Summary: Starting a business is one of the most important decisions in an entrepreneur’s life. Here are some tips for business owners who are at the threshold of starting up.

You've got a great business idea, and you're ready to get started. Here are some factors you should keep in mind while starting up.

1. Have a business plan – Starting something with extensive planning increases the chances for success. It helps to give a clear vision and also helps focus on the goals you want to achieve in the future. There should always be two questions in your mind while you pen down your business plan: What need in the economy is my business fulfilling, and does my offering have a major market opportunity?

2. Keep it simple – If you are starting as an entrepreneur for the first time and launching a new product, please be mindful while creating a strategy. Do not let your concept snowball into something that is really complicated and cumbersome to execute.

As a business owner try to start small. Cut down on the frills, focus on the product or service offering and be careful about expenditure. The focus should be on creating an experience or a product that can help grow your business.

3. Determine your objective – Imagine yourself in a decade. Where do you want to be? Will you be running a business which is increased in size or would you prefer to helm a small enterprise? Will you have cashed out and be relaxing on a beach somewhere? Ask yourself these questions which are an important part of building a successful business. You may even want to articulate your business goals on paper.

4. Self discipline – Developing a sense of prudence and sticking to your budget, for example, can take you a long way. It is essential to have discipline in all areas when you start your business.

Have measurable goals for every day/week/month rather than planning on the fly. Remember, the journey is about balancing your work and life, but a startup needs more nurturing than a developed company and that might affect your personal life a bit.

5. Balance passion with wisdom – The most important thing to keep you going when you start something of your own is passion. Passion will consistently drive you to improve your processes, so your business grows. Keep learning from mistakes. Wisdom lies in this learning and this can help navigate the uncertain waters of the startup ecosystem.

6. Don’t be afraid to fail – As an entrepreneur, your path will be stressful and seldom smooth. It is easy to panic, but you cannot let fear prevent you from following you dream. Think of it this way: the sooner you fail, the closer you are to discovering what works. While you can’t guarantee the outcome of any new venture, you can stack the odds in your favour. 

Starting a business from scratch is hard work. But seeing your idea and vision come to life is worth the long hours, pain and sweat. In the words of Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”