Entrepreneurship has become the new “trend” today and that’s not such a bad thing. You see becoming the owner of a brand or business shows very creative and out-of-the-box thinking skills, especially in the social media generation. Social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube have helped turn everyday people into millionaires, or close to there, by way of followers. The more followers you have, the more exposure you and your brand are given.
Let’s say you love making lip gloss and have taken to social media to share your love of it. The more you post pictures and videos of the process and the finished product, the more you are building your brand and inviting “potential clients” to come and buy from you. Plus, the best part about social media is the fact that it caters to many industries other than makeup.
You can start a podcast, host short films or skits, share your love of music and so on. Check out these social media influencers who have struck it big: The Ace Family, BlameitonKway, Jeffreestar, Huda Kattan, and finally Kylie Jenner. These individuals and more have made millions by starting and continuing their business brands on social media. So, the next viable question is: how can you start your entrepreneurship journey today?
What You Need
The first thing you need to begin your EJ is you. In other words, your mindset needs to have three components: mental, physical, and emotional. All three are needed in order to succeed in your entrepreneur journey. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. When I first started my EJ back in 2017, I had no clue what the heck I was doing, and I did not have all three components meshing together.
For one thing, I was in a deep depression state and was very overwhelmed with the stresses of life. As you can probably guess, I was lacking the mental and emotional component. This caused great frustration and prevented the success of my freelance business. Now that’s not to say my business is a success now, but I understand where I fail and how to keep striving forward.
The other main thing I see when it comes to starting an EJ is prioritization. Prioritizing is a big deal when pursuing your own venture, mainly because you must learn to balance it with your “day job” and family obligations. Balancing a “day job” and running your own business is the utmost difficult climb ever.
If you’re like me, we struggle with the mindset of never having enough time and that my “day job” was more important than my own business because it brought in steady money, while my own business was hit or miss with income. This is the wrong mindset to have. It causes you to not be there physically, mentally, and emotionally. You must put in the same level of work that you do for an employer into your business. This is the only way you will become successful.
Planning Your Own Entrepreneurship Journey (The Outline)
Once you have the three components, you can begin your EJ outline. Before I move forward, let me say that formulating your own EJ can be the most rewarding career you can ever have. You learn so much and you can make a lot of money, thanks to social media, and love what you do. What could be better? When making an EJ outline you need to be able to answer these basic business plans, which are another key part of your success:
- What’s your brand or business? What’s your niche?
- Who is your target audience?
- Do you have a budget? If so, what is it?
The bulletin list above is not inclusive of the business plans, but it gets you thinking about what you like/love to do and how you can earn income from it. The biggest thing you can do is research, research, research!
Unfortunately, for me this is not something I did in the past and, being completely honest, I am not big on it now. But in writing this article I’m seeing all the faults and mistakes that were made before I launched my business. I was not ready at all. In fact, I was impulsive and just jumped in my seat. I would not recommend this. Take your time, work out all the kinks, and do test runs with products before you get to the launching phase. The launching phase is where the excitement and nervousness elevate. Just remember one thing: there will be a lot of closed doors. That does not matter. All you need is one and then you can only go up from there.
Get Started
In conclusion, the entrepreneurship journey encompasses a range of emotions, creative thinking, the right mindset, and planning. Overwhelming to think about, right? Don’t freak out. As mentioned before, take your time. Your idea deserves nothing but the best. Give it your all! Reach out to those that have similar businesses and/or those who have been through the beginning stages and get their advice for how they started and finished. It is all about finding your passion and making it successful. Learn from my mistakes and this article and you will be on your way to be another successful business owner in about 5 years, give or take.
What tips do you have to begin the entrepreneurship journey? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
