5 tips for starting and having a successful business

Entrepreneurship can be an exciting and challenging adventure, but it can also be a stage full of obstacles that require perseverance and adaptability, which is why entrepreneurs must have a creative and innovative mentality, and also be willing to work hard for their objectives.

Starting a new project requires identifying a business opportunity, developing an action plan, seeking funding, managing resources and establishing an organizational culture, not to mention the challenges that may arise every day. According to the Single Business and Social Registry (RUES) of Colombia, which collects information from the 57 Chambers of Commerce located there are more than 256,000 registered ventures across the country.

Starting a business can be an attractive option for many people, this for different reasons such as independence, because you will have the freedom to make your own decisions, the innovation, with which you can develop creative ideas, The earning potential, you will be able to earn significant income, especially if you are successful in your business and finally the personal and professional development, because you will face new challenges, and you must learn new skills such as financial management and leadership.

These are 5 keys to starting and having a successful business:

1. Identify a business opportunity: finds a need in the market that has not yet been met and that can be covered by a product, or service.

2. Have an entrepreneurial mindset: Being an entrepreneur implies having a creative and innovative mentality focused on action and problem solving. You must be proactive and willing to innovate.

3. Plan and organize: draw up your own business plan in order to have clear objectives and also have a strategy that will help you achieve your goals.

4. Focus on your customer: it is important to know and understand your target audience, listen to their needs and offer them personalized solutions.

5. Be persistent and adapt: entrepreneurship can be challenging, but the important thing is to have perseverance and a positive attitude in the face of the challenges that are gradually presenting themselves.

Main challenges when it comes to entrepreneurship

There are different obstacles that entrepreneurs can face in the development of their business idea, here we tell you what are the main challenges when carrying out a new project:

• Uncertainty and risk: entrepreneurship is an activity that involves a high degree of uncertainty, since the success of the project depends on different factors, including changes in the market, the economy and technology.
  
  
• Lack of funding: obtaining financing for a new project can become one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs, especially in the initial stage of the business when not enough cash flow has been generated. The lack of funding can limit the work of entrepreneurs and also the development of their product, or service.
  
  
• Resource management and lack of time: resources and time are a common challenge for most entrepreneurs, since money and personnel can limit the entrepreneur to carry out his business idea. In many cases, time tends to become one of the biggest challenges, since entrepreneurs can have many responsibilities that require their attention, and they can even count on another source of income that demands their time in the same way.

It may interest you: Project Management, what it is and what are its main methodologies.

To be successful in your venture, it is important that you set your objectives and have a clear idea that you want to develop, know your competition well, have a committed team and adapt to market changes.

There are different programs that can help finance your venture and strengthen new business ideas, such as incubators, accelerators and personalized advice. Get to know the Emprender Fund here, a Colombian initiative that seeks to promote entrepreneurship and new business ideas in Colombia.

Learn about the different types of entrepreneurship:

1. Technological base: these are businesses that focus on developing products or services with technological solutions, this is the case of Zulu, which is the global payment ecosystem for companies and individuals in which you can make capitalization payments, paying suppliers, making collections and international transactions.

2. Social: they seek to solve social and environmental problems, they can be non-profit organizations, even social enterprises.

3. Lifestyle: they want to satisfy a specific lifestyle, such as organic food and organic products businesses.

4. Services: they focus on offering services to their clients, such as consulting firms or cleaning service companies. Learn about a success story here: Wellcome saved 50% on its international payments.

5. Franchises: companies that acquire the right to market products and services from companies established in the market, for this type of venture you must acquire a license to use the name, brand and products of that company.

In short, entrepreneurship can be an exciting journey full of new opportunities, but it will require your dedication, hard work and perseverance, so you can overcome challenges and have a successful business.