6 Ways To Boost Chances of Success When Starting A Business

By Maciej Godlewski

You’ve had it working for others.  As in…done…finished.   So, you’ve decided to launch a business!  You’ve read the “when is the right time“and the “how to switch careers during your day job” posts. You’ve a also played the Braveheart speech a few times. You’re officially ready, but starting to feel panicky because you don’t know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing.  So, take a deep breath, find your Zen, mindfully absorb these 6 recommendations, and you just might increase your chances of success as an entrepreneur.

6 Steps You Should Take When Starting a Business

The steps vary in amount of time and effort you might have to put in, but they’re worth doing. Trust me, do the first one below no matter how much you’re dreading it.

1. Talk about it with your partner – This can be the toughest of all the steps. It’s vital that you and your partner are both on the same page. It’s infinitely easier to have two economic oars in the water, so make sure your partner is okay with you “stowing an oar” so you can build a better future. Getting your partner’s buy-in will minimize stress down the road.
2. Build up your savings – Many financial advisors suggest having 3-6 months in emergency savings on hand. If you can, have closer to a year of savings because things always take longer than expected. You want to give yourself sufficient time to succeed.
3. Start small on nights and weekends – Minimize your risks by working nights and weekends on small projects. If you’re really passionate about the work and can convince others of your skills, they’ll hire you to help them as a consultant. This builds your savings faster.
4. Tap into the entrepreneur community – You are not alone. In your community and online there are others launching businesses just like you’re doing. Learn about their journies. Hearing their stories will give you ideas and help you avoid their mistakes. I recommend to start going to Meetup and Ultralight Startupsevents.
5. Seek out specialized advisors – Leverage the Ivy Exec Mentor Network, to tap into advice from senior executives. Find mentors who have started a business and ask for their guidance. If you want to ‘disrupt’ an industry, connect with a mentor in that industry and get invaluable ideas on what is broken.
6. Get some help from nonprofits – Get help with the logistics of starting a business from experienced counselors by going to your local SCORE office, a nonprofit affiliated with the Small Business Administration. In my opinion they’re strongest in general business tactics/approaches, e.g., whether you should do an LLC or an S Corp.

When you launch a business, there will be days you won’t know what you should be doing. That’s okay.  It’s part of being an entrepreneur. It’s better than living a life of “shoulda, woulda, coulda’s.” Years from now you’ll look back and be thankful  you had the courage to make the leap!

Do you have suggestions about resources that worked well for you when you started a business? Or, resources you’ve heard of?  Let us know in the comments below.

About the Author

This article was contributed by Maciej Godlewski, the CEO and Founder of Fired Up Digital, a digital marketing firm in New York City. Maciej writes on entrepreneurship and career issues facing the digital workers of tomorrow.