As new companies launch every day, and business website headlines trumpet the latest and greatest success stories related to entrepreneurship, it’s no surprise that aspiring business leaders find motivation in these messages and set out to start their own ventures. Some succeed, some fail, all due to a variety of factors.
Fortunately, there are many role models out there to provide inspiration to those who want to create their own destinies. They include many individuals who also started small and turned an idea or a passion into a success story of their own. In fact, a large percentage of today’s top companies, including many of those that have become household names, have roots in garages, kitchen tables or tiny rental spaces across Canada and North America. Name just a few that you can think of and it’s likely that it started small and grew big.
But how do you, the person who wants to establish a company, plot out that same course for yourself? Many top business leaders say that there’s a lot to consider.
“There are several factors involved,” says Toronto’s John Fielding. “First and foremost, you have to be willing to work hard, and for long hours. Entrepreneurs devote a huge amount of time to getting their companies started.”
John Fielding adds that knowing your customers, competitors and marketplace is necessary if your company is going to grow. “It also helps to be a creative thinker so you can provide well-developed and distinctive, if not unique, products and services to your customers,” says Fielding. “Timing can be an important factor as well; when to get in and when to get out, if need be.”
During the early days you’re going to be figuring things out and having experiences that you’ve not encountered before. New challenges will be there and it’s important to address them so that your company continues to run well and stay on the success track. Use these experiences as ways to become a more effective CEO.
“Think you know it all? Think again,” writes Rob Young, head of digital at Moo.com UK. “There’s always more to learn, so be wary of becoming too complacent. Everything you learn is an opportunity to improve your business. That goes for mistakes as well—all startups will suffer from mistakes, but the entrepreneurs that learn from them are likely to be in the successful 25 percent.”
When you launch a new company, there’s a level of eagerness to get it out into the world and begin doing business. But before you do that, it’s important to ensure that it’s ready to begin serving customers. You’ll want to get started on the right foot by having everything in place, from your business plan to your products, services and delivery systems so that everything runs smoothly.
“Early enthusiasm about your new business is great, but it is best tempered with some caution and prudence,” writes Mary Juetten, founder and CEO of Traklight. “It’s better to take a cautious approach to getting things right before rolling them out than to have your first impression to the world be one with a buggy website or a product that isn’t quite ready for market.”
