With a new year comes new opportunities for entrepreneurs to burst onto the startup stage and being innovating. April Lane, an entrepreneurship professor from the Loyola Quinlan School of Business, wants to help make that happen for you.Lane, who is also the executive director of Catapult Chicago, a collaborative co-working space for digital startups that have demonstrated business traction, recently sat down with the Quinlan communications department and provided five expert entrepreneurial tips to guide the prospective entrepreneur down the path to success.
Here are a few excerpts from that list. Use this advice wisely and maybe you can be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk.
Lane’s first tip for entrepreneurs is to read everything you can:
What you think you know about starting a business is most likely out of date. Business plans? We don’t really write those anymore. Instead, it’s time to get up to speed on how we start businesses now. Get familiar with the terms: business model canvas, lean startup and customer development. Read anything by Steve Blank, Ash Maurya and Eric Ries. Take Steve Blank’s course on Udemy. Find some blogs or books on starting a business and get reading.
She also encourages folks to go out and get involved in the local startup community:
Surround yourself with entrepreneurs. Starting a business is hard and a lot of people can’t relate. Find others who are at your stage or further along for help. They can share experiences to help cut through the noise of what works or doesn’t, and can offer “therapy” to keep you sane when things get tough. Concerned about someone stealing your idea? Don’t be. Seriously. Ask for help, introductions, referrals, capital, etc. Startup communities are incredibly helpful and supportive.
For more entrepreneurial tips from Lane, check out the full interview.