works for one person may not work for another. The tips included here are to serve as guidelines to help you identify your own strengths, weaknesses and how to work with or around them. Remember, being an entrepreneur is not for everyone, but if you feel confident enough to give it a go then have your basics in place.

Top tips

• Clarity: Be clear about your product and what your business model is.
• Clientele: Identify your market, this includes making sure that there is, in fact, a market for your service or product. Find the best strategies to target your market and convert them into clients.
• Finance: Can you actually afford to quit your day job and start a company? Examine all your options; work for another year to save enough money to fund yourself, take a loan, or find an investor.
• Business Acumen: It is important to have a concrete business plan in place, for this you should understand how a business works. Take some time to study and understand the business models of your competitors and learn what works and what doesn’t.
• Network: Find yourself a support system; mentors with the various expertise you might require. Just because you choose to be your own boss doesn’t mean you have to do it all alone, ask for help when you need it.
• Do you like what you are doing? It is all well and good to choose a product or service that sells well but it would help if you actually enjoyed what you have chosen to do. If you are passionate about your business then it no longer feels like work and it makes all the effort worth your while.

The best approach 

Once you have everything in place and are ready to get started there are a few things to keep in mind:

• It could take a little while for your business to take off, don’t get disheartened but set a realistic time limit for how long you will give it to work.
• Allow yourself to think of your first venture as a trial round. It might prove to be a roaring success, or it might not. Learn from your failure.
• Some way into the business you might realize that this is something you don’t really enjoy, it’s OK to consider shutting it down.
• Rope in family and friends to help spread the word and generate sales.
• You could opt to do a few free promotions to attract the first few customers and provide a service so good that they keep coming back. Happy customers are also more likely to recommend you, so make sure the product quality is exceptional.

Becoming an entrepreneur takes some work and there are no short-cuts, but when done right the results can be very rewarding.

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