(First published in June 13, 2014 by Berke Sarpaş)
4 Topics for Entrepreneurs to Clarify
Some confusing issues in the world of entrepreneurship have long caught my attention. Let’s clarify these issues with four items.
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1.) Education is necessary. Do not you say: “Let’s straighten the back of a business first, then I’ll listen to someone at a cafe or conference, watch it on the internet and make up for the information I need, and continue on my way”. You will make a lot of unnecessary mistakes and waste a lot of time. Also, life is not long enough to make all the mistakes. Note that the so-called “dropped out” Steve Jobs later studied calligraphy or Shakespeare’s completion of literature course. Yes, there are uneducated entrepreneurs, of course, but these are interesting examples that attract everyone’s attention and remain in mind, otherwise the number of educated game changers (change agents) is much higher around the world.
2.) Do not team up. Since you have a business idea, first make an introduction to this idea yourself. Spend the first trimester struggling on your own. Thus, you do not rush into partnership with someone you are not sure about at the beginning of the business, you will be sure of your knowledge and struggle skills in entrepreneurship, you can learn and manage the business by observing 360 degrees, and when the business starts to work, you can present your stake to your potential partners in a much more valuable way than at the beginning. Then you build your team. Getting a partner in the beginning, to me, is the same as an entrepreneur wanting to secure his own comfort zone.
3.) Do not write a business plan. The business plan is not written at the beginning, this is your next step. Because the account at home will not fit the market anyway. It is quite funny to set an estimated sales figure and profit margin for a product/service that is not yet available, then try to find the answer to the question “How much can I sell from this?”, set artificial targets accordingly, and immediately focus on how to hit the money by designing a revenue model. Neither Facebook nor Twitter was founded with this perspective. Focus on creating real value before planning, never mind the rest. You will manage everything else later.
4.) Do not run to the investor. Some of the entrepreneurs who have a business idea in our country first prepare their business plans, then present it to the investors, and then start the business if they receive investment. However, since the projects of the entrepreneurs are still in the idea stage, a huge portion of their shares goes to the investor himself. Because investors cannot see a concrete and executed job in return for this investment, and they rightfully demand a huge portion of the shares because they think that they take too much risk. Instead, implement the business in the minimum format (Minimum Viable Product) with the lean entrepreneurship model. If it works, then you write the business plan and go to the investor to improve the system. This is your next step.
