On average, 4.4 million businesses are started each year in the US alone; in 2022, that number jumped to just over 5 million. For some people, the idea of entrepreneurship starts as a young child. The dream develops and the goals get set of how to build a product or service to help millions of people.
For others the bug develops later in life, often with the realization that there is a missing element that can help people and they have the solution to do so.
Either way, entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. There is even a month just to celebrate entrepreneurship and the many hurdles that one faces in developing a business to better society.
In my experience of helping thousands of entrepreneurs build successful businesses, I find that there are several elements that play a key role in the growth or stagnation of a business.
- Planning: The stronger the plan, the easier it is to build the business. It sounds so easy, but it is so true. A little planning goes a long way and gives not only the owner, but those around the owner the foresight of what is to come. This is also where having a clear mission and core values gives a north star for all that is to come.
- Delegation: one common trait of all successful entrepreneurs is that they learn how to delegate and get things off their plates. Sometimes it starts with just delegating things they’re not good at or don’t know how to do, by necessity. Other times it is the mindset that everything but the top 20% of tasks have to get off of their plate. Of course, finding others who are good at doing these tasks or having good training manuals is vital to success.
- Systems: systems are the documentation of policies, procedures, checklists, diagrams, workflows, spreadsheets, examples, templates, videos, etc. While this can take time to build if you start from scratch, everything is made common by a written explanation (and a diagram or two to help your visual learners!). This is where many entrepreneurs choose to utilize the base of what other successful business owners have built so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel. They can just tweak the small 10 to 20% of what they do differently and quickly have a full system up and running.
- Hiring And Onboarding People Aligned with You Mission: all too often, entrepreneurs are quick to hire because there is a warm body – but that human may or may not stay long if they’re not aligned with the mission and culture of the company. Many entrepreneurs are open to taking risks and moving fast, which is why some people don’t like working for startups where things are constantly changing and moving fast. Having clarity on who you need to hire and the type of person that fits that role in the company are critical to hiring the right way the first time.
- Being a Good Money Manager: while owners are optimistic that it will all work out, having a good budget and review of the numbers gives objective feedback as to whether your efforts are working or not. This is where business owners often have to pivot multiple times in order to course correct until they find the right combination to make it work.
The life of an entrepreneur can often be frenzied and tumultuous as they’re getting started in those first critical years, finding good products and services for which their clients value and are willing to pay money for. This can create many emotional ups and downs as some marketing campaigns work and others do not, but for many entrepreneurs the dream is still strong and they still have the vision of how ultimately this will come to fruition and be great.
For those on the sidelines, however, this can feel like a crazy journey at times with super-fast growth followed by a period of stagnation, and then super-fast growth again. Recognizing that this is all part of the journey helps put it in perspective, but also knowing that the entrepreneur is surrounding themselves with great coaches and support to help them identify solutions to move them forward can give your team the security they need.
Wether you’re an entrepreneur or living life with an entrepreneur, enjoy the journey and know that despite the ups and downs life has a way of working out. Anything is possible so dream big!
Join us in celebrating the many entrepreneurs who are hustling each and every day and making a difference!