Don’t forget to plan ahead
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Editor’s note: Entrepreneurship is a career that requires enthusiasm, but only enthusiasm is not enough. You need to think carefully before you rush into this field to realize your dreams. The author lists 20 questions. Can calm down and take a good look at your entrepreneurial enthusiasm. This article is translated from medium, article author Nicolas Cole, original title 20 Things You Should Ask Yourself If You’re Wondering If Entrepreneurship Is Right for You.
Image Source: Nicolas Cole Instagram
The dream of entrepreneurship lies in the minds of those who are aspiring – those who believe they can pick up the stars.
They see how they are successful.
They know what they want to build – even if they don’t know what they want to build, they know what they want to build!
But before you pick up your sleeves and prepare to join the entrepreneurial tide, I think you should ask yourself these 20 questions first.
Otherwise, you may be able to smash a bone in the process of leaping into the sky.
1. Do you know what you want to build?
I think the first mistake most entrepreneurs make is that they even raise money (or put their money into startup money) even before they know what they really want to build.
Why are you doing that? A decision like this will make you use entrepreneurship as a testing ground rather than a stage to realize your dreams.
2. Do you have a reliable source of income?
If you are starting your business for the first time, you want to jump out of your nine-to-five life and put all your time into your career. Do you have a way to make your daily life not affected?
Do you have any plans for this?
This is a thing that requires you to plan in the long run. Believe me, this is very important.
3. Is your network strong enough?
When you take the step of starting a business, is there a group of people who can seek advice?
Or someone who can seek feedback?
Or can you recommend your people to potential customers?
Don’t overlook the importance of buying people.
4. Have you tested your professional ethics?
One big mistake for aspiring entrepreneurs is that they put themselves in a free environment, but they have never tested whether they have the ability to make the most of it.
So I advise you to test your professional ethics before you start a business.
5. Do you have a retreat?
How much are you saved?
How much working capital do you have?
What is your daily expenses?
If everything goes wrong during the startup process, can you guarantee that you can eat at least?
6. Do you have enough income before you are ready to start a business?
Think about it, apart from the retreat, do you have any other business that will make you live?
7. What is your long-term goal?
You don’t have to give a perfect answer, but you have at least a few in your long-term goals.
How do you be able to pay for your daily expenses while working towards your ultimate goal?
8. Can you be qualified to work for the marketing staff, executives and accountants of your own company?
If you have never done these three things, even if you are doing your own small projects, it is best to have a basic understanding of these three types of work.
9. Do you have a mentor who can always ask for help?
When you take the step of starting a business, it is vital that one or two mentors provide guidance and advice around you.
After all, you can’t know how to do everything, you need their help.
10. What do you expect from the daily schedule?
Whenever 24 hours a day belongs to you, how are you going to spend it?
It’s a dangerous strategy to be alone in the apartment – believe me, you will lose your mind at some point.
11. Who can you work with to achieve your goals faster?
Which of the entrepreneurial projects you want to work with, who can you exchange ideas with, or with whom, or with whom, to achieve goals faster?
12. What is your marketing strategy?
Now you are responsible for finding your own customers or selling your own products/services. What are you going to do?
How do you plan to sell yourself and let others accept you?
Are you acting in this direction? (If not, hurry to act!)
13. Can you prove that you have a collaborator?
Even if your plan is to be a freelancer, do you have evidence that people want to work with you? (The evidence must be the exact person who works with you.)
14. How do you measure your success?
If you are a startup, how do you prove to your investors that their money is not being squandered? If you are a freelancer, how do you evaluate the success of the first year? If you are selling products, what is your profit target?
So, you must have an indicator to measure your success or not!
15. How much do you want to achieve your goals?
The life of an entrepreneur is not easy.
You will face many problems in the process of starting a business. So you need to know how much you want to achieve before you really take this step. are you ready? Are you willing to sleep on the sofa? Are you willing to work hard and do everything possible to realize your dreams?
16. How much are you willing to pay for your dreams?
On the basis of the previous point, ask where is your own bottom line?
Do you want to move to all parts of the country? Will you invest all your money in your dreams?
How much do you really want to achieve your dreams?
17. What shortcomings have you been making up recently?
If you think you have or can solve all the problems, then you are very wrong.
The self-styled step is the most dangerous thing, no one. Therefore, we must keep our minds open and keep the habit of continuing to learn.
18. How do you maintain a reasonable balance of payments?
A reasonable income and expenditure does not just mean “saving money”.
If you save money too much, you may miss the opportunity to grow and expand. But if you spend money like water, it may not be very suitable.
So, you need to be flexible under reasonable expenses and make the necessary adjustments to achieve different goals to ensure that every penny is used.
19. How do you prioritize what you have to do every day?
Once you can schedule your own time, you need to prioritize what you are facing.
What are you going to do? What is your current goal? What can be postponed until later?
20. What if you fail?
Of course, you may not like to listen to this question, but the good medicine is badly swearing, so you must think about it.
Can you cheer yourself up? If you are involved in an entrepreneurial project,Can you accept it as you think? Are you starting a business and acting to learn something?
What is the purpose of your business?
Before you take action, be sure to ask yourself these questions.
They can be a valuable indicator of whether you are ready.
Translator: Xi Tang