How to Become an Entrepreneur

Accountants, bankers, legal professionals, and business managers are giving way to tech startups, boutique owners, freelance designers, personal concierges, and yes, content creators and influencers.

It’s all about entrepreneurship - the increasingly popular way to launch new businesses with unique and innovative business ideas. More and more individuals are shifting from traditional jobs to explore entrepreneurship in high growth industries like ecommerce, technology, and digital content creation - all areas that have shown consistent demand and opportunity for growth.

With the availability of startup resources like business plan templates, business grants and loans, crowdfunding, and even social media, creating a successful business has become more attainable than ever before. Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? We’ll walk you through the essential steps to turn your business ideas into a profitable venture, from crafting a detailed business plan to building your brand, and leveraging online tools like Fourthwall for growth.

What Does It Mean to Be an Entrepreneur?

Much like playing an RPG, becoming an entrepreneur is to embark on a journey filled with risk, problem solving, and potential rewards. Entrepreneurship involves creating and running a business, usually from the ground up, and taking on financial risk with the goal of achieving profit and business sustainability. Successful entrepreneurs are defined by their innovative ideas, perseverance, and a passion for solving problems in unique ways. 

The entrepreneurial journey requires commitment, resilience, and the ability to navigate challenges—qualities that set apart successful business owners from others. Think of iconic business owners like Bill Gates, Coco Chanel, and Starbucks’ Howard Schultz, who all started with a vision and used their ideas plus their entrepreneurial skills to shape industries.

Why Now is the Best Time to Become an Entrepreneur

The current market presents so many unique opportunities for new businesses! Increased access to capital through business loans and alternative financing; the growth of ecommerce; a huge range of tech tools including cloud computing and digital marketing services; and the availability of a wide choice of digital platforms have made it easier than ever to establish just about any kind of startup. 

Ecommerce platforms like Fourthwall provide so many options for entrepreneurs to create and monetize their business, with features like customizable storefronts, audience engagement tools, and social media integration, making it easier to reach your target market. Competitors in the space, such as Shopify and Squarespace, have paved the way, proving that new businesses can thrive online in the new entrepreneurial ecosystem. So if you’ve got a great idea - what are you waiting for?

6 Steps to Start Your Entrepreneurial Journey

1. Decide On Your Business Idea

Remember that great idea we mentioned a moment ago? The foundation of any successful business is exactly that - a great business idea. Take some time to brainstorm and identify unique niches that aligns with your skills and interests - what you’re looking for here is a business that will make you hyped to get up and get started on work in the morning!

Your great business idea should also be one that fills an industry demand. Conduct market research to understand your target market, including current market and customer needs, and who your competitors might be. Validating your business idea through research ensures that there’s a demand for it, which helps mitigate the risk of failure. Resources like Google Trends, industry reports, and customer surveys can provide insights into your potential business ideas, so you can choose the one that has the best chance of success.

2. Create a Solid Business Plan

Your business plan will serve as the roadmap for your startup. This document ideally outlines your business idea, your goals, target market/customers, marketing strategies, and financial projections, making sure you’ve got a solid direction planned out. 

Business plans are essential not only for your own personal guidance as you get your business started, but also when seeking investment from banks or venture capitalists, who will want to see a detailed plan before providing any capital. A comprehensive business plan template typically includes:

• An Executive Summary: A snapshot of your business and goals.
• Market Analysis: An in depth look at the industry you’re going into, your target market, and your competitors.
• Product/Service Offerings: A clear explanation of what your specific business will provide.
• Marketing and Sales Strategy: How you’ll reach and sell to your target customers.
• Financial Projections: This can include revenue estimates, cash flow projections, startup expenses, and other capital requirements.

3. Secure Funding 

Every startup needs enough capital to get off the ground. Funding options for your new business will vary based on your business needs, from bootstrapping (using only personal financial resources, such as savings or funds from family or friends) to seeking out a business loan for your startup costs or other financial needs. 

A well prepared pitch and business plan are crucial when approaching outside investors. Your plan should clearly outline how much funding you need, how it will be used, and the potential ROI (return on investment) for your investors. Here are some of the more common ways entrepreneurs can secure funding for their new business:

• Bootstrapping: Self-fund your new business with your own funds, reinvesting your early profits to build up your business.
• Business Loans: Obtain business loans from banks or credit unions.
• Angel Investors and Venture Capital: Present your pitch to investors who fund new businesses, often businesses that are higher risk but with strong potential.
• Crowdfunding: Raise small amounts of capital from a large number of people via platforms like Kickstarter, Fundable, or IndieGoGo.

4. Build Your Brand!

Branding is your key to building credibility and attracting customers. A strong brand identity includes a memorable logo, a consistent and attractive color palette, and a clear brand message. Beyond branding itself, establishing an online presence is also essential for startups.

This can be done by creating a professional website or an ecommerce landing site, like the ones you can easily create on Fourthwall. You’ll also want to establish social media profiles for your business - ideally all with the same recognizable business username - and optimize content for SEO to make your business discoverable online.  A strong online presence helps your new business reach its target market, while encouraging plenty of engagement and establishing your brand.

5. Market Your Business 

Smart marketing is the bridge between your business and your potential customers. Marketing strategies for your new business should be planned with your business goals and budget in mind; a brand new business might focus on organic content and socials initially, later investing in paid ads as business revenue grows. To get started, identify your target market, understand where they spend their time online, and choose your marketing channels accordingly. 

Social media marketing is a great place to start, focusing on platforms where your target market is active, like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter (X). From there, you could also consider Influencer Marketing, partnering with online content creators to increase brand awareness. Content marketing can draw new customers in by sharing info that educates and informs; and of course there’s the classic marketing strategy, of paid targeted ads.

6. Improve As You Go

Entrepreneurship is a journey of constant improvement, where you’ll regularly revisit and refine your business plan based on your growth and customer feedback. Track your business performance through your metrics, like sales, profit margins, conversion rate (customers who browse your goods and then buy them), and churn rate (customers who stop using your products) - and then scale as you go.

Scaling and growing your business can include expanding your product lines, hiring staff, and exploring new markets for your merchandise or services. Engagement tools and ecommerce solutions on platforms like Fourthwall can help provide support and creative solutions for scaling your new business by offering multiple tools for connecting with your customers. 

Quick Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs 

• Start Small, Dream Big: Set manageable startup goals and be conservative with your initial investments, but keep your big picture in focus and don’t be afraid to innovate.
• Be Unique: Different is good! Develop a unique selling proposition and your own brand; these are qualities that will help you stand out among your competitors.
• Stay Resilient: Be persistent, especially at the beginning, and learn to adapt as you face the inevitable business challenges and hurdles.
• Network: Connect with mentors, peers, and potential business partners to build professional relationships; even just a coffee meetup can encourage collaborations and new ideas.
• Keep Learning: Keep up to date with both your own personal development and trends in your chosen industry.
• Embrace Failure as Opportunity: Learn from your business setbacks and use them to grow!

Grow Your Business with Fourthwall

Fourthwall is positioned perfectly to help you grow your new business! Fourthwall provides entrepreneurs with powerful tools to establish and manage an online ecommerce store, customize and showcase products, and engage with customers.

Fourthwall’s features include customizable storefronts, seamless social media integrations, and plenty of on-board analytics so you can learn to better understand your customers’ behavior patterns. These features can help power you, as a new entrepreneur, to scale your business and reach a wider customer base, making Fourthwall a valuable asset for any startup aiming for growth and profitability. Get started today and see what Fourthwall can do for you!