2023-08-10 05:00:40
Step 1 Choose the environment or industry well
Before even finding the idea, you have to select the domaine in which you will work. To caricature, if you have a professional butcher-delicatessen-caterer baccalaureate, becoming a florist may not be the most obvious objective. Unless you have a “manager” entrepreneur profile and buy an already established business, it is preferable to create in a field that you keen. Since entrepreneurship is very demanding in terms of work and investment, it is better to focus your attention on an environment that you are familiar with.
Step 2: need additional training?
There is no degree required to become an entrepreneur, and many autodidacts have succeeded in creating champion companies in their category. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need a further education to strengthen one of the skills that you may not have, such as marketing or finance. You may need to have a specific expertise to the targeted industry or market segment. (…)
Step 3: the essential business plan (BP)
Even if you are an innovator and you open a new market or create a product that does not yet exist, it is necessary to establish a business plan. A business plan does not only include quantified objectives that will reveal your financing needs. It also includes your mission and your strategy. It is also what will allow you to convince bankers, investors, even talents to leave their company to join your project. The business plan is a essential tool to structure their project, make the right decisions and check the viability of their business model as well as their long-term financial solidity. (…)
Step 4: define a positioning, find a name
You must first define the positioning of your company and then find a name that is not already registered. This may reflect your positioning or be completely original. We remember Kelkoo for a price comparison service, Meetic for a dating site, not to mention Facebook, which means photo album – or trombinoscope in French (…). The name must respect the intellectual property, that is, not already existing in a universe approaching yours. It may or may not have a link with your business but avoid geographical mentions, because you are not immune to success and growth. outside the borders initially defined. My advice, to make sure that the name is not already registered, is to have the domain name in “.com (…)
Step 5: define a “Unique Selling Proposition”
The USP, or unique selling proposition, is essential to effectively present your offer to the market or you differentiate from your competitors on key elements. The objective is to make an offer which is clear and simple. A “Unique Selling Proposition” is by definition unique because it differentiates you from your competitors, “Selling” because it is attractive and “Proposition” because it is an offer that encourages action. Customers do not buy products or functions, they buy benefits, results or solutions that are tangible, such as saving time or saving money, or intangible, such as social value. (…)
Etape n° 6 : l’indispensable marketing
Marketing does not rhyme only with or communication. It is the upstream analysis of consumer needs and, then, all the means of action used to influence their behavior. You will therefore need to focus on marketing your product or service, before, during and following launching your business. (…) The mission of marketing is therefore to define needs of its future customers, then to develop and retain them by ensuring daily that their satisfaction is reinforced. The last step will be to analyze the ROI, or return on investment, of your marketing plan as well as the evolution of your market shares. (…)
Step 7: networking
A good entrepreneur builds a network and surrounds himself with reliable people. You cannot succeed in entrepreneurship by being alone, networking is even more important here than elsewhere. The goal is not to talk to everyone or to collect business cards, but to meet other people who might have complementary skills or services to your business. You will also need to “network” withinvestors or of business angels to raise funds and get your business off the ground. The objective is both to know and to make oneself known. (…)
Etape n° 8 : les « Early Adopters »
The “Early Adopters” – or early adopters in French – are consumers who have the habit of almost systematically buying new products or services in a given category (…). They can also play a major role in the launch and adoption of a new concept. These early adopters are often the first market for a high-tech or other product in the launch phase. It is therefore necessary to transform these first followers into delighted fans and then into true ambassadors of your company. In addition (…), their testimonies on the social networks will certainly be much cheaper and more profitable than a traditional campaign.
Step 9: raise funds
Many entrepreneurs rely on friends and family for seed funding. (…) There are other possibilities such as crowdfunding platforms (…). And if you are already well advanced with a first version of your offer and a well-stitched “pitch deck”, then you can call on “business angels”. A pitch deck is a powerful presentation of your company combining strategy, figures, positioning, and telling a story (…). THE business angels invest very early in the business, are less demanding and more reactive than venture capital funds, but are essentially looking for start-up companies that will be able to generate a return on investment at least 10 times greater than their initial investment. (…) Finally, when you have proven the viability of your model with the first recurring customers, you will call on the venture capital funds who are also looking for high returns but will require proper due diligence (…).
Step 10: Build a team
(…) You will use the funds raised to recruit and build a team capable of carrying your vision. The team will be the keystone of your project and will weigh for more than 50% in the success of your activity. For surround yourself well or recruit, it is necessary to carry out an overview of the skills required at each stage of your project. Establishing specifications is essential (…). The key is to clearly define the profile of each position with concrete objectives and then know how to surround yourself with inspiring people. If needed, get help through your network, use LinkedIn and/or call on a recruitment professional. And as soon as a candidate is recruited, (…) ensure that he or she is properly trained and integrated into the company. (…)
This text is taken from the book “Guide to super life – 100 routines for a successful personal and professional life”, published by Eyrolles, 304 pages, 2022, 22 euros.
Laurent Binard is the author of the “Guide to super life – 100 routines for a successful personal and professional life”, published by Eyrolles, 304 pages, 2022, 22 euros. -DR
The author
With “The Guide to Super Life”, Laurent Binard, successful entrepreneur and co-founder of Teads, reveals everything he has been able to assimilate over several decades to finally get the best of himself. Because we only have one life, he chose to bring together in a single physical and mental work, personal and professional development, benevolence and performance.
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