In my last post which was part one of starting a successful startup business, I shared eight key points.

If you haven’t read that yet, then I highly recommend checking it out here How To Start A Successful Startup Business Part 1 of 2 before you continue reading this post so you get the whole idea and make sure not to miss any important point.

Today I want to share six more crucial steps that one should keep in mind before starting a business. 

Let’s go and see what they are.

Step 9: Find A Mentor

This was one of the major turning points in my business journey.

I had launched my first software product and it had taken me almost 18 months to get to where I was. 

I remember myself always messaging other successful startup founders on Linkedin and hoping they will give me some advice and luckily I got one great mentor who agreed to join me!

Now looking back, I can say that it was one of the best decisions I made in my business, that single act has saved me thousands of dollars in unnecessary mistakes and months of precious time.

Having a mentor does not mean you are weak, if you look around closely you will find that most successful athletes also have personal coaches that help them become who they are.

Remember, you need a coach or a mentor for four major reasons:

A: They see in you what you don’t see in yourself

What I mean here is potential. 

Sometimes a coach or a mentor can see the potential that you have in you that might not even occur to you.

A great mentor is someone who sees you better than you are today, someone who always envisions you in your next best version.

B: They see things around you that you don’t see yourself

What I mean here is the the opportunity.

I have been there and let me give you a heads up now, it’s very very easy to get caught up in the day to day works of your business and miss on what might be more important.

What happens here is that you get so busy at times that you don’t even get a chance to sit down and think clearly, so your mentor from outside the noise can share great ideas and insights with you to help you elevate your business to the next level.

C: They have already made the mistakes you are about to make

I always like to repeat this Chinese proverb that says, if you want to walk a path, find someone who is coming back that way!

It’s such a true and valuable piece of wisdom.

Your mentor has probably made most of the mistakes you are about to make, so he or she can save you out of most of them.

D: They hold you accountable

If you are a hardcore entrepreneur like myself then you may not need someone to hold you accountable because you work day and night regardless.

But it’s great when you have someone who has more experience than you and can review your progress with you from time to time and ensure you are on track and working on the right things.

Step 10: Understand That Running A Business Is Like A Marathon

You read it right!

You see, hear and read a lot of those overnight success stories, but there is no such thing as an overnight success.

Jeff Bezos says for us in Amazon every overnight success has taken at least around seven years! But the thing is people do not see the work that goes behind the scene and only hear of the glories.

Warren Buffett says one of the key elements to his success is long term thinking.

When you run a Marathon, you are already thinking long term, you are not thinking of the next ten or twenty minutes but for the next few hours.

This kind of thinking makes you stronger, forces you to plan things better, and be patient with the results when things don’t go as you expect them.

Therefore, develop a marathon runner mindset, think and plan long term for your business and you will be good.

Step 11: Learn Business

Yes, learn the business!

Let’s be real, this is actually where most people go wrong including me in the early days.

Before diving deep into the business world, I was training to become a pilot which was my childhood dream.

And to fly a commercial airline in the left seat as a Captain, It will take you around seven years of flying if not more.

The same applies for many of the occupations out there, this means you have to put in the time, money, and effort to study.

But the sad part is when it comes to business, people tend to fantasize and think all they need is just an idea and all will be well.

Yes, all will be well, and glory will be yours, but if you pay attention to all the points I have mentioned in this post part 1 and part 2, you will see that the first step is only an idea but there are many more steps for you to take before you succeed.

So approach business just like anything else in life or else you are going to pay a high price for not knowing and I’m saying this from my painful personal experience until I started to become a learning machine.

That is now my advice to you, become a learning machine, read any book or take any course related to your topic that you can get your hands on and you will achieve your goals so much faster.

I try not to let any day go by without me learning something new. I now have a list of books and courses that I want to go learn from as I continue this exciting business journey of mine.

I have recently combined my mistakes, learning, pains of sleepless nights, and lessons I learned personally and through my mentors into a systematic 90-day coaching program.

This is exactly what I wish I would have access to when I was getting started and it would have surely saved me 2 years and thousands of dollars in mistakes!

During these 90 days, I go through A to Z of starting and growing a business from scratch or any stage, just imagine a step by step guide that you just need to follow, take action and build your idea into a business.

I believe this is one of the best favors you can do to yourself, check it out here ( LINK ).

If you decide to join, you will have direct access to me during the 90 days and you can ask any questions and I’ll help you out, see you there!

Step 12: Go Deep And Aim For Mastery

The last thing you want to do is being average.

It’s a one time life and you have the potential, so just aim for the best.

This comes in two parts, first, you have to have a burning desire for greatness, and second, you have to work for it.

This is almost like the last step I mentioned but in a more specific way, whatever business you happened to be in, make sure you know more than anyone in your league.

This comes by really studying deeply in your niche and reaching the level of mastery until you understand your business and industry like a teacher.

This ensures you always stay ahead of the competition and continue to become better and grow every day.

Remember, you don’t want to be a jack of all trades but instead be the master of one.

Step 13: Learn Marketing

If you build it, they won’t come!

Yes, even if you build the best product in the world but no one knows about it then they are not going to buy it from you anyway.

Big and successful companies spend millions and billions of dollars every year in marketing despite being massively successful, ever wondered why?

It’s interesting, whenever I drive on the road and notice the advertisements, I see that they are from the most successful companies such as McDonald’s, Toyota, Emirates, and so on.

But the question is why so? Aren’t they already known? Aren’t they already big? Aren’t they already successful?

Yes, but what made them successful in the first place? Any guess? Yes, marketing! So they know the moment they stop marketing, people are going to start forgetting about them and lose their customers to other players.

Master the art of marketing and this will have a huge impact on where you will take your business.

Note that I do not mean you have to become a marketer yourself and learn how to run Facebook or Google Ads, not at all, but what I mean is learning about different marketing strategies and then finding the right people to execute them for you, this is also something that I go deep in my 90-Day Infinite Growth Startup Coaching.

Step 14: Know Your Numbers

Last but not least, measure everything that matters.

One of your main jobs as a leader is having the big picture in mind all the time, and you can do that by tracking your numbers.

Numbers tell you everything in a measurable way, numbers in finance, numbers in sales, numbers in marketing and so in all departments.

Many business owners sadly do not know what is going on in their business and this becomes a major cause of their business dying over time.

Make sure when you start from day one, you understand what you have to track and how you track them in a way that everyone in your organization will be on the same page.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. 

If so, put a like, share it with someone you know will benefit, and leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts and questions.

Make sure to subscribe to my newsletter so that I can send you my best content every week and help you take your business to the next level!

What Do Investors Look For In Startups Before Funding?

You are probably curious to know what’s going on inside the brains of investors?

So basically you can read their minds and adjust your presentation accordingly 🙂

Here i’m going to share four signs that investors look for when investing so you can make sure you meet them all before
approaching investors to increase your chances of getting funded.

1: Team

Richard Brandson says: a company is just a group of people coming together to build something meaningful.
So at the core of any organization wanting to be a family, a company or a football team, are people. People are the most important
asset any business can have.
Warren Buffet has many companies yet he does not run even a single one of them, how then they are still so successful? Because
he makes sure there are great leaders at the helm of any of his companies.
So when it comes to the startup world and funding, it’s not different that investors look at the team first.
Masayoshi Son, who invested in Jack Ma’s Alibaba when they had still no revenue or business plan, says i invested because of
Jack Ma himself and not the company, because of his charisma and vision.
So startup investors want to see a few things before investing:

1: More than one founding team member

This does not mean being a single founder means you have less chances of success, not, but investors feel more confident when
there are two or three founders who share the same vision, so their risk of losing that single founder reduces.
It takes a lot of work, not all individuals can handle that much work alone, so multi founders is a good sign that founders won’t be
overloaded or exhausted.

2: Founders with complementing skills

You don’t want to have three founders who are all from a marketing background or a tech background. What investors like is when
a founder is into the tech side and another one is on the business side, that is a great match.

3: Founders who get along well

You don’t want to tell your investors that you met your cofounder at the coffee shop a few days ago or just at a gathering. It’s
always best if founders have known each other from the past and history has proved they can get along well.
It’s also important how all founders met with the idea or their level of belief in the vision, you want to make sure everyone is on the
same page.

4: Founders who get along well

Investors also want to see if you are the right fit for the idea,
The question or assessment usually is if any of the founders has domain expertise, so that you understand your market, industry
and competitors well.
Or at least a way to relate your past experience to what you want to do now.

2: Vision

Jack Ma says: It’s not the idea, it’s the dream behind the idea.
Have you noticed that two people can have the same idea or two companies being in the same business, yet one goes to much
greater success than the other? It most probably has to do with the team or vision.
Your vision tells investors quickly of two things:

1: Your belief, energy and passion

This can not be made up, it has to be real and from within, experienced investors can see that in your eyes and in return it tells
them a lot about you.
It tells them how much confidence you have, how long is the journey and how far you want to go for it.

2: Opportunity size

Bill Gates’ vision was a computer on every desk in every home!
Mark Zuckerberg’s vision was to connect people together from wherever they are.
Now this is not an exact prediction, it does not mean it’s always true when someone says about a vision, but it can send some good
signals of information to experienced investors!

3: Market Size

You can have a great idea, but it won’t be that valuable until you know that a large number of people are interested in it.
It takes so much work and dedication to go from just an idea to a real business that continuously grows and you can’t do too many
things at the same time.
Therefore you want to make sure you have picked the right idea, so at the end of your efforts you arrive at something big enough to
reward you for your efforts and all your stakeholders.
So remember that the bigger the market size the more interesting the opportunity, so that your investors can expect some healthy
return on their stay with you.
Also note that venture capital is not an easy business, they have to place many bets and wait a long time to see the fruits of their
investments, and for an investment to pay for other failures, it has to be really big.

4: Real Problem or Problem Validation

This one is a big tangible boost for investors’ confidence.
Real Problem simply means a problem that is really faced often enough by a good number of people.
One major milestone after having an idea and researching an idea for a startup is the Idea Validation.
Idea Validation means you have proven that your idea is going to work out successfully, there are a few key strategies for
Validating your startup idea which again I go deep in my Infinite Growth Startup Coaching Program.
Having Validated your startup idea would give you an edge and make you readier and more matured for early-stage investors to
understand and believe in your vision.
So make sure you have validated your idea and that’s your first step to ensure you don’t lose the interest of potential investors.

Later i can add this also:
Lead Investor
Traction

4 Proven Steps To Find Investors For Your Startup

I know you might be wondering how I can find an investor for my idea.

You think you have a great startup idea and are just waiting for the money to come.

If that’s you, then continue reading as I’m going to share some helpful tips to help you find an investor easier.

1: Make sure your idea is ready

What do i mean by this?
Just like how humans have different stages of life such as pregnancy, infancy, toddler, childhood, etc, startups also have different
stages during their lifecycle which I talk about in detail in my Infinite Growth Startup Coaching Program.
One such major stage for a startup is Idea Validation which means you have proven that your idea is going to work out
successfully, there are a few key strategies for Validating your startup idea which again I go deep in my Infinite Growth Startup
Coaching Program.
So there are different investors who are interested in different startups depending on the stages they are in, some might want to
invest only in high revenue startups while some others might be interested in only early-stage startups.
Having Validated your startup idea would give you an edge and make you readier and more matured for early-stage investors to
understand and believe in your vision.
So make sure you have validated your idea and that’s your first step to ensure you don’t waste your time chasing investors
prematurely.

2: Stack all the necessary documents

This is very important as you don’t get much time when you approach an investor.
Investors don’t invest just by your presentation or explanation, they need some documents to study your idea.
There are quite a few key documents that you must have ready handy before you even start looking for investors such as Product
Deck, Investor Deck or Pitch, Feasibility Study, etc,.
Don’t worry if you don’t know what those docs are or how to make a perfect one, I have been there and that’s why I have included
all those documents step by step in my 90 days infinite growth startup coaching program along with ready templates.
So make sure you have your documents in place and that’s your second step!

3: Get a mentor

If i am to start all over again, this is probably one of the first things I would do which is finding a mentor for myself.
A mentor is someone who has walked the path you want to walk and can guide you through the exact steps for your success.
So how does having a mentor related to the funding topic here?
Investors are more welcoming to warm requests just like anyone else and mentors usually know some investors in their network
and can introduce you to them when the time comes.
You don’t have to get a mentor just for the sake of funding, you can get a lot of support and knowledge in other areas from a mentor
for the growth of your startup, so you can utilize his or her expertise to the max.
Now let’s go to step number four.

4: Tap Into accelerator programs

This is more or less like step number three which is an indirect method.
There are a growing number of incubators and accelerator programs globally due to the rise in upcoming startups and available
funding.
Most of these programs do not invest directly as they are not investors except some small grants or amounts of like 100K$ or so
depending on the plans and strategies of a specific accelerator.
Again note that accelerators bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table, so if you happen to join them, make sure you
get all the possible learnings from them while you focus on the funding part.
Plus, applying to different accelerators or incubators will expose you to the community and teach you certain things during the
process such as presentation and pitching skills 🙂

5 Ways To Kickstart The Growth of Your Startup

Everyone wants to grow their startup.

Building a business is not luck, its system and strategy!

Here are five strategies to kickstart the growth of your startup:

1: People

People are the core of your business.
You need to make sure a few things when it comes to people:
A: Hire the right people
B: Place them in the right roles
C: Make sure they work together as a team
If you get the B & C right, you will increase the retention rate of your employees!

2: Mission & Purpose

If you want to truly succeed with number 1, make sure you get the number 2 right.
Great talents want to join a mission and not just any company, you have to make sure that you have a clear vision and mission to
attract the best of talents out there.
You also need to make sure that you have a very big reason why you are in the business aside from making profits.
This will inspire and energize your people and become as well as a talent magnet for you.

3: Innovate

You need to make sure you are not just selling what everyone else is selling out there.
In other words, you need to be able to differentiate yourself from other startups out there.
This gives your customers a valid reason on why they should buy from you rather than your competitors and also make it way
easier for you to close deals.
So make sure you can clearly tell your customers what makes your product or service a unique one which cant be found
elsewhere.
And this is called USP or Unique Selling Proposition, this is what you need to have for every product or service you offer.

4: Marketing

You can have the best product in the market but if people don’t know about it, they are not going to buy from you.
I want you to observe the next time you go on the road or even online, you will notice most ads are for the most successful
businesses.
What does that tell us?
It’s a clear indicator that successful people are successful just because they know how to do marketing and attract millions of
potential customers towards them.
Many businesses go out of business simply because they don’t learn how to do marketing and say we don’t have the money.
But wait, marketing is not an expense, it’s an investment if you know how to generate a great profit from it!

5: Hunger

You should be hungry for success.
You should never be satisfied with what you have.
Warren Buffet says the number one reason big businesses go out of business is complacency.
That’s why you see a new startup come up today and a few years later some bug companies go out of business because of them,
why?
Because big companies are happy with what they have but startups are hungry to achieve there and succeed!