Someone rightly said, “An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a clip and builds a plane on the way down.” This set of amazing people have some exceptional examples like Mark Zuckerberg, Walt Disney, Dhiru Bhai Ambani, Steve Jobs, Lakshmi Mittal, etc., to inspire the aspiring and experienced professionals.
Coming from the hostel room discussions, were some ideas of business and start-ups that died when the on-campus recruiters hired the young minds for 9-5 jobs. While some may still keep the spark alive, the others gave up way too quickly. On the other hand, there are some who started the business with great zeal but couldn’t serve to achieve the desired results.
Apart from these, some entrepreneurs continue to be in the long run for several years. Their hard work, patience, and confidence made them survive in this competitive arena. Not that they didn’t come across any challenges, but they decided to not give up on their dreams easily.
Here are some of the major challenges and problems that are encountered by them on a day-to-day basis. Let’s unfold them one by one for clear understanding:
Decide: Whether to Give up or to Continue?
To start up a business and to keep it going with the same passion one needs to be dedicated. There are times when the greatest people felt like quitting, but what kept them going is ” try once more.”
When everything goes downhill, and there is no way out, an entrepreneur makes way from the crunch. Don’t Quit. It is the only solution for survival.
Cash & Capital
The primary task of keeping the business going is to invest capital and maintain the cash flow. Take it from the experienced Entrepreneurs, even they find difficulty in funding and raising money for a new business venture, let alone be the aspiring ones. Managing the finance of the enterprise is necessary, because the firm may suffer loss, but the dues need to be paid anyhow. At this time, a wise entrepreneur uses his/her networking skills to overcome the crisis and raise fundings for the business.
Who to Trust?
It is suggested to always start a business with the people you know, and you can trust. If you’ve studied MBA international course, this is one of the prominent lessons you’ve learnt. As business involves risk, and a huge amount of money is invested, the resources you trust may also rot you or disappoint you. There are cases where blood relatives or best of best friends became enemies due to the unhealthy distribution of profits.
Until and unless you are 110% sure for the people you are working with, it is always a gamble. That is why it is advised to nurture your networks rather than just making them a contact.
Determining Right Marketing Channels
Before commencing the business and operations, everything is pre-planned. But the dynamics and challenges of the market may result in wrecking the plan as a whole. The right marketing channels help to gain the USPs for the business, and it contributes to reaching the targeted audience and prospective customers.
Finding the most appropriate channel for the business depends on the research. After research, one needs to evaluate the pros and the cons. Also, this whole process in engaging and time consuming which leads to the beginning of another challenge, i.e., Time Management.
Time Management
If you’ve been a student of MBA International Business, this rule runs in your veins & you’ve learnt this a million times – Time management is the biggest management!
As mentioned in the previous key point, organising everything within scheduled timeline is the biggest challenge of all. To plan a new strategy, to prioritise work and goals, to be ready with Plan B and to be socially active are some of the nuts and bolts that require time and efforts.
Consider this example from the famous web series “TVF Pitchers” where Mandal, an MBA, managed both, his job and the startup very well with his proficient time management skills to support the business. That is what an entrepreneur is supposed to do for achieving the goals.
Targeted Customers
Always know your audience. It is one of the primary things to be stated. The absence of knowledge on the subject may yield no benefit. If you don’t know what the nature of your business is and what customers you have to focus upon, then the whole game is lost. The agenda of the enterprise becomes baseless if the product or service cannot be delivered to the right end user. For instance, if you are an owner of a sanitary pad brand your target customer should be women.
Study and surveys by demographics like age, location, gender, etc. and psychographics like personality, attitudes, values, etc., is the best way to overcome the very challenge.
Dealing with Stress and Failure, Keeping the Spirit Alive
When an entrepreneur is unable to achieve the desired results and investors are hard to find, it becomes a challenge to deal with the stress and still look for the bright side. A point comes where you self-doubt your idea, your strategy and yourself.
At this time, all you need is to focus on the good networking sources and ideas that can help you achieve the short-term goals first. Once you attain the short term goals, you gain confidence which further helps you to take risks and be open to applying new methods and strategies in the business.
The initial days could be hard and may make you want to quit, but to continue to live up to your dreams in spite of these tests and trials will define your success. Quoted from the famous book The Secret, “Your thoughts are powerful, use them to materialize your dreams.” Wake up in the morning with a thought that you won’t let anything stop you from achieving your desired objectives.
Editor Bio – Ms Sahiba Sadana is a professional content editor and an avid book-reader. She is a regular contributor to Sharda University, Business Town, and, Munfarid Consulting. The editor is well-known for her Content Marketing skills and has dealt with more than 150 clients.
