An entrepreneur should be prepared to face all the odds that come their way. They should have all the necessary resources, items, and connections in their arsenal to succeed in their entrepreneurship journey. We recommend including the following:
Enlisted Goals
Lack of direction can have a serious adverse impact on an entrepreneur’s career. When you lose the sense of the direction you are heading to, you will find it difficult to carry out intentional and disciplined acts that promise high returns and ensure productivity.
In what ways can you maintain a sense of direction? The easiest way is to establish a list of goals, document it, and keep it with you all the time.
Small Business Loans
Life seems to be unpredictable. It isn’t surprising to see someone earning five to six figures in a month go bankrupt overnight. The success and failure of some businesses can be greatly influenced by minor changes in the Google search algorithm or the changes made by Facebook in the way they rank content. These risks are unavoidable, and you have to handle them somehow.
A business line of credit refers to small business loans that can help you handle some risks that are in no way in your control. If your revenue temporarily exhausts due to some reason or you need to infuse capital into something quickly, a business line of credit will be of help.
Disability Insurance
Consider spending money on insurance as the last of all options. You may instead spend money on something that has a direct impact on your growth and revenue. Justifying these actions is quite easy. But you cannot disregard the importance of contingency planning.
Life takes some unexpected turns and you would never want to face a situation where you struggle to provide for your family. Securing a special disability insurance policy for self-employed workers will help you at times when you are not able to work.
Supportive Peers
Entrepreneurship isn’t for people who struggle to handle criticism and insults. You will not be able to survive over the long haul if you do not have serious courage and endurance. But it isn’t easy to manage everything on your own and this is why you require a supportive group of peers.
Every entrepreneur should have a group of three to five fellow entrepreneurs from whom they can have accountability, support, and encouragement. These people will be able to understand the situation you are going through and will give the right guidance with clarity.
Guide
A guide or mentor serves a purpose different from that served by a group of peers. Every entrepreneur requires a mentor as well as a support group of peers.
A mentor is someone who once has been in the place where you are now and then went on to achieve bigger goals. They can understand the situation and also offer insights that your peers can’t give. The mentors have tasted success and failure and know the ways to boost your growth.
A Journal
There will be way too much information spinning in your head in the form of ideas, appointments, aspirations, innovation, marketing, and more. Keeping a physical notebook with you all the time is one way to exert control over this endless flow of information. Every time a new thought pops up in your mind, write it down. At the end of the day, you can read all of those notes and delegate, schedule, or set them aside.
If you are in search of a more systematic approach, you can try bullet journaling. The system allows you to have ongoing notes to keep your mind clear and stops you from forgetting the important responsibilities and jobs.
Some Important Numbers Of The Speed Dial
Few would be using the speed dial now, but as an entrepreneur, you should have easy access to some contacts in your phone. They include:
- Notary
- Lawyer
- CPA
- Mentor
- Insurance agent
There may be other essential names to be added to the list. It all depends on the type of business and your skillset. The whole point of this is to be prepared to face anything that comes your way. You might not be calling these individuals on a regular basis, but when you need them you should somehow get in touch with them.
The list discussed here can be treated as a good starting point, but it won’t necessarily serve all the needs of the entrepreneur. Taking time to decide the items that you should add to your toolkit is worth it.
