Thinking Of Becoming An Entrepreneur? Here Are 5 Top Tips To Success

If you’ve recently been furloughed or perhaps laid off your job you may have had some free time to contemplate starting your own business.

I launched my business, Calla Shoes, following a redundancy situation and I was also pregnant with my second daughter.  I was 36 years old and going through a stressful time and decided it was the right time to take charge of my own life and start the business that I’d dreamed about for many years.

I’d never had a business before and had no experience of the sector I was about to enter but I didn’t let that stop me!

In 5 years I’ve gone from zero to selling shoes in over 50 countries around the world, have successfully negotiated equity investment in to the business and managed a team of 4 staff.

So, if you are also contemplating making the leap to becoming an entrepreneur – here are my top 5 tips:

Start A Business In An Area That You Are Passionate About

The only way you are going to be able to deal with the crazy up and down stress of running a business, and keep the momentum going after 1,2 and 10 years, is if you are doing something that you are passionate about.

I had suffered from bunions my whole life and couldn’t find pretty shoes to fit.  This is why I decided to set up a business to solve this problem.  The very fact that I am solving a personal problem to me is what gets me out of bed every day.  Not only have I solved my problem but also the problem of many thousands of our customers around the world and I can’t let them down.

You may not be solving a personal problem but you may be solving something that is close to your heart or someone close to you in your life.  You may be an exercise buff but aren’t happy with the sports bras out there.  Or you may be incredibly creative and have thought about a way to monetise your creative passion.  Perhaps you really like honey and so you decide to start your own honey farm!

Whatever it is, make sure you are in love with your business.  This will keep you going in the hard times.

Get Support From Day 1

There is so much free support out there for start up businesses at the moment and much more so for female entrepreneurs.  Get on Google, find out where that support is and take advantage.  Join your local Business Growth Hub.  See if there is an accelerator programme running in your nearest city.  Find local business groups you can pitch your idea to and learn from.

You have a steep learning curve ahead of you so it’s important you don’t try and go it alone.  Understand your gaps in knowledge and then seek to fill them in.

Do Lots Of Research

If you have a business idea it’s so important to understand if there is demand for your service or product and who your competition is.

You may think you have the best idea in the world but if there are only a few people out there who are interested in your product/service you will struggle to make money.  Also, the more competition, the more it will cost you to differentiate.

When I first came up with the idea for my business I made an assumption that there must be other people out there like me and there was a demand for the products I wanted to make.  But I didn’t know for certain until I’d carried out several months worth of research, both online and with directly potential customers.

I now make sure that I am continually doing research and gaining customer insights to ensure that I am still responding to their needs.

Put Yourself Out There

Network and make friends who are in a similar situation to you. You’ll need the ongoing understanding and support that you may not get from family and friends.  And it will also help you make useful contacts for your business.  If you make meaningful relationships it will really help in the long run as those people will be more inclined to share their own networks.  Plus it may lead to something really amazing for your business.

I joined a network of start-up businesses very early on, even before I had sold my first pair of shoes.  I made sure that the right people knew my ambitions for my business.  This led to being introduced to a potential investor and eventually in to me securing £275k investment to grow Calla.

Work On Your Mindset

I believe that the main thing that sets successful people apart from others is their mindset.

A mindset to learn, listen to others, set big goals, have a vision, not be afraid of trying something new and to consistently push yourself out of your comfort zone.

These all add up to making magic happen.  Without an entrepreneurial mindset you will just be doing the same thing as everyone else.  Whereas in business you want to be setting yourself apart and doing something different.

When I decided to start my business I went on a few mindset workshops.  I realised I was lucky enough to already have many of the qualities required to be a success, however there were other areas that I knew I needed to work on.  And I have made it my mission to continually be mindful that I am staying on the right mental attitude path.

Bio

Jennifer Bailey is CEO of Calla Ltd.