3 Ways To Navigate Life As A New Entrepreneur

Being your own boss can be extraordinarily rewarding. That’s probably why there are so many small businesses! According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 31 million Americans are entrepreneurs – that’s 16% of the workforce. Nearly a quarter of entrepreneurs have started two or more businesses in their lifetime. It’s a bug, and once you catch it, you’re hooked. (…Or not. And that’s OK, too.)

If you’re like a lot of new entrepreneurs, you have a good idea of what it takes: risks, hard work, dedication. These things are true. But there are some outside the box ways to navigate the world as a new entrepreneur.

1. Shop. Whether you offer a service or a product, your success depends on how you stack up against the competition. The only way to know is to experience what others are offering or selling in your industry or niche. In business lingo, this is market research. But try a different approach. Instead of focusing on what they offer in comparison to what you offer or how you’re different or can be different, approach shopping from the customer’s perspective. Adopt a shopper’s mindset. Here are some tips:

• Create a shortlist of what you want to get from the experience. That could be anything from how your competitors greet their clients in your geographical area to how people teach their online courses. Experience these things as a customer. So, if you’re exploring techniques for teaching online classes, sign up to take at least three, all on the same subject: a bad course, a great course, and one in the middle. Don’t choose your topic. Choose something that’s similar. For example, if you teach how to save small businesses money on their tax returns, take a class on how to write a business plan. The course is still geared toward businesspeople, but you won’t sit through the entire course comparing theirs to yours.
• Take notes. You will not remember your experience in the same detail later, so take notes as you go. Use a note-taking app or the notes function on your mobile phone. Go back to the short list you created and answer the question: what do you want to get out of the experience? Using the example of the online course, your notes will include why you did and did not like parts of the video course – note, it’s “why” not “what.” According to Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman, emotion drives buying decisions 95% of the time. Understanding why your clients or customers will buy or not buy will help you target your marketing message by speaking to your customers’ pain points.

2. Be pivot-ready. A lot is happening in the US and global economy. When the pandemic hit and lockdowns were mandated, those businesses that could easily pivot, succeeded. We’re experiencing another shift. (Hint: we’re always experiencing a shift, just some are more obvious than others.) What this means to your business will be different than what it means to others. In general, when you pivot, you change the way you are doing things. Whether that is making changes to your product or re-defining your target market, there are a few things every business owner can do to be pivot-ready.

• Make pivoting part of your business plan. When you pivot, you’re not chunking the whole product or service, you’re redesigning just one component. Pre-identify where you might be able to pivot. When writing your business plan (and every business regardless of size should have a plan) you likely made decisions between one or more things. For example, before nailing down your target audience or the details of your service, you may have explored other demographics or components of your service. Leave a few sentences in your business plan about these decisions. Then, if you need to pivot, some of the legwork is already done.
• Always talk to your customers. The best advice is to create a customer-centric approach. This is where your customer is at the forefront of every decision you make – before, during, and after the sale. Emphasis on after the sale. If you’re in communication with your customers after the sale, they will tell you what they want. And if you delight them, they’ll become an ambassador for your brand, talking to friends and family about how wonderful your service or product is.

3. Sleep. Chances are pretty good that you’ve been working long days, nights, and weekends to get up and going. Don’t forget your beauty sleep. When we sleep, we give our bodies a chance to rejuvenate. Sleep is necessary for maintaining optimal heart and respiratory health. It positively affects your metabolism, ability to think, and to focus. Develop a sleep pattern and stick to it!

• Set a sleep alarm – telling you when to go to sleep.
• Improve your sleep environment – using blackout curtains, aromatherapy, and soft music or meditation tapes.
• Turn off the blue light – switching phones to silent might not be enough. Leave them in another room.
• Exercise. Getting exercise will help you fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality.
• Make sure you hydrate– we lose water through our breathing as we sleep.

Knowing when to pivot might not hit upside the head like lockdowns did. But if you keep an eye on your business and the industry, you’ll learn to identify when it’s time to make adjustments. And remember, just because you abandon a service or change your product doesn’t mean you’re failing as an entrepreneur. It’s actually the opposite. You’re being smart!