How to start your own small business? How to venture into any new space? Are you afraid of competing against large corporations?

How to start your own small business? How to venture into any new space? Are you afraid of competing against large corporations? OR Are you just double minded on whether you should or you should not?

 There is NO straight answer to this, but I have made an attempt to list some of the basics that I think from my experience are MUST HAVE’S for a leader/entrepreneur by design. Don’t consider them as magic steps that would allow you venture into a new business OR make you a successful entrepreneur, CEO OR for that matter even a business lead in your company. But, my 2 cents draft with some of my thoughts that I think every person should have to enable him/her to take that first bold step to venture into any new space OR a startup company. (will keep it simple) –


4 key fundamentals one would need to be successful venturing into new space as a Startup company OR working at the next level –

CPLB (Courage, Passion, LOTS of patience and most importantly Belief in YOU.)


• Courage – To go against the odds, To take balanced risks, to get out from your comfort level,
• Passion – You need to have the killer instinct passion, desire to prove a point (in a good sense),

• Patience – you may fail, but don’t give up…. Keep on trying and you will get there,

• Belief – Strong belief in you, don’t lose heart with small failures, don’t give it up….keep trying!


In addition, you also need Xtreme dedication/focus, commitment towards work.


• Xtreme dedication/focus – Should have razor sharp focus and clear vision to what you want to achieve. Be very clear headed. Will need lot of sacrifice of your personal time – family will need to stand by/support you for each decision/action you take. Won’t be easy but you will have to practice that during early stages of growth for sure.

• Commitment – Work hard, Work hard, Work hard! There are no shortcuts and don’t play games! Be real, be honest and be true to yourself.


I think few important key points that one should embrace are –


• Need to have VERY STRONG in ideas/thought process. If your product is NOT a value add, then it won’t help you sail :)

• TIME is an important asset for you, utilize it wisely.

• You don’t need to attract lot of money, build upon an IDEA and sell it. Investors will get attracted to an idea anytime.

• Create a blue ocean strategy and compete in the red ocean as well – to grow it’s OK to keep your margins low. Once you are at level 2 – you can think of revising your strategy.


At the end, most importantly - Have FUN in doing what you do!


Here are few DON’TS:


• Don’t treat your venture/new experience as pure competition.

• Don’t get stressed out – set some time aside to celebrate/pat on your back and the team that worked hard for you. The way large corporations term – WORK LIFE BALANCE :)

• Don’t be afraid of FAILURES, but learn from it. (recent entrepreneur/leader example –X CEO for Apple: Steve Jobs)

• Don’t get absorbed in mundane/routine tasks/activities; Outsource them if possible to someone who loves doing it and you take on the value adds. Free up your time to move on.
• Don’t stop learning, Invest time in learning, growth for you and the team.

Will try and focus on how to compete head-on with large corporations and create your own mark/brand in Part 2. 

Pardon my scribbling’s if any....