Rules for New Entrepreneurs – Practical Tips For Starting Right :

It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur in the last decade; technology has levelled the playing field and propelled an entrepreneurial revolution. As an entrepreneur, you now have more access to information that enables you to make more intelligent choices more quickly.

You have an advantage over big businesses in that you’re lighter, more flexible, and faster on your feet. You can target new markets more quickly, and you can turn on a sixpence.

But being a successful entrepreneur requires that you look at the big picture and follow a plan through from beginning to end. Rieva Lesonsky, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine gives some practical guidelines that can help you when beginning your own enterprise:

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Consider starting your business part-time, especially if it’s online, while you’re working and have a steady income. It usually takes six months to a year to get a business going and you don’t want your ability to make your house payment to hinge upon your company being an overnight success. Start with what you can manage, financially and time-wise, and scale up as your business grows.

You don’t even need office space these days. Set up a home office in your garage, spare room or just a corner in the kitchen. It doesn’t matter as long as you have some peace and quiet and of course your laptop and internet.

Find Your Niche

The days of general stores are over. Particularly online, consumers are looking for stores that specialize. You have to find a need, something a specific group of people want but can’t get at the big chain stores, and fill it. Advises Lesonsky, You can’t compete with the big guys, so you have to find where the big guys aren’t and go into your niches.

Try a few different niches until one works for you. Although it helps, you don’t even have to have a strong interest in the particular niche, just an interest in becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Have an Online Presence

Even if you’re not planning to start an online retail business consider that the internet can still play a valuable role in your company. Having an online presence eliminates the limitations of physical location and broadens your customer base by, literally, millions. It’s also a great tool for promoting yourself and letting people, even in your own area, know that you’re there, and what you’re doing.

A website is ideal and don’t forget social media. Combine the two and you have a sure fire start to becoming recognised.

Refuse to Quit

Successful entrepreneurship requires creativity, energy, and a drive to keep going when you fail. Few people realize that before Bill Gates created the extremely successful Microsoft 3.0, he created a Microsoft 1.0 and 2.0, both of which flopped but he kept at it.

And that determination and refusal to give up is what will separate successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones. Says Lesonsky, Arm yourself with optimism to get beyond the No or the trouble. There’s nothing wrong in failure just don’t repeat the same mistake!

And most importantly remember this: Every time you fall down but decide get up and carry on, someone else falls down and quits. And if that someone else is in your niche that’s one less to worry about!