For the novice, the world of entrepreneurship can sometimes seem like a rat race.
Today more than ever, the world does not lack entrepreneurs and auto-entrepreneurs.
So how do you stand out from the competition?
By leaving nothing to chance and taking care of the smallest details: identity, digital and physical communication, monitoring of customer relations…
All of this, of course, without forgetting to arm yourself with the two essential tools for any entrepreneur, patience and perseverance.
We will see in this article how to succeed in differentiating yourself as an entrepreneur.
Take care of your communication
You have defined your objectives, drafted the statutes of your company, taken the legal steps, set up your business plan, found your potential partners as well as a name as catchy as possible.
Alright.
Now you will have to get started.
From the start, it is crucial to take good care of your communication.
Contrary to what one might think, the internet and social networks are not everything.
It is vital not to forget communication in the broad sense.
Depending on the activity chosen, it will often even be offline, in other words “in real life”, that the entrepreneur will find his first customers.
Flyers, stickers, business cards… So many promotional assets to put on your side.
Take, for example, a landscape contractor.
He will find customers more easily by depositing flyers in all the mailboxes in the neighborhood than by canvassing on Facebook!
There are sites providing all of this at affordable prices, such as HelloPrint. Tested and approved by many companies, this site provides professional business cards among other things at a reasonable price.
Of course, communication also goes through the web.
We will first think of the creation of a website to serve as a showcase for the company.
Many platforms (CMS) are available online for all non-technical people of course. Of these, WordPress is the most common.
The undisputed leader in the CMS market, since this host alone is responsible for more than 30% of the world’s websites.
The use of social networks should not be neglected: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter… So many assets to put on your side.
Here is a step that you can even implement before the official launch of your activities.
The important thing is to publicize the goods or services that your company produces.
The goal is to generate enthusiasm, so that your future customers want to follow the evolution of your business. Be careful to separate your personal profiles from professionals, as the latter could quickly become invasive.
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Remember that the customer is king
Now that the communication is initiated, you have to take care of your customers.
Here again, communication goes through two main axes: digital communication, and offline communication.
On the internet, it is of course necessary to feed social networks daily.
However, beware of overdose.
Your customers and potential customers must not be saturated with information about your business.
But they mustn’t forget you either.
One or two posts a day are sufficient.
The balance is subtle.
It is also important to keep your site up to date. This is the showcase of your business.
You can also create a list of contacts and grow it over time, remembering to add new contacts as you go and then send them targeted emailing campaigns.
Depending on the nature of the activity, setting up an online payment system may also be wise.
It is important to ask for news/feedback from customers. For example, Are they satisfied with your service?
What do they think you could change to improve your service?
Feedback on your work is a gold mine for improving the quality of your company’s goods or services.
Likewise, do not hesitate to consider each acquaintance and each new encounter as a potential client.
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Give yourself time to succeed
It is extremely rare for a business to be an instant success.
Professionals agree that it is not useful to panic about the turnover before three years of activity.
It is therefore very important for the beginner entrepreneur to arm himself with patience.
Perseverance is also an essential quality.
Do you believe in your original idea?
Do you think that the world needs your services and that you are capable of becoming indispensable?
So don’t give up! You are probably right. But for your business to work, you need that as many people as possible are aware of its existence… which may take some time.
Rather than feeling sorry for yourself,
so use this almost inevitable period of “lean cows” to improve your skills.
This can only improve, in turn, the quality of your business.
Study the market, talk about the obstacles you encounter with other people in the same field, read specialized articles…
The more you know about your niche, the more likely you are to succeed.
In the age of social networks, we tend to think that everything happens in a hurry.
This is not necessarily true. Word of mouth, whether digital or oral, often works wonders.
But that takes time. If Rome wasn’t built in a day, chances are your business isn’t either.
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In conclusion
Standing out when starting out as an entrepreneur takes work, consistency and perseverance.
If you possess these three qualities, you will succeed.
After all, others have done it before you! And be certain that they too went through the same stages, and were crossed by the same doubts.
So now, are you ready to get started? Do not hesitate to give us your news and share your experience with us.