6 Steps For Launching The Next Facebook

If you want success, you just have to reach out and grab it. The time for excuses is over and the time is now. There is absolutely no reason why you can’t apply your talent and drive to creating something tangible and lucrative today. Here are the six steps you need to take to get off the couch and launch an ambitious venture immediately:

1. Hunger

Before you can even think about spearheading your own business, you need to ensure that you are truly hungry. Without the adequate drive, your prospects of success will fade as soon as the initial excitement wears off.  Life as an entrepreneur is hard enough as it is… the last thing you need to add to your plate is feigning hunger.

At one point – if not several points – seemingly everything you have accomplished will be taken away and you will be left to the challenging of breaking through a rut. The only thing that will get you through this is dedication. Your will to do anything and everything to accomplish your dream is the fuel that is needed to keep your venture running.

2. Entourage

Your team will be a make-or-break aspect of the business. As with anything, you want positive, motivated, self-starting individuals who have similar goals as you do. But as similar as their mindset and dreams may be, your ideal team needs to have a diversely talented pool of players. In the beginning, efficiency is everything. Lean is good, fat is bad. So, each person needs to have their own responsibilities and be bringing something unique to the table.

No two people should be doing the same thing, or have the same main-strengths, etc. Assemble your team outside your close group of friends. Look in places you yourself do not usually go to, because – again – you are looking for people different than you. Be picky and set the standards high. You do not need a large group in the beginning so do not take on every other guy that says he’s interested.

3. Conception

Figure out what it is your business will do. Know at the market and determine what there is a demand for or what trends are going to be hot in the near future. Do not look into what is hot now, because by the time your business is up and running, that trend will no longer be hot or will be too saturated. It is better to break into a field that does not require any familiarization.

Pick something you know already. And most importantly, do something you are passion about and have an aptitude in. Without passion, your dedication will not last. You must love what you do. Without playing to your strengths, you will not make it, simply put. There is just too much competition out there.

4. Footwork

Start assembling the other pieces of the puzzle immediately. Do it now while other aspects of the business are falling into place. Utilize manpower and resources to the fullest extent. You want to use as much things that are free as possible. Your goal should be to spend as little money as possible, get the business up and running as fast as possible, and start getting customers as soon as possible.

You do not need to have a perfect product to launch. Trying to build the Mona Lisa will rob any chance of success you have. Get a beta up. And contrary to popular belief, fail often and fail quick. That is how you perfect your product. There is no way to know what the ideal product is until you test it.

5. Assets

Figure out what wild cards your team brings to the table. Maybe its a mentor willing to invest time, energy, or even capital into the business. Maybe one of your old friends or colleagues works or owns a company in your industry that could be a potential partner. Maybe its something that has to do with your school or alumni network. Every successful person gets lucky.

But luck is nothing more than utilizing opportunities. I can tell you for certain that the success you see on Forbes what not created by “dumb luck”. They searched for and made opportunities happen and took advantage of them. That is what you need to do.

6. Persistence

Keeping the rate of energy and time dedicated to the business constant can be a challenge. Your business demands you commit 7 days out of the week and nearly 12-hour workdays. You cannot escape this. You also need to keep the energy level of your team constant. This is where good management skills come into play.

Develop a culture of motivation and reward, where everyone is rewarded for what they invest into the company. Also, remember that your company needs to progress not at a steady rate, but at a growing rate. Slow and steady does not win the race in the world of entrepreneurship. But if you follow these six steps, you certainly will.

Venture Clout | Elite.