7 Smart Things To Know if You’re Starting a New Business Venture   

After launching a content marketing agency less than a year ago, to say it has been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done is an understatement. And just as no one gives you a manual on how to be a parent, no one gives you a manual on how to start and run a successful business.

So here are seven business lessons learned (often the hard way), that have helped me stay the course and achieve personal and financial goals:

1.  Without Passion and Purpose, it’s Just Another Job
Do something you are passionate about, and that gives you a higher purpose — a purpose other than just making money. This passion and sense of purpose that will help you through the difficulties and stresses you will face in your entrepreneurial journey. Considering that we as entrepreneurs face adversity each and every day, we need to be able to dig deep and find that strength and resilience from somewhere. Easily knowing the “why” makes it easier to tolerate all the pressures that come our way.

2. Outsource if You Need To
Delegate and outsource work if and when you can, particularly if you are looking to scale quickly. While it is noble to want to do everything yourself such as creating a website, doing PR and digital marketing, you should focusing “on” your business rather than just working “in” it (i.e. you need to see the forest and not be too distracted by the trees). By outsourcing the stuff you don’t really need to be doing yourself, your business will grow faster. For example, consider hiring an assistant to look after the day-to-day management of your social media accounts. The time you save by having someone else do the work could be better spent on other things such as business development or closing sales.

3. Be Careful Whom you Listen To
We all have friends and family who care and want what’s best for us. But the truth is that many of them operate from a place of fear, and sometimes fear can be disguised as concern. And when it comes to running a business, fear should be the last thing that drives your decisions. Had I listened to every well-intentioned friend and relative, I probably wouldn’t have had the boldness to launch my own business.

This is why when you’re making business decisions, be careful about who you seek advice from — and with whom you discuss business matters, particularly in the early stages, when you are at your most vulnerable.

4. Forget the 9-5
While going into business for yourself means you get to determine the hours you work, when you’re in business for yourself, there is no such thing as working 9-5. Working a minimum of 10-12 hours a day, six days a week is not unusual for most start-up entrepreneurs. And at the beginning, you will be working harder than you’ve ever worked in your life until everything settles down and you can finally take the foot off the accelerator.

But don’t worry — because a 10-hour day working for yourself is not like working an 8-hour day for someone else. It is way more rewarding!

5. Deal with Stress Naturally
Running a business is far from easy. As an employee working in a cubicle, performing duties as per the job description, you are paid to fulfil the requirements of your position. But as a business owner you are responsible for everything. There are customers to attend to, bills to pay, positions to fill, advertisements to create, contractors to pay, staff to train, and complaints to resolve. No wonder business owners suffer burn out!

To combat the health issues that arise from high stress, try practicing daily meditation and yoga. It helps calm the mind, forces you to relax, and ensures that you focus on just the here and now. 

6. Marketing is Essential
To stand out from the crowd as a new business, you need to be different, and you need to market yourself so your brand is visible. And you need to market yourself to differentiate yourself from competitors — or as marketing guru Seth Godin describes, be a “purple cow.” The reason why the biggest brands invest millions of dollars each year on marketing and advertising is for this very reason — they want to make sure you remember who they are. They know that in order to remain top of mind with customers, they need to invest in marketing. And if they’re investing time and resources on it, you should be too.

7. Surround Yourself with Positive Vibes
Every day the world throws obstacles at your feet as if to test how much you really want it. One negative word from a well-intentioned family member. One look at the bank balance. One sales rejection. One customer complaint. One sleepless night. One little thing can crack open a sea of fear, insecurities and doubts and before you know it, your positive emotions have been hijacked.

So make sure to surround yourself with people who understand what you’re trying to achieve. Surround yourself with people who have “can-do” attitudes. Listen to inspiring podcasts. Flick through entrepreneurial magazines. Read motivational books. Doing these things will help you to deal with the many challenges that will surface (and they will surface).  And when they do, know that if you follow all or some of this advice, it should make it easier to get back to that place where you remember the higher purpose of your entrepreneurial mission, and can dissolve the challenges and doubts in your way.