For many people, the ‘big dream’ is that of entrepreneurship. We are a tenacious and creative nation and it is maybe that unique combination of quirky and clever ideas and the guts to see a job through that tempts so many of us to step out of the world of steady salaries and into less charted, but more exciting waters. Taking that first step towards being an entrepreneur can be nerve-wracking and many people choose to study business online to build up their business savvy before launching their new product or idea.
Online courses in management can offer a structure that will guide business creativity down realistic and productive channels and ensure that important steps aren’t missed in the bustle of new business excitement. Entrepreneurs are exciting people to be around, they are often curious, have a heightened sense of alertness and are notably decisive, however not all of them are successful in their undertakings. We look at the 5 things all successful entrepreneurs never compromise on (the 5 things on which no successful entrepreneur would ever compromise).
- Understanding Themselves
A successful entrepreneur will understand his or her strengths and weaknesses and where these come from. There appears to be no doubt that success in entrepreneurship is sometimes to do with innate ability but this is only part of the story. Research in 2008 based on identical and fraternal twins suggested that the drive to be entrepreneurial did indeed have a genetic and heritable element to it but it is maybe the individual elements of personality that are more important. Entrepreneurs are often led forward at speed by their own ideas and it is this behaviour that can sometimes prevent them from understanding the impact of their own personality on the success of their product or service. There are ways, however, that even the most impetuous of entrepreneurs can ensure that they understand when to urge forward and when to engage restraint. Seeking the advice of others an help avoid errors in judgment as can undertaking training, which will help them to recognise character traits in themselves and others. Taking the opportunity to study business online may be one way to achieve this without having to step away from the day-to-day work of getting a product or service out into the market place.
- Research
Most entrepreneurs may well be dreamers but dreaming and ideology alone isn’t ever going to be enough to ensure business success. The process of research is necessary before, during and after the launch of a product or service and its feelers are wide-ranging. Pre-production market research should include production costs, feasibility studies, possible target markets and future, as well as existing, competition but successful entrepreneurs don’t stop there. Market research and feedback should continue during both the early and later stages of a business idea’s lifespan. Without research a product can’t develop to reflect changing demands and a company can’t keep effectively ahead of market competition. Good ideas are great, but if there isn’t an initial market or if an eye isn’t kept on how a market is changing, these ideas will fail to become lucrative income streams. Most high quality online courses in business management will offer modules on market research.
- Problem Solving
Problem solving is a key to successful entrepreneurship in more ways than one. Most fruitful business ideas will be ones that solve a problem, for example the design platform Canva solved the problem of consumers who wanted to create their own high quality graphics but didn’t have access to in-house expertise or software. It isn’t just entrepreneurial ideas that can solve problems. Successful entrepreneurs are often people who have moved out of salaried work in order to either facilitate new life requirements such as a family or the desire to travel, or meet challenges such as health changes. Chris Strode for example started the popular invoice app Invoice2Go after he lost his high paid job as a software developer. Problem solving skills are also vital to the effective running of a business; the ability to think outside the box when it comes to glitches is one of the benefits of being a creative thinker.
- Company Culture
Every entrepreneur wants to see his or her new company grow. However as companies grow there can be a tendency for what started off as an original and dynamic concept to get buried in the day-to-day running of the business. As the necessity for more staff increases a company’s culture and therefore its ideas can become stifled. A successful entrepreneur will understand that this is a possibility before it happens, he or she will have made the effort to study business online and will appreciate that core values, community and a commitment to learning are all important aspects of company culture that need to be built into a business plan and regularly revisited. A successful entrepreneur will always recognise that keeping company culture creative and dynamic will give new ideas and innovative working practices the space to grow and lead to further success.
- Clear Goals
Entrepreneurs are, by nature, creative and dynamic. Whilst these character traits are admirable, they can, in some people, generate a tendency to jump from idea to idea thus missing out vital business steps. When successful entrepreneurs set clear business and personal goals, they aren’t dulling creativity or limiting motivation, they are giving themselves a framework inside which they can measure ideas and suggestions. Goal setting and spontaneity aren’t always happy bedfellows but the relationship between the two can be learnt and there are a range of online courses in management that can help build an understanding of how business goals look and what they might help an entrepreneur to achieve. Once goals are established they give the whole company the freedom to generate exciting ideas alongside the comfort of knowing that there is a benchmark with which to measure each idea.
If entrepreneurship is tempting you and you can feel the call of individuality and freedom, don’t miss out on opportunities to study business online. Online courses in management or business are so flexible that you can either take them alongside your existing career or as you start your new, exciting entrepreneurial adventure. Success is out there for those who can combine a flair for the innovative and exciting, a thirst for risk and exploration, and a bit of useful business know-how.
About the author
Fiona Darby is a writer for online educator Upskilled https://www.upskilled.edu.au/. She blogs regularly about entrepreneurship, new business technologies, online education and digital media.
