Eight Obstacles To Watch For In The Early Stages Of A Business

Starting a new business is always a whirlwind venture. There’s so much to do that organization and communication quickly become critical to continued success. Even if you planned for every outcome, there are bound to be new problems that need your immediate attention. Overcoming these challenges is how an entrepreneur tests his or her mettle.

Luckily, there’s no rule about going into the chaos of a new business blind. In fact, it would behoove new entrepreneurs to take the advice of those who have already made it through and succeeded. To help new entrepreneurs prevail, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share words of wisdom about early challenges and how to navigate them.

1. Be ready to diversify and wear different hats.

When you start a new business, if have done your homework properly, you should have a precise plan. Possibly you are starting full of enthusiasm and are very clear about your role in the company and what your company does. Then you start your business and quickly realize how resilient you have to be, how humble and ready to go beyond your comfort zone infinite times. Be ready to wear different hats and to not be scared to get your hands dirty sometimes, as well as to learn to do things you did not think you were capable of. In this sense, having a business will transform you as a person very deeply. You also have to learn how to delegate. You might end up closing business deals through a new connection or collaborator you did not expect, so be open. - Simonetta Lein, Ausonia Partners

2. Focus on building trust and credibility.

When you're starting out, you have a small body of work to reference for potential new clients. It's harder to establish yourself as the expert or as a wealth of knowledge when you start. For our firm, I used my previous experiences in the corporate world and for huge media companies to help build our own credibility. Now that we've been in business for eight years, we have a large body of work to refer to when pitching new prospects. Even at this phase, we're still venturing into new industries or offering new services where a client can ask us "who else have you done this for?" or "what results can we expect with this service?" We use research and the information advantage to get our foot in the door; then when we have that first successful project, we use it in every future pitch. READ MORE