Entrepreneurship is a struggle, and anybody who tells you different never tried to start a business. Join Jay on today’s Black Entrepreneur Blueprint podcast # 394 as he gives you 10 tips to help keep your entrepreneurial dreams come true. GET YOUR ENTREPRENEUR RESOURCES AT https://blackentrepreneurblueprint.com/
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BLACK ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT SHOW NOTES – EPISODE # 394
Nobody understands your dreams more than you because your dreams were given to you and not anybody else.
- Have you ever felt like quitting?
- Have you ever felt you weren’t successful because you didn’t know enough?
- Do you feel that entrepreneurship is too hard?
One of the worst feelings on earth is when your business collapses and your dreams die. It’s like losing a family member. In my 20 plus years as an entrepreneur and over 17 businesses, I’ve seen my share of success and failure.
- Identify Your Why – your “why” is the fuel that drives you. If you don’t have a clear understanding of your “why,” the chances of you succeeding are exponentially reduced. Your “why” is more that – I just want to make more money, or I hate my job. You need to get deeper and uncover the “what does it mean,” that’s the foundation of your “why.” EXAMPLE: I want to build this ecommerce business so I can stay home with my children. I want to create passive income in real estate so I can build generational wealth for my children and create generational wealth. I want to build my mobile car wash business so I can get my family into a better neighborhood or environment.
- Who do you want to serve and why? – As business owners we are serving a particular segment of people or businesses (if you’re B2B). Who do you want to serve and why? EXAMPLE: I want to serve the Black entrepreneur community because I am a part of that community and I understand how important Black owned businesses are for our progress to build an economic power base.
- Find the right product or service to sell – Have you done a proof of concept or testing yet? What product or service are you selling? Who needs your product or service? What problem are you solving? Are you in the right industry or vertical (you don’t want to sell coal powered automobiles, do you)? Do people really want your product or service?
- Prepare to be successful – you prepare to be successful by doing the work required Learning (always continue to increase your education and your skill set), Planning (create your business plan and write down your ideas, researching opportunities (what are some new opportunities that I can leverage – electronic vehicles market), testing- proof of concept, find a mentor or a guide
- Start with small wins – many times our goals are so big or robust to hit that we don’t give ourselves the small wins we need to keep us motivated. EXAMPLE: your first ecommerce sale is a small win, you met your sales projections for the day (not week, or month, but day), you completed your business plan.
- Set realistic goals and measure your progress – make sure you have realistic goals – goals that are attainable but yet stretch you just enough where you have to really work to reach them. Many new entrepreneurs have unrealistic goals and when they don’t come anywhere near them they get frustrated. EXAMPLE: Zulu condoms goal was to take 15% of the condom market in the first year. Lol
- Surround Yourself with positive people and likeminded people – being an entrepreneur is tough enough, but if you surround yourself with negative people that don’t support your dream they will only bring you down. You want to find a network of like minded entrepreneurs that speak the same language as you do – called “BOSS.” Not many people speak that language or understand it, it’s foreign to most people.
- Build your platform from day one and exponentially increase your chances of success – platform building is the long game, and many entrepreneurs don’t understand the importance of your platform or have the patience to create one. A platform is a way to communicate with your audience and is something you own (podcast, website, blog, newsletter, database, etc). When you own your platform you are in control and you have multiple revenue opportunities to help grow your business.
- You must be consistent – you must be consistent in your actions to grow your business. Consistently work on your business, consistently provide quality content for your audience, consistently communicate with your audience, consistently improve your products and services, consistently improve your business.
- Treat Your Business like a business not a hobby – many entrepreneurs treat their business like it’s a hobby. You get out what you put in. don’t expect to create a full-time income with part-time work. Take the time to make your business look like a real business and not a hobby. EXAMPLE: get a professional email account, not a gmail account. Have some sort of website presence even if it’s just a landing page
RESOURCES TO HELP YOU
Need Help starting & growing Your Business – BEBAcademy.com (course on setting up your business, marketing, finance, etc)
Don’t know what business to start – Pinpoint & Monetize Your Genius (if you don’t know what kind of business to start follow your “genius” the intersection of your passion & talent)
Want to start a successful eCommerce business – BBAElite.com (Brand Builder Academy Elite) 15-week implementation program that takes you from A-Z.
