Five Startup Tips from the World’s Best Entrepreneurs

Do you ever read about the successful entrepreneurs and wonder how they found success in a difficult economy? You may be close to launching your business startup or maybe your doors were recently opened but you’re still looking for advice and what better place to find valuable information than from the people who have done it and found success. Entrepreneur magazine recently interviewed some of the world’s top entrepreneurs and asked them what they would tell somebody who was just getting started as a business owner. Here’s some of what they said:

Don’t Fear Failure

Sara Blakely, inventor and founder of Spanx, says not be afraid to fail. The only kind of failure to fear is when you don’t take the chance, according to Blakely. Serial entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, says in his book, “Winning at the Sport of Business”, you only need one great idea and it will trump all the failures.

It Has to be Better

Jim Koch, Founder of Boston Beer, says that in order for your product or business to have staying power, it has to be better or cheaper than the competitors’ products. According to him, it doesn’t get much more complicated than that. You might make money at the beginning but for a business to survive for the long term, it has to have more value to customers than your competitors.

Find the Right Market

Caterina Fake, Co-founder of Flickr and Hunch, believes that finding the right market is crucial to success. First, find a problem that needs a solution but make sure the problem is experienced by a large amount of people. Find a market that is large enough that even if you catch the interest of only a small percentage of those people, it still represents a large amount of people.

Spend Money Wisely

DailyCandy Founder Dany Levy advises to spend money only on what will directly grow the business. Do you need brand new, modern office furniture? Should you spend money on expensive company shirts to hand out to everybody you know? If you’re outside of the technology field, do you need a website that costs five figures to design? Spend money on what is truly important to your business growth.

Enjoy the Ride

Barbara Corcoran, Corcoran Group Founder and famous investor on the TV Series, Shark Tank, says that the joy is in the journey. Everybody wants to be successful and make money but the friendships you develop along the way as well as the excitement of watching your business grow is just as valuable as the end product. Spending all of your time worrying doesn’t mean you care more than others do—it only means that you’re more miserable.

Bottom Line

Now is a great time to start a business in America. There will never be a time when there isn’t risk involved so dive in now and become one of the many who have found joy and freedom in being an entrepreneur.