It’s never been easier to launch a business.

The amount of resources available to entrepreneurs is unparalleled. The ability to reach your audience is literally at your finger tips, thanks to the democratizing effects of social media.

It’s also never been easier to be lost in a crowd. Despite the quality of your work, the professionalism of your services, that same social network that offers you opportunity can easily overwhelm your voice, casting you into the depths.

What’s needed then, to stay afloat, is the right approach: a plan of action that parts the waves.

What you need is an entrepreneurial marketing plan.

Keep reading to learn the core concepts your business needs to follow to succeed.

Be Flexible

There was a time where you could schedule out a full-year plan. Quarterly assessments would allow for adjustments, but you were essentially on a long-term plan.

Our world moves faster than that.

Any strategies you implement need to be assessed regularly and adjusted as necessary. You can’t afford to commit to a long-term plan that isn’t working. The market is too competitive.

How do you know if an approach works? Try it. Results can be monitored in real-time, offering the data you need to evaluate your approach.

Not everything you try will work, and that’s okay. Failing is how we learn what succeeds. The difference is being able to adjust.

It’s All About the Customer Experience

The best product in the world can fail if an inferior product offers a better experience.

Humankind is funny. We’ll often choose what’s easy at the sacrifice of what’s better. Fast food is often less nutritious than a home cooked meal, but a billion burgers sold is its own argument.

That’s not to say that you should produce anything other than your best. Instead, it’s to remind you that it’s the experience of the customer that will determine what succeeds and what doesn’t.

Know Your Strengths

There are a several platforms to have a presence on, but that doesn’t mean you should be on all of them.

Choose the platforms that a) you’re comfortable with, and b) make sense for your brand.

It’s better to dominate your entrepreneurial marketing on just a few platforms, than to be a less cohesive presence on multiple platforms.

Customers can pick up on insincerity. If you come across as trying too hard, you’ll turn off both existing and potential customers.

That being said, if there’s an area you know where your market is, but you lack the necessary know-how or skills, hire someone to do it for you.

Don’t waste your time on what you’re not good at. Your time is too valuable. Assess whether it’s worth the effort, and, if it is, get someone with the right strengths to execute it for you.

A Last Word On Entrepreneurial Marketing

There are a million fine details when it comes to marketing your business. Thousands and thousands of words have been spilled recommending specific approaches and angles to take.

However, simply adopting the above concepts and practicing them regularly will allow you to dominate your entrepreneurial marketing strategy, allowing your business to succeed.

For more information regarding entrepreneurship, check out the rest of the blog.

The Harvard Business Review referenced a study conducted by New York University on why entrepreneurship aspirations in college students dropped by 85% after participating in a summer business camp.

Over the course of the camp, students got an up-close-and-personal look at the ins and outs of being a business owner. The pitfalls, the risk, the struggle, and the deferred rewards.

Tasting the reality of owning a business versus just paying attention to the seductive idea of it put things into perspective for these students. If you’re thinking of becoming a business owner, you should follow their example.

Why Entrepreneurship Isn’t for Everyone

There is a common misconception that becoming an entrepreneur is the end-all-be-all of being successful. “If you’re clocking in and out of an office every day, it’s only because you don’t have the gusto to make it on your own.”

That idea is untrue.

The reality of owning your own business exposes you to incredible risk on a daily basis. You’re always plugged into it, possibly not getting to enjoy being off work by 6 pm or having weekends off.

If something goes wrong with your business, you’re on call.

But if you view the idea of needing to be plugged into your business not as a bad thing, but as something that’s empowering in that it speaks to your importance, you aren’t alone.

Many entrepreneurs feel that their constant attention means the opportunity pour every bit of their passion and expertise into their work. That’s not something you’ll always find when working for a separate company. If you share that feeling, keep reading.

Having More Money Versus Having No Money

A lot of people feel that the only way to make good money is by becoming a business owner when in reality, over half of small businesses fail by their fifth year, often leaving in their wake financial hardship.

When you consider that reason as to why entrepreneurship can be difficult financially compared to working a typical job where paychecks are consistent, the value of working for somebody else seems clear on the surface.

Looking below the surface however, consistency in pay often means stagnation. When working for somebody else you are at the mercy of your manager for a raise. When you own your own business, you are at the mercy of yourself.

Entrepreneurs embrace the idea that while risk is substantially higher as a business owner, the sky is the limit on returns.

Those Are Just a Couple of Reasons Why Entrepreneurship Isn’t for Everyone

Other frequently cited reasons in addition to the points outlined above include:

• Lack of recognition for your efforts
• Lack of teamwork if you’re a “solo-preneur”
• Lack defined structure in your day

If you look at those points and think to yourself that you don’t need recognition to stay inspired, that if you work hard a team will follow, and that you enjoy crafting your own structure – business ownership may suit you.

What’s the Main Reason You Should Become an Entrepreneur?

People should become entrepreneurs if they see no other alternative that could truly fulfill them.

If building a business is a burning desire you have in your heart, then go for it. Do it for the passion first and the rewards second.

Remember, if you’re looking for money there are easier ways than entrepreneurship to find it.

If you’re looking for recognition there are easier ways than entrepreneurship to get it.

If you’re looking for success there are easier ways than entrepreneurship to go about it.

But if you’re not looking for easy and are a builder at heart, brace yourself. Creating a business can be an incredible challenge but the rewards can be extraordinary.

For more business-related articles, read more on the Rafferty Pendery blog.

Are you a female entrepreneur?

Women are becoming powerful figures in the business world, but every business needs to make sales and create a reputable brand. Entrepreneurship can be scary, but women need to know tips to expand her business.

Times are changing in the business world. There are more success factors to consider than just waking up early and wearing a pants suit. Entrepreneurial success depends on your state of mind, your work ethic, and your goals.

Here are a few smart entrepreneurship tips to grow your brand.

To Be A Smart Entrepreneur Know Yourself and What You Want

This seems pretty standard, but it’s easy to lose yourself in life. When you become distracted, you begin to lose your purpose.

Always take time out of your day to think. Sit in a quiet room and think about what you want.

Feel free to write your ideas in a notebook. Think about your long-term goals but also your short-term goals. Write these down, and include any ideas on how to achieve these goals.

It’s easy to think about your clients, your business strategy, and other practical business ownership factors. But you should never lose yourself and why you started this business.

You’re Exchanging More than Money

A lot of entrepreneurs become business owners to make more money and escape the 9-to-5 lifestyle.

When their business becomes successful, they make the focus about money. This is a major mistake — a smart entrepreneur exchanges more than money.

When you communicate with clients, you’re exchanging a relationship. When a client walks into your store, they feel your energy and your presence. When you thank your client, you’re expressing empathy and giving them your heart.

If you’re only in the business of receiving, you shouldn’t be an entrepreneur. Business owners start a business to exchange. And this exchange is more than money and services.

Build Relationships

When do you truly connect with another person? This is a tough question to answer because you can connect with someone anywhere. You can meet someone at a concert, online, through a friend, or at school and work.

You won’t become best friends with every customer.

But attempt to build a lasting relationship with each customer. It’s easy for women to hold back a friendly smile or engaging conversation, especially with men. But personability may be the key to build lasting brand awareness.

Relationships don’t stop with customers.

Build relationships with your connections, employees, and investors. Always communicate with these people and find networking opportunities. By building a professional community, you’ll always have a support system.

Become a Smart Entrepreneur

Female business owners are sending a powerful message. In the wake of misogyny, women can make a difference. By being a business owner, you’re exchanging services and communicating with like-minded individuals.

Entrepreneurship isn’t about selling the best idea or creating the best products. You’re standing tall as an independent woman who’s willing to provide for customers and colleagues.

For more entrepreneurial advice, visit our resources.

As Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies continue to break records, just about every media outlet is calling them a surefire investment. Along with currencies, there are lots of other technology trends that are breaking new ground and becoming even more valuable.

Innovative entrepreneurs should always be looking to support other investments and ventures to diversify their wealth.

Once you’ve built a great business or product, investing in other technology can not only increase your wealth but support other tech innovators. Following tech trends is not only fun, but it can inspire new ideas for your own company and keep your products at the cutting edge of tech.

If you’re looking to start investing, check out these 5 tech trends that are making waves all over the world.

1. IT Re-Engineering Processes

As businesses grow and change, technology aids in finding new and efficient ways of completing everyday tasks. Technology solutions have revolutionized hiring, asset management, and payroll systems. Who knows what other ways the workplace can be re-engineered for the future?

By modernizing the infrastructure and architecture of IT departments, research and delivery systems can be revolutionized. Using the IT restructuring capabilities of the future, every department in just about every industry could see a boost in productivity.

2. A No-Collar Workforce

Automation and artificial technology will redefine the roles of workers in the future. While some portion of the workforce will need to be retrained to understand this technology, others could be replaced or have their roles reinvented.

There will be decades of hybrid human and machine workplace development. Innovative entrepreneurs will be on the ground floor of these developments as they happen. New HR approaches and software could help to handle a dispersed workforce and help to complete cognitive tasks in completely new ways.

3. Enterprise Data Accessibility

In every company, hours of manpower and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars are invested in data research. Understanding how all of this data can be used will continue to be a part of business development practices.

What we will see in the coming years are new ways to structure data and use it to help with automation. Machine learning takes into account vast amounts of collected data and notable errors to find ways to improve processes.

Software and hardware focusing on machine learning are a great place for entrepreneurs to start investing.

4. New Customer Experiences

The way that customers interact with products and technology will change the field of customer service. Whole industry ecosystems–take car services and taxis, for example–could be upended in new ways.

Customers could be interacting with tablets and mobile interfaces when they visit fast food restaurants. By taking control over your own ordering and customization, human error is eliminated and food waste is greatly cut back on.

Changing the customer experience can send shockwaves through every industry.

5. Augmented Reality

Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies are changing the way that users are seeing the world. By adding a layer of history, context, or marketing efforts to a virtual space, experiences of products and public space could be changed forever.

Innovative Entrepreneurs Keep Their Ear To The Ground

Understanding that the capabilities of every technology are explored through experimentation means that tech may not be fully formed when you encounter it. If you can begin to understand the possibilities for a new concept, you can begin to imagine how valuable it can be in the future.

To better understand the tech landscape, check out our guide to 5 things every tech entrepreneur should know.

Do you have a great idea for a tech solution that the world needs? If so, becoming a tech entrepreneur might be the ideal career path for you!

While setting your own hours and handling all aspects of your business might sound like an exciting opportunity, the reality is that creating a new tech company from the ground up requires hard work, commitment, and a significant dedication to your craft.

Yet, while the input may be great, the good news is rewards for the digital entrepreneur can be even greater. In fact, venture capitalists invested more than $56 billion in startups in 2016 alone, and that number continues to rise.

So, do you want in?

Today, we’re discussing five ways to succeed as you step into the world of tech entrepreneurship.

Ready to learn more? Let’s get started!

1. Find Passionate People

As you grow your company, your employees will quickly become the backbone of your business. As such, it’s vital to hire ones that are as enthusiastic and passionate about your solution as you are.

Steve Jobs is famously quoted as saying that when making a hiring decision at Apple, he was primarily interested in one thing — did that person love Apple?

When explaining his reasoning, Jobs said, “Because if they fall in love with Apple, everything else will take care of itself.”

As a tech entrepreneur, you may be at the helm of your business. Yet, your employees will be responsible for many of the processes that keep its gears running smoothly.

As such, you’ll want — and need — teammates that care as deeply as you do about what you’re selling.

2. Survey the Landscape

While you might think your offering is the best new idea to hit the tech market, chances are you could be up against scores of competitors offering a similar solution.

To stand out and get noticed, take a look at what’s currently being provided in your niche. Then, determine how your product or service is unique, and strive to highlight these differentiators.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and pick the brains of your industry peers, especially those with more experience than you. As you grow into your role as a tech entrepreneur, you’ll find that there’s something to be learned from everyone you meet — yes, even your competition.

So follow your passions and pursue your dreams fervently, but don’t forget to look up once in a while to see what everyone else is doing.

Studies show that sharing knowledge and communicating with other professionals is crucial for growth, though only 25% of executives are effectively doing so. Join that one-quarter and see what a difference it makes.

3. Meet a Need

You may have heard the statistic circulating around that Internet that 90% of startups fail. What’s discussed less frequently are the reasons behind this staggering figure.

The chief reason only one in 10 will succeed? Almost half (42%) of founders polled responded that there was no market need. 

This reason came in at the top, posing an even greater threat than a lack of funds (29%), a team that didn’t fit (23%) and pressure from competition (19%).

The takeaway? Even if you have all the capital you need, a stellar team, and little to no competition, if you aren’t providing a product or service that people actually need, it could be difficult to secure a spot in the tech landscape.

Today, technology allows us to create software and systems that perform all kinds of functions. From automated floss dispensers to a Bluetooth-connected toaster, there’s virtually no limit to what we can create when given the capacity.

Yet, being a tech entrepreneur requires an incredible investment of time, energy, and resources — not just from yourself, but from your team as well.

To boost your ROI and up your odds of success, pinpoint your target demographic. Then, determine what those consumers prioritize, prefer, and typically purchase.

How does your solution fit into that? If you aren’t sure, it might be time to re-evaluate your vision.

4. Manage Inputs and Outputs

Though much of being a tech entrepreneur centers on following your dream, the all-important, yet less glamorous administrative aspect cannot be overlooked.

At the end of the day, successfully managing your resources can make all the difference in succeeding and barely scraping by.

Especially in the beginning stages, every incoming dollar counts. The way you invest it back into your company is critical. To maintain the balance, you may have to get creative with the way you allocate income.

Are sky-high salaries burning a hole through your profits? Consider if you can offer lower pay but better benefits, offering employees morale-boosting incentives such as happy hours and comped meals to cut costs.

In the same vein, you’ll also be required to sharpen your time management skills. When you’re your own boss, that freedom can be incredibly liberating — and simultaneously overwhelming. 

Without set working hours, you can easily become burnt out. In fact, Gallup poll data reveals that 34% of entrepreneurs said they experienced worry “a lot of the day yesterday,” up four percentage points from all other workers. In addition, 45% experienced stress that same day, up three percentage points from the worker average.

In a nutshell, it’s important to focus not only on how you’re spending and investing your money but also your time. A successful entrepreneur will seek balance in both.

5. Plan Your Future

Before making any new move as a tech entrepreneur, make sure you have a detailed business plan in place. Creating one is crucial to making sure your company has a roadmap for the future.

Strategizing how your company will respond to changes in the market, new competition, fluctuations in profit margin, team growth, and more is a valuable first step.

As you craft your plan, be sure to account for some flexibility. What you think will work in 2017 might not be as applicable or important by 2020. In that case, sticking tight to your blueprint could do more harm than good.

Allow yourself the freedom to transition into a new phase if necessary, but build a solid foundation first. A business plan can help you get there by forcing you to put down on paper all the ideas and tangents that have been swirling in your head.

Not sure what to include in your plan? The U.S. Small Business Administration provides some helpful guidelines.

Straight from the Source: Advice from a Tech Entrepreneur

Now that you know a little more about how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur, do you still believe the path is for you? If so, I’d love to share my tips on how to navigate this rewarding, but sometimes tricky, landscape.

I provide relevant industry-related articles to help you ace the business management game. From branding strategies to social media, I’ll show you the ropes as you take each step along the journey.

To learn more, feel free to contact me and let’s connect!

It is important for every business to have both short-term and long-term goals. Having goals shows that the business is improving and has plans to keep improving. However, for Tech Entrepreneurs, this is not easy. It requires a variety of skills and, therefore, requires you to use those skills every day.  A tech entrepreneurship requires you to identify potential in people and  business opportunities, and it requires you to use that potential. This creates a busy life.

It gets incredibly easy to lose track of everything that needs to be done or everything you want to do. This busy life makes it easy for you to lose sight of the goals you have in mind, and it makes it seem as if you do not have the potential, skills, resources, or time to make them happen. Not achieving any of your goals, short term or long term, then affects the business in a negative way because not achieving your goals means you aren’t growing, or you aren’t growing as fast as you would like. So how do you not lose focus and keep achieving your goals?

1. Take care of your body.

This may sound simple, but it’s harder than you think. Living a busy life can often mean getting little sleep, so you can get that last project done. It’s the same with eating. It’s easy to skip breakfast when you’re in a rush out the door, and it’s easy to forget about lunch when you’re busy overseeing different tasks and keeping up with work. Next thing you know, you fall on the couch at home, too tired to make dinner. Believe it or not, lack of sleep affects your health in different ways. It can affect your blood pressure, which can affect how you treat your employees or anyone you work with. It can affect your low blood sugar, which can affect how you perform. Taking care of yourself should be first and foremost.

Sleep when you can. Sometimes getting little sleep can’t be helped. As for the food, keep snacks on you. Whether that is granola bars, yogurt or a bag of peanuts keep something nearby to munch on throughout the day, you’ll be surprised how well that keeps you focused. This is important because if you can’t take care of your body, how can you take care of your business properly? Stay healthy, so you can physically achieve your goals.

2. Drink water, and take short walks around the office or wherever it is that you work.

Not moving enough and sitting behind a desk for eight hours will make your brain slow. You’ll get bored and more frustrated than you would from lack of sleep. Remember to get up, and drink water. Water will help to keep you hydrated, and it gives you a nice break from staring at a computer screen or a sheet of paper. Also, it’s nice to get up and walk around for 3-5 minutes. Stretching your muscles will help work a separate part of your brain. Thus, waking it up. Keeping your brain active helps keep you focused on your goals and will help you not to get sidetracked. It will also help you come up with more inventive ways to achieve your goals.

3. Write your goals down.

Write your goals down and read them daily. Maybe have a cork board or a wall somewhere, whether it be in your office or at home, pin up pictures of what your dreams and goals look like. Always have them around to keep yourself reminded of why you’re doing what you’re doing. Quitting is always easy. Achieving those goals are not, but it’s much more rewarding. Keep your goals in front of you, so you have something you can chase after.

4. Find a team of like-minded people.

Have a team of coworkers, employees or friends who want to achieve the same goals. They can encourage you and make sure you don’t lose focus or heart. They will be the ones that remind you why you started in the first place. They will also be the ones that help you develop your ideas and bring in resources to make your ideas happen. You can’t do it alone, and even if you can, it will be much harder doing everything by yourself. Besides, it’s much more fun having a group of people you can trust cheering you on rather than trying to find the motivation yourself.

5. Use the haters as motivation.

Never forget your original source of inspiration, and always be finding new forms of motivation. People are always going to tell you that you can’t or that it’s not worth it. Prove them all wrong. If there is any reason to do what you are doing, it’s to show people you can, and that it is worth it. Someone in the world needs your idea to manifest, and you need your idea to become a reality. Do it for people, but never forget that you’re doing it for yourself, too.

Tech Entrepreneurs have a lot on their plate, but that doesn’t mean you have to take your goals and dreams off of it. Take care of yourself, surround yourself with like-minded people, and keep motivated, and you’ll do just fine. Your goals are possible, and you are just the one to fulfill them.