The smartphone era has allowed people to achieve amazing levels of fame and fortune in bizarre new ways that nobody could have ever seen coming. Who would have thought that ten-year-old kids making YouTube movies of their day, illustrated with Legos, would go on in just a few years to have a 10 plus digit yearly income? It almost doesn’t seem real in some cases.
Because of this “anyone can do it” atmosphere that has arisen due to platforms like Tik Tok, Vine, Instagram, and YouTube, there are hordes of people doing anything and everything possible to be that lucky person to go viral and become a star.
The formula for success isn’t set in stone, but it is attainable even by the most meager budget, again and again. Here are some things you can do to become a business mogul in 10 steps.
Become A Business Mogul in 10 E-Z Steps
- Make a Business Plan: sit down with a clear head and write down your goals for the future. Seeing in black and white exactly what you need, step by step, to get your business plans in motion and how you will be able to feasibly meet your goals is a very important part of launching any kind of business. If the plan seems weak or unrealistic, you might need to establish more help, get more knowledge, or accumulate whatever it is you need to get your business started with the tools you need to proceed. By clearly knowing what you need to begin, and laying plans out in an organized way, you can save yourself the lost time, emotional pain, and financial losses associated with a failed business venture.
- Take the Leap and Start a Business: Once you have firmly established exactly what you need to have established and you are ready, get your business started. Take the necessary steps to make the dream a reality by considering starting an LLC to protect your personal assets by separating them from business assets. Start acquainting yourself with the drive and hours that are required to push your business in the direction you want it to go. Try not to minimize your business as a “side gig” if you are still working part-time to help cover costs until your business is able to support you and your lifestyle. Begin to establish your personal brand and create an internet presence for your business that is separate from your personal life. The phrase “fake it ‘til you make it” might become a reality to you at this point, but always treat your business as an. An important part of your life, and don’t let others minimize your efforts to be self-sufficient in business.
- Find Passive Income: It is very hard for a business to cover the living expenses of even just the owner until a steady income begins to come in from various projects. It’s important in the internet age to have passive income coming in. If you have established a business website, then you already have a good way to start finding passive income. There are a lot of ways to find passive income online with ad click-throughs and various other easy-to-setup online techniques to start bringing a flow of income, even when you sleep.
- Keep a Good Credit Score/Fix Your Credit: Having enough credit to expand your business will become very important. There are always fires that need to be put out, as well, when any kind of business is in operation. If you have no credit, you need to start the process of fixing it. Avoid falling into the trap of taking out too many lines of credit to pay your bills, because trying to juggle overdue credit card bills to keep a business going is a precarious and difficult to maintain existence. The percentage rates of most credit cards are often very high, and throwing good money after bad every month can quickly tank a business altogether.
- Make Connections/Network: Get out there and meet people. Go to seminars that are relevant to your business. This will help you learn more about the ins and outs of your chosen business, while also meeting other people from different areas that are like minded and in the same or similar line of work or business. Join organizations that are known for bringing business people together for networking like the Rotary Club and similar clubs. Keep track of your new friends/colleagues/contacts, and jot down their contact information for safekeeping, including footnotes like if they have kids, what they enjoy (golf, other hobbies of interest) short facts about their lives like if they have kids, what their spouse’s name is, etc in case you need to remember anything in the future. Any contact can potentially help you in the future when you are in business for yourself.
- Watch Your Spending Habits: Once you start making money, it gets a little difficult to resist the urge to start spending like crazy. It’s especially important to resist the urge to start running up a credit card or credit cards. It might be tough, but it’s ok to live a little lean for a while until your business is firmly established. Even after you have a thriving business, it is still important to keep your spending within established limits. Even though many new businesses can get loans easily, if you don’t need to take out an extra line of credit, avoid doing so if it is an unnecessary cost for your company.
- Know When To Take Risks: There is a lot to be said about being conservative with money, but business is very much about risk. Having the guts to take risks is an important part of getting ahead. If your gut tells you that you should go for it on a business venture, learn how to trust yourself enough to make the right decision
- Always Stay Organized: If business picks up, always stay organized. Staying on top of payrolls, due dates on bills, and other time sensitive information is important. If you are chronically late with payments or other similar things, it can make you look disorganized to the people around you. IT is important to keep up appearances and keep your own house in order so that people will trust you and want to do business with you. There are tons of apps and gizmos out there to keep you on top of scheduling issues, bills, and time sensitive materials. Square, Dropbox, and Google Drive are all great at keeping you accountable.
- Familiarize Yourself With the Law: Lots of businessmen started out as lawyers. Knowing your way around the law is what some would call a necessary evil to get things done without ending up the victim of fraud, or committing fraud. Any endeavor that has lots of money involved is going to require lawyers in the end. If you have a hard time wrapping your head around legal matters, maybe find a lawyer to help you out. While you are starting out, there are services like Docracy that have free legal forms for people to use to protect themselves and their businesses legally.
- Surround Yourself with Competent People: Once you start picking up other people to your previously one-person business, try to hold on to people who are assets to your business. Don’t let nitpicking over minor money issues cause you to lose someone in your business that you can’t replace easily or can’t afford to lose. Letting your employee know they are good at what they do and that you appreciate the positive attributes they bring to your team is something that is very important to most employees. If you find that the person you hired is especially good at what they do, don’t be afraid to delegate some important matters to them to deal with. If an employee feels trusted, they are more likely to be happy with their job.
Now that you have the main bases covered, there is no time like the present to get out there and get your business going!
