Imagine standing at the edge of a cliff. Someone is fastening your ropes and you’re getting ready for your bungee jump. You’re excited, your adrenaline is rushing, and there is fear in your eyes.

Not to scare you off, but this is what starting a new business feels like. A mix of emotions with one big question: “Should I do this?” The answer is yes – if you plan on doing it right.

10 Business tips for new entrepreneurs to become successful

“It all starts with an idea”, they say. But we know that the concept is the tip of the iceberg. Very often good ideas don’t work out because of bad management.

There are 582 million entrepreneurs in the world. There are just so many ways to start a business.

New entrepreneurs often get carried away with the ‘dream’. They forget about the hard work. There are no tips and tricks that will make you successful overnight. But with consistency and hard work, I assure you these tips will do your bidding.

Don’t quit your 9 to 5 job

You can get overexcited about starting your new business and quit right after you set the goals. This would be a wrong decision.

New businesses don’t make a profit fast. If you keep your day job you will have a regular income. This way your business will have some extra financial support and you won’t end up broke if something goes wrong.

Find the right people

Every business is driven by its employees. The people should not work for you, but with you. Find allies and employees that will celebrate your success as their own.

It’s great if you find people with the proper experience and skills that you need. But this is not everything.

Find people that share similar values and moral compasses as the company. Someone that would be a great cultural fit. They should value the business and its prosperity.

You must set healthy boundaries and safety measures. All employees should follow and respect them. It’s your job to make sure of this.

Take ownership of shadow IT

Your employees should know IT do’s and don’ts from the get-go. One of the most common dangers is shadow IT. It’s when employees use hardware or software that is not contract verified by the IT team.

This can lead to serious damage and security breach if it’s not controlled. That’s why learning more about shadow IT will save you a lot of trouble. It can be bad or good, depending on how you handle it.

Searching for fast and effective ways to do the job can be great, but the risk that comes with it, NOT so great. So take your time analysing shadow IT before you take some actions.

Track transactions and reduce spending

You need to know where your money is going. By this, I don’t mean only the big investments, buying equipment, pay checks, or similar. Every dime matters.

For example, if you manage a fleet, you can track how much your employees spend on fuel. Fleetio’s fuel management software is perfect for this. You can optimize fuel usage and track everything automatically.

The best part about SaaS is that there is a solution for every business type and department. It helps to do some research. Be financially cautious and in control of your business. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Get a mentor

“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” – Bob Proctor.

There is nothing wrong with a little bit of guidance. It doesn’t have to be a world-famous guru. Sometimes the people that are with us from the start can be great mentors. Like our college professors, or our parents for example.

In this modern digital age, you can reach out to professionals in the same domain on LinkedIn. People are generally very happy to lend a helping hand and offer tips and advice. Try it out!

Focus on the customers

You can never get over-obsessed with your customers. They’re the reason you started your business. Profit is great, and a positive goal to reach, but become too obsessed and you’re sure to lose.

You need to know to whom are you reaching out. Always ask yourself these questions:

• What do they want?
• Why do they want it?
• What triggers them to buy these kinds of products/services?
• Why is your product/service better than your competitors?
• What bigger problem are you solving with your business?

Receiving something without giving first is not possible in the business world. Provide the best service to your customers. Be aware of their needs and stay up to date with the trends.

Use free assets

Today there is so much free stuff that can benefit you. Starting from free marketing tools on the internet to proper use of social media.

Think about LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. All these platforms can help you connect with the right crowd, or find the information that you need. Don’t be shy to post and ask for advice here. You never know, someone could have the perfect answer to your problem.

Be a part of many networking events. Here you can find like-minded people and get good advice, most often for free. Not to mention the connections you are going to make with more experienced businessmen.

Risk smart

The risk will always be there when it comes to starting a new business. But here are a couple of ways you can ‘risk smart’:

• Invest in insurance
• Face your fears
• Be prepared
• Invest in insurance
• Every new decision has its risks.

You can’t know for sure what tomorrow brings. That’s why is good to keep your property and business protected. If misfortune strikes you will be safe.

Face your fears

Atychiphobia is an intense fear of failure. To some point we all have it. No one want’s to fail right? Entrepreneurs are faced with it too. But you should not let the fear consume you.

Take a blank piece of paper and write your fears on it. Just imagine the worst-case scenario and put it there.

When you know your fears, you can also own them. Do a brainstorming session, alone or with your closest employees. Ask yourself and them to think of a solution that would help solve the risk scenario you’ve put together.

Be prepared

Understand that there will always be risks. Prepare a “risk budget” in case of unexpected financial emergencies. This way you won’t have to take huge loans when and if something bad happens.

Remember that your risk management should grow as your business grows.

Learn from the mistakes of others

Is much easier to learn from other people’s mistakes. That’s you should do a lot of research while starting your business. People like to brag when they are doing something good, but not a lot share the bad stuff.

Find a person that tried a similar thing as you but failed. This person’s story will take you very far. Knowing what you definitely shouldn’t do, will guide you to a safer path in forming your business.

Don’t forget to believe in yourself

All things mentioned above won’t count if you don’t believe in yourself and the cause you are doing this for.

Good entrepreneurs should not only invest their money but also their hearts in the business. When we do what we love we tend to do it right.

Being a “boss” won’t be easy. There will be a lot of sweat and tears on the way. Don’t jump down the rabbit hole. Make a healthy work-life balance. Celebrate all important birthdays, and have that picnic in the park. Separate the business from your private life.

Is this all worth it?

For new entrepreneurs, every day is a new lesson. There will be some ups and downs. But when you feel down or overwhelmed, remember why you are doing this.

Entrepreneurship is not a job, it’s fulfilling a dream. Big dreams are not always easy to be implemented, but they change the world.

Learn new things and keep your mind open to ideas and criticism. There are so many ways to succeed if you are consistent and dedicated to the cause. So go ahead, bring some positive change to the world.