Things I wish someone had told me, before I quit my high paying corporate job and launched a start-up.
Not that I’ve founded or co-founded a start-up, but yes, I am one on the list of people who quit their high paying corporate jobs to work in a start-up.
From a very young age, I loved the idea of starting a business. By the time I knew the risks involved, I already had a plan and the basics of launching my own start-up. The journey so far constitutes a number of ups and downs. Yet when I take a look back at the way I handled things, I wish someone would have told me about a certain fundamentals I missed in the beginning.
Not everything is meant for you
On a general note, people believe in being the Jack-Of-All-Trades and master of none. However, the reality is that mastering a particular trade comes at a price. Agree or not, you cannot be a pro at more than one skill. So even if you fail at something you’re not aware about, it’s okay to accept it and handle it to someone who probably has an experience or a thing for it.
Learn to say ‘No’
Hardly there are times when your peers or well-wishers suggest you to say ‘No’ to an opportunity. Even when you are unsure of how to work things out, you should never let the opportunity go- stands true, but only to an extent. If you keep saying yes to things, which you cannot deal with, or to things, which are simply out of your potential, it’s better to say “no’, irrespective of how much funds will it bring to your organization.
Why entrepreneurship
Being an entrepreneur is not easy. You need to put in a lot of effort and homework before you launch a business. And as far as time is concerned, there’s never a bad or good time to launch your enterprise, because you never know, what does the economy have in store for your industry. Take up entrepreneurship only if you can. The way is not going to be easy at all, especially during the early phase. You also need to have a team, which supports you and stands with you in every phase.
All about knowing people
The bigger is your professional network; more will be your connections and higher will be your company’s visibility. Be it the sort of relationship you already hold with your peers, clients, customers, and other contemporaries in the market, or something new that you’re trying to build up with other of those, your success depends totally on how well do you know about what the other side precisely wants.
Expansion happens with time
There’s no disagreeing to the fact that budding entrepreneurs want their enterprise to grow at the fastest possible rate. An entrepreneur’s life is full of innovations and strategies. Checking on your company’s progress everyday is as important as learning about what is keeping it from growing. Knowing your drawbacks and working on it at the earliest will not just help you achieve success faster, but will also give you an insight into the trending things in market.
Does not matter which industry does your start-up belong to, does not matter if you already have funds or are looking for an investor for your company, the process of learning never stops. You learn from your mistakes and that is how you lead your enterprise.
