Are you about to start a business? Perhaps you already own a company and you’re now looking for ways to grow your enterprise?
Success tips for young and aspiring entrepreneurs in Uganda.
If so, it sounds like you’re ready to take on the necessary risks in the hope of making a healthy profit. The road to success is a bumpy one so let’s run through some tips and tricks that can help young and aspiring entrepreneurs reach their goals.
Know Where You Stand Financially
All businesses need cash to survive so you have to know where you stand financially before creating a business plan. Do you have personal savings that you could use to fund operations in the early days? Do you have a life insurance policy that you can sell?
What does your personal balance sheet look like? These are all things to consider when it comes to getting into a better financial position.
Have Self-Belief
If you don’t believe in yourself, you can hardly expect other people too. Be confident, listen to your intuition, and trust that you’ll make the right decisions. People are more likely to trust and follow someone who shows leadership traits so be that person. No one wants to do business with someone who is uncertain and fearful so don’t be that person.
Headed over Lions Bridge and made our way to the Sofia Synagogue, then sheltered in the Central Market Hall until the recurrent (but short-lived) mid-afternoon rain passed.
Feeling refreshed after an espresso, we walked a short distance to the small but welcoming Banya Bashi Mosque, then descended into the ancient Serdica complex.
We were exhausted after a long day of travel, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed.
I had low expectations about Sofia as a city, but after the walking tour I absolutely loved the place. This was an easy city to
Don’t Be Afraid
Fear will prevent you from taking action. You have to be able to react fast and take action when you see an opportunity and when you know you’ve made a mistake. If you’re a particularly cautious person in other areas of your life, you need to learn to reduce and manage those feelings.
Firstly, identify what it is you’re afraid of. Next, determine the worst-case scenario and focus on your ‘why’. Why are you feeling so fearful? Why are you setting up a business and what is it that drives you to succeed? What is your end goal at the end of all of this?
Visualize Your Goals
Many successful entrepreneurs believe that if you can see it, you can achieve it. Visualizing is a hugely popular technique that has taken the business world by storm. See your end goal and pay attention to the finer details.
Choose an amount you want to make and visualize yourself buying the car you’ve always wanted. Create an image in your brain of the clients you want to work with and see the figures you want to be made in 5, even 10 years’ time.
Doing this will subconsciously train your brain to do what it takes to reach those goals.
Be Decisive
Pondering delays action. Over-thinking will prevent you from taking risks. Talking too much leads to overthinking. The most successful entrepreneurs in the world are decisive and they act.
Don’t get caught up in planning for all eventualities and considering the outcome of each opportunity that comes your way. You’ll get nothing done if all your time is spent discussing and planning. Make decisions and you’ll make things happen.
Learn How to Manage Your Time
Possessing and displaying time management skills is essential if you want to succeed in business. Each day, start by setting goals that are achievable and quantifiable. Prioritize those tasks and create a list.
Set a time to complete each task and take breaks in-between so procrastination doesn’t have time to set in. Review your day and start goal setting for tomorrow.
Work with A Mentor
You’re young and you most likely have no experience in the business world so doesn’t it make sense to learn from someone who was where you are – someone who has grown to become super successful?
A mentor can save you time and money, as you’ll be able to learn from their mistakes. He/she can help to keep you accountable and ensure you’re leveraging each opportunity that comes your way.
Know Your Customer
You would be amazed at how many business owners don’t know their customers and fail for this very reason. You need to know your customer and understand his/her wants, needs, and characteristics.
Is your ideal customer male, female or both? What age range are you targeting? What triggers your customer to press that ‘buy’ button? What does your target market want from your product/service? What is the best way to grab their attention?
These are all questions to ask in order to get a better picture of who your ideal customer is and how you’re going to sell your product to them.
Always Listen to Complaints
When a customer complains, he/she is highlighting a problem that you need to address. Whether it’s in relation to your product/service or your brand, take each complaint seriously and investigate ways to fix that issue.
By gauging customer satisfaction through complaints, you can determine whether your business meets, falls short of, or surpasses the expectations of your target market.
Self-Promote
Most people avoid self-promotion at the risk of sounding egotistical but who will promote your business if you don’t? There is a difference between being egotistical and self-promotion.
Have what they call a 60-second elevator pitch and be ready to self-promote whenever the opportunity presents itself. Identify some key stats about your business and present the info in a factual way, not a cocky way.
Network
If you want your business to reach its full potential, you should never shy away from networking. Attend meet-up events, go to tradeshows, post on social media, join forums, and chat with people when you’re out and about.
The woman in front of you in the coffee line might just be the CEO of a large company that you’d like to go into partnership with. The guy sitting beside you at an event may just be another entrepreneur from who you can learn.
Opportunity is everywhere so be open to having a five-minute chat with the people you meet in your everyday life.