According to an article in the Telegraph, 660,000 new companies are registered in the UK every year, which is equal to 70 new businesses being formed every hour!
Unfortunately, this same article highlights that 60% of those businesses will go under within three years and 20% after just 12 months!
So, what are the challenges and how can you start a business and focus on the skills you need to develop in order to sustain your venture for the long-term?
It All Starts with You!
There are a range of different reasons why businesses fail including lack of understanding of their target market; not maintaining regular communication, not implementing ongoing marketing strategies to raise awareness of services, not focusing on multiple cashflow models to increase revenue and more.
It's important to learn about what these potential pitfalls are and the solutions available to help you avoid or overcome these challenges that you are likely to face as a start-up.
One of the biggest issues that I come across, is new business owners not really understanding what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.
Developing the mindset of an entrepreneur takes a huge amount of tenacity, commitment, motivation and mental strength to focus on finding the solutions you need to grow your business. That’s in addition to the continuous planning and promotion to attract people to your offer and get them to buy into you and your expertise. It’s not as easy at the start as many business gurus would have you believe.
You have to put in a lot of work, time and money in order to get to the stage where you can take a step back because your business is consistently cash-flow positive and you are able to outsource or employ others to help you.
Yes, it takes time but it is achievable, when you have the mindset to stay focused - and believe me, this is the challenging part!
One of the reasons I started personal brand coaching is because there is a huge developmental gap in new entrepreneurs having the confidence to see and use the value in their knowledge, skills and experience to go up against their competitors and make an impact within their industry or profession.
They struggle to understand what sets them apart and unfortunately fall into a trap of constantly comparing themselves to others (especially when they aren't succeeding as much as they would like) and then failing to take the steps they need to take in order to run their business and make sales.
If you want to start a business selling your expertise, you have to be able to step into your success and learn how to maintain the motivation, commitment, planning and action so that you can achieve your goals as a business owner.
Undoubtedly, you have a great story and an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience that you can share, but if you don’t maintain a strong mindset, none of that will make a difference.
You are the product and the brand that people will be attracted to and therefore, buy from. So, it makes sense that it all starts with you.
Becoming a Coach or Consultant
If you are thinking about starting a business and sharing your expertise, there are a few steps to help you focus on how to shape your knowledge skills and experience into a successful business, which I share in my ‘Starting a Successful Coaching or Consulting Business – The Ultimate Guide’ online training where you will learn:
> What you need to know about starting your business
> 3 reasons why you will be hired as a coach or consultant
> The misconceptions of becoming a coach or consultant
> Setting your goals and intentions
> The 7 stages to becoming a coach or consultant
> Building your coaching or consultancy business blueprint
Stay Focused on Achieving Your Goals
Any major change you decide to make in life takes planning and starting your own business is definitely one of those changes you need to plan for.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to learn, learn and learn some more before you take the leap into the world of business ownership.
There are so many things I wish I had learnt before I started my business which I'm sure would have made me much more equipped to deal with the highs and lows of becoming an entrepreneur.
Most of that learning would have been focused on understanding my own self-value, learning not to compare myself to others, focusing on what I have to offer and recognising why planning, determination, commitment, confidence and maintaining momentum are the keys to achieving the success you are striving for through your business.
We are in such a privileged environment now where we can learn a lot without leaving the comfort of our home and thankfully, I too got there in the end, but it would have been a lot quicker had I done all of this at the outset and knowing how to deal with the challenges that come with starting a business.
This is the only way to really know if you have what it takes!
The business world is continually evolving and changing so learning never really stops, especially if you want to stay relevant and keep growing your business.
For more information on how I can support you with becoming an entrepreneur and growing your business by developing your personal brand into a successful business brand, please visit my website and schedule your free 45 minute brand discovery session today.
