It's a dream held by millions - to quit the corporate world in order to set-up their own business. Offering the promise of freedom and meaning I too had this unique desire some twenty odd years ago. Starting out as a young and enthusiastic therapist I poured my heart and soul into my job and in doing so I very quickly gained a promotion to salon manager. A year or so later I felt inspired to take a leap of faith as such I quit my job and using all the experience I gained working as a salon manager I opened up my own private beauty room. It was at this point I thought I had made it, as not only had I found my purpose in life, but I was finally my own boss - however, like so many entrepreneurs my story doesn't end here. You see with a lot of hard work, dedication and a tiny bit of luck my next big dream of owning my very own spa eventually came true. As that spa gained in popularity I decided to take another gamble and in doing so opened another spa, and then another until I had amassed 5 in total. It was at this point I remember constantly being asked what the key to me success was? Now unfortunately to this day I still don't have a definitive answer, but I do have 9 incredibly helpful tips to share with you all today.
Love what you do - Without passion and love, I promise you there is absolutely no hope for success.
Sarah Jones
Be your own brand missionary - You are the soul of your business, as such nobody knows your brand as well as you. So my main recommend to any new entrepreneur is to become your brands own missionary - after all, it's incredibly important to remember people connect to people.
Believe (in yourself and what you can do) - In order to get to where you eventually want to be more than anything you have to believe in yourself and your skills. You see no matter how successful of an entrepreneur you are, you are unfortunately going to experience some setbacks along the way. When they do happen and trust me they will it is the belief in yourself that will give all the strength and power you need to confront those nasty little setbacks face on.
Visualise your BIG dreams - Free of the controls of a 9-5 office job us entrepreneurs can dare to dream big, but in order to make them big dreams a reality I urge you to actively practice the art of visualisation. You see when we visualise our desired outcome, we being to 'see' the possibility of achieving it. And when this happens, we natural feel more motivated and prepared to go out there and purse it.
Ask for help - Learning from other's people's mistakes will help stop you from making them yourself, as such I suggest attending as many networking events as you can, especially during your first year of business.
Direction - If you want to be successful I highly recommend not making success your main goal. Strange advice I know but as I have discovered over the years the key is to not worry about being successful, but to instead direct your head towards being significant - in doing so I promise you success will naturally follow.
Work hard but at the same time seek balance - There is no denying if you want to be a successful entrepreneur you better be prepared to work seriously hard. That being said if you want to continue to be a successful entrepreneur you also need to seek balanced. Incorporate some uninterrupted time into your day isn't just necessary, it is, in fact, essential not only to your business, but for your health too. For some this might be as simple as making sure to always completely stop for meals or in my case banning all forms of technology from the bedroom. After all, our brains need respite to produce exciting and innovative ideas.
Embrace and take risks - As Mark Zuckerberg rightly said, "The only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks." Yes, I know to some the thought of taking a gamble is incredibly daunting, but if you don't trust me when I say you will never know just how far your business could go.
Trust your intuition / gut feelings - My last tip is arguably the most important of all, if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Trust your intuition it very rarely lies.