It’s no secret that it’s challenging to start your own business. After all, if it were easy, everyone would become an entrepreneur in the blink of an eye. That doesn’t mean entrepreneurs aren’t ready to put up a fight.

Despite the fact that 22.5% of small businesses fail in their first year, there are still some 15 million Americans who are self-employed and working full-time. So what can you do to become one of the successful full-timers?

Here are three of the most common mistakes new tech entrepreneurs make when they’re just starting out and how you can avoid making these mistakes yourself:

1. Not having the necessary skills. It’s one thing to be anxious about what could go wrong and another to be anxious because you don’t know what you’re doing. You never want to start your own business without having the necessary skills to successfully run it. Remember, to be a tech entrepreneur, you not only need to have tech skills but you also need to have the business skills to maintain your plan.
2. Misinterpreting your market. According to a U.S. Bank study, up to 82% of businesses that fail do so because of problems with cash flow. Whether it’s poorly gauging the demand, overestimating costs, or appealing to the wrong target market, you can break your business by misinterpreting your market. Make sure to do the necessary research before you poor your finances into your business model.
3. Confusing goals for strategy. Goals are great, but if you don’t have a strategy for how to reach those goals, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. Strategies tell you how you’re going to get from Point A to Point B. Once you’ve established a realistic goal for your new business, make sure to sit down and create a clear and direct roadmap for reaching that goal.

Wondering how to become a tech entrepreneur? You’re not alone. In fact, there are approximately 582 million people currently working as entrepreneurs around the world.

The good news is, if you’re looking for tech entrepreneur tips and advice, you’ve come to the right place. For more information on how to start a business and how to become a tech entrepreneur, contact Rafferty Pendery today.

Startups, especially in the tech industry, begin and die every day. In fact, approximately 20% of small businesses never make past their first year, while another 50% never make it past the five years mark. The good news is that you don’t have to be part of these statistics. You can be part of the 80% of businesses which make it to the second year. How do you succeed as a tech entrepreneur? The tips below will help you learn what you need to do to succeed in the dynamic world of the digital entrepreneur.

Work on Your Public Speaking Skills

As the digital entrepreneur on the quest to find success, you will at some point need to pitch your ideas to a potential tech entrepreneur partner or an investor. You will also need to introduce your product to potential clients. The only way to get them to buy into your ideas or have confidence in your product is by explaining what you bring to the table.

You need to convince them that your ideas, products, and services will be worthwhile. You cannot do so if you are a poor public speaker. You cannot achieve that if the thought of presenting your ideas to a group of strangers makes you cringe.

Start working on your speaking skills today. People who fear to speak in public often make 10% less than those who exude confidence during public speeches.

Focus on Your Strengths

The thin line between the digital entrepreneur and one who fails lies in how the two individuals handle their strengths and weaknesses. A successful techpreneur often capitalizes on their strong areas and outsources the weakness to experts.

As a result, their product or service ends up being reliable as the weaknesses it could have had were it handled by experts. Those who fail, on the other hand, try to juggle it all.

While it’s okay to believe you can get things done and overcome your weaknesses, trying to do everything singlehandedly is one of the most common entrepreneur mistakes, and also one you should avoid if you’re to become a success.

Surround Yourself with the Right People

As cliché as this may sound, it’s a proven fact that those who you surround yourself with can make or break you. If you are constantly surrounded by a bunch of pessimists, regardless of how optimistic you are, it will be difficult for you to achieve your goals as they’ll always discourage you.

You’ll probably not want to keep going after the first few tries as they’ll not give you the encouragement you need during the early, difficult stages of tech entrepreneurship.

On that note, surround yourself with people who motivate you, and those who support you and keep you on your toes constantly. This is the only way you’re going to propel yourself from ideation to fruition as a digital entrepreneur.

Read a lot

The tech industry is highly dynamic and with each dawn comes a horde of new ideas which disrupt not only tech, but also the entire business realm in general. While your skills and talents are great, the only way to learn what is coming up and create disruptive tech ideas is to read wide.

Read on current and upcoming trends, tech challenges, success stories of tech moguls, and the revolution of technology. This will give you exposure and help you become more innovative. Read books both hard and soft copies, tech entrepreneurship blogs, and always be on the lookout for insightful tech entrepreneur resources.

Remember there’s Nothing Like Overnight Success

Creating a legacy for yourself, especially in the ever-changing tech industry as an entrepreneur is a feat not meant for the faint-hearted. It calls for creativity and comes with a lot of discomforts, uneasiness, and ups and downs.

Successful techpreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg had to start from scratch. While they are at the pinnacle of success today, they’ve had countless setbacks. In that light, as an individual looking for tips on how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur, you need to keep in mind it won’t be easy. Therefore, be flexible to changes, be ready to make mistakes and learn from them, and remain consistent.

Several tech entrepreneurs have become celebrities in the recent past. Thanks to the media covering them extensively and sometimes sensationally, they continue to inspire awe and admiration. Since the advent of the internet, this breed of businessmen and women has been on the rise. They have become larger than life, taking the same rank on the food chain as rock stars and Hollywood actors.

Unfortunately, these fancy news stories tend to contribute to myths on how to become a tech entrepreneur. The characterization of their personalities sometimes distorts how people perceive the tech sector and its function. This article looks at some of those misleading ideas that can derail your journey as you plan your tech venture while offering some tips on how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur.

Myth 1: As boss, you can do what you want

Part of the misconception on how to become a tech entrepreneur is the idea that being your own boss makes life easier. That is probably because most high-profile people in the technology business seem to have an easy time. It may seem like all the heads of tech companies do is to give orders.

However, it is one of the critical entrepreneur’s mistakes to jump into this career simply because it seems greener on the other side. You need to remember that business requires a lot of work and planning. During the initial stages of the startup, the head of the organization must be careful not to neglect the core responsibilities. That means you may have to work for longer hours than you did at your previous job.

You should commit fully to making your idea a reality. It will involve a lot of research, understanding the market, setting up the business, and finding a business partner. That is why it is always advisable to start an initiative that revolves around something you truly love. Passion will keep you going when the journey gets tough.

Myth 2: You need a completely unique idea

Another myth on how to become a tech entrepreneur is that you need a completely new idea for the market. As they say, there is nothing new under the sun. Many of the earth-shaking ideas that have taken over the technology industry today were innovative tweaks to existing products.

Some of the most successful startups were set in motion by observing an existing gap in the market. For example, Lynda Weinman was teaching web design when she realized her students could only access bland and plain textbooks. She began working on Lynda.com to provide online tutorials that were more engaging. She would later sell the company for $1.5 billion to LinkedIn.

You can also combine a set of skills to address a pressing need. For example, Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer was a software developer who enjoyed photography as a hobby. He used his collection of photos to start a stock image website that is now worth more than $2 billion.

Myth 3: You have to be a reckless risk-taker

Another myth on how to become a tech entrepreneur that tends to discourage aspiring businessmen is that you need to be continuously taking risks. Statistics show many small businesses fail within the first five years. One major cause of failure is lack of planning and cash flow problems.

You need to have a clear outline of your plan that is within safe limits of risk. Do not be tempted to use your mortgage or all your life savings to start a business. It may sometimes be wise to delay quitting your full-time job before you can properly establish your startup venture. Indeed, risk-taking is an important part of running an enterprise. But manage these risks wisely so that you can effectively steer your business through the hard times.

Entrepreneurs can get caught up in the fantasy of being the CEO. To avoid this pitfall, focus more on the nuts-and-bolts of your business, rather than fancy ideas about your business. That way, you will have the right mindset, which will help you avoid myths, misleading notions, and common entrepreneur mistakes.