What is one piece of advice you would give to a new entrepreneur?

Qudsia Ali
64 replies
Young generations are taking a lot of interest in startups and entrepreneurship. What would you advise them as a new entrepreneur?

Replies

Sean Song
Deeply deeply understand the niche/vertical business you are in, then find one (only one) point that you can do 10x better than others, make it.
@seansong I completely agree, Thank you for sharing.
Alexandra Cote
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Start with really getting to understand your target market
@alexandracote I agree that understanding the target market is the first step of starting any business venture.
Sushil Sharma
Act fast on your idea! Sometimes you have a great idea but overthinking kills it.
@sushil_sharma2 I completely agree. Because of overthinking, people usually don't have the confidence to initiate anything.
Kate Dalessi
Above everything else, learn sales
Michael Xing
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@katyaveremeichik How? Do you think founders should also learn sales?
Kate Dalessi
@mrmuke Yeah, absolutely! Nobody in the world will ever be able to sell the product as well as founders. Because they know the most about the product and they care the most about success. Besides, most teams can not effort hiring a good sales manager at the beginning. In regards to how - that's a matter of personal choice. Some prefer books, some prefer online courses and some on-site programs. The main thing is that the person you learn from has to be an expert
@katyaveremeichik Yes, sales is the most important step.
Michael Xing
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@katyaveremeichik Oh, that totally makes sense. We'll do our best to learn!
Tim Nicholas
Keep everything as simple as possible. i.e. > Make your customer's life simpler. > Have a simple biz model. > Execute simple marketing tactics.
@tim_nicholas I agree with all of your points, Thank you for sharing.
Michael Xing
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Although I am on the receiving end on most of these pieces of advice, hopefully I can chip in something useful. If it ain't broke, break it again till you make it.
Michael Xing
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@qudsia_ali What I mean by that, is that when you have a product, and demand perfection, you can't just make it work a few times. You have to constantly try and break it so that you can achieve the best results.
@mrmuke well, that's interesting.
Bertha Kgokong
Never ever give up. I was actually chatting to a young lady this week and she was telling me that she is ready to go back to employment. I told her, that is the normal journey for most entrepreneurs. Even I have been there many times, there was a time I would have taken any job that came my way. But I was lucky, no one was willing to employ me -- and here I am. So don't give up, keep looking for more ways to keep hustling.
@berthakgokong, Thank you for sharing.
Michael Xing
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@berthakgokong Wow, powerful story.
Ebba Cronqvist
Consistency in underrated, and often times beats intensity. Results won't show right away. It's easy to stop doing something if you don't see it working, but things take time. Don't stop something that's not working unless you have a better way to solve it.
Zoon Zookla
@ebbacronqvist What is your story? How much you had to wait? Looking for inspiration :)
Ebba Cronqvist
@toni_247 Thanks, I have to remind myself of it all the time as I'm a "starter" kind of person. Love testing new things, tactics etc but have had to learn to stick to them a little longer then they are exciting, in order to see the result.
Ebba Cronqvist
Hey @zoon_s , sure "consistency over intensity" is kind of mantra these days as my startyu is pre PMF. While I do have to test a lot of things to see what sticks (everything from new feature iterations to cold outreaches etc) I have learnt lately that I sometimes stop before I can determine wether something was/is successful or not. Many times when your early-stage things tend to take some more time to see direct results on. Therefor I've decided to try do the things I'm trying out a little everyday/week and keep doing it until I either see result or have come up with a better solution to solve it. The worst thing you can do, I believe, is stop something completely because there're no ways you can learn something you're not doing. Of course, you have to take into account how much time certain things require and be a bit smart about it. Don't know if this helped, could be more specific but don't know where in the process you are :)
Zoon Zookla
@ebbacronqvist Thanks for your detailed reply Ebba! I have just launched my first product (doing full time job). I have started to realize getting real customers and monetizing my small product might be a long haul. Your advice will definitely help, knowing consistency is more important rather than burst of intense activity.
Ebba Cronqvist
@zoon_s Great to hear, a little every day or os can take you a long way. Best of luck!!!
Clarisse Jouassain
Don't be alone. Ask for help or advice is not a weakness sign !
GamerSeo
You will definitely need perseverance and patience.
Andrew C.
trust the grind...it only makes you better as a person and future CEO! learn to trust your instincts and trust the people you have decided to keep near you. "Doubt will harm your route" your route to success. i just came up with that line BTW
@andrewcanday Thank you for sharing.
Rich Watson
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Go all in or don't do it all
Sara
Don't overthink how to start, just start and everything will be clear after.
@sarita_rita Overthinking causes confusion and delay in execution.
G. M. Mehdi
Do not take mentorship lightly. your 'big picture' might not be big enough. There's no alternative to experience. Learn from everyone, implement and experiment fast.
@g_m_mehdi I agree. Thank you for sharing.
Michael Xing
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@g_m_mehdi How do you think we could find a mentor?
G. M. Mehdi
@mrmuke Look for people who have already accomplished what you want to. Make a list of them and shortlist the ones that truly inspire you. Then reach out to them. Spend time working with them, learning from them, watching and observing their moves and decisions. You don't have to copy & paste, but having someone who has done what you are going to do, definitely helps your journey exponentially.
Michael Xing
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@g_m_mehdi Can I ask where to look for these people if you have any advice? What do you mean by who have already accomplished what you want to? Thanks for the response.
G. M. Mehdi
@mrmuke Start from people who inspire you in your field of work. Check out the top performers and then shortlist to the ones that are near you. Then linkedin, email, official website, office visits etc can get you a face to face with them.
Mike Schrobo
There are talkers and doers. Be a doer!
Bhavna Singh
I have experienced the taste of entrepreneurship twice now and if one advice I am supposed to give or apply to myself would be not to get overwhelmed by the ideas popping up in mind every time you see the similar products in the market. Sticking to your own idea and approach towards the product development is the key in my personal opinion. @qudsia_ali what are your thoughts on this?
@bhav_singh I completely agree with you, bhavna. It is easier to get distracted by others at the start of your career or business.
Vincent
Don't fear failure... it's part of success... but also do not keep taking that path...
Rehan Choudhry
Everything is 3x harder and takes 3x longer than you’ve projected. Budget your time, mental health, and finances accordingly.
@rehan_choudhry1 That's a great advice, thank you for sharing it.
@nicomuoio So Important yet simple. The point is to start acting rather than just making plans.