21 Ways to Prepare for a Better Business in 2021: Stay On Track

Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. You'll always need to be proving value, expanding your influence in your industry and creating assets. What might look like a dead end in your entrepreneur journey is likely just the rest of your journey behind a roadblock that can be worked around.

In this fourth and final article in the series, we're sharing some ideas and principles to carry you through your entrepreneur journey and nurture your entrepreneur mindset in 2021 and beyond so you can keep going.

18. Know the journey to be prepared.

Entrepreneurship is predictable. Certain challenges come at certain points in the journey of starting and growing a business. When you familiarise yourself with the entrepreneur journey, you can prepare better for what's ahead.

Our co-founder Glen recorded an updated explainer video in light of this year's events HERE.

If you've heard about the Entrepreneur Journey before, this time listen with the current state of your business in mind. When you do, you'll get a more accurate idea of what to expect as you continue your entrepreneur journey in 2021.

19. Embrace these 7 harsh truths of entrepreneurship.

Every entrepreneur enters business thinking they'll get more time, more money and less stress. Over the last decade, however, most entrepreneurs we've met and spoken with actually experience the opposite. They suffer stress, anxiety and all sorts of emotional highs and lows. And in 2020 especially, these harsh truths have been magnified.

In 2021, embracing these harsh truths has become more relevant than ever. Check out this VIDEO and recalibrate your expectations of entrepreneurship.

20. Build a team.

Being in business is a lot of work. In a single day you could be a marketer, a social media manager, an accountant, an HR manager, a salesperson, a designer and a visionary. Sounds exhausting!

Entrepreneurship is a team sport. Achieving your vision for your business doesn't – and shouldn't – mean that you need to do it all. Part of being a great entrepreneur is knowing when something is outside of your skillset, and finding the right person with the right skills to join your team so that you can move your business forward faster.

This doesn't mean you need to employ a team of 10 full-time and have your overheads shoot through the roof. Start small – you'll be surprised how many freelancers and professionals are actually multi-skilled and can carry out more than one role. Take the first step by listing down all the things you would rather not do, or that take up more time than you'd like, and go from there.

The Influence step comes into play here, and you can find out how HERE.

21. Have a purpose bigger than just money.

At Dent we believe that entrepreneurs are well-placed to be part of the solution to the world's most meaningful problems.

In our community we have entrepreneurs who have found their passion and built their business around engineering renewable energy sources for cities around the U.K., providing aid to refugees in war-torn countries, promoting gender equality in the corporate world, and introducing entrepreneurial skills to small rural communities so its members can end the cycle of poverty – to name a few.

But this doesn't mean that they solely work on that. These entrepreneurs are engineers, accountants, wellness product developers, marketers, consultants, designers and fitness trainers. They run their business based on what they are great at doing, but use their influence and business as a force for good.

In 2021, we encourage you to find your big purpose beyond just making money. Which two of these Global Goals resonates with you? Choose one for the head (something that makes logical sense for your business to be associated with), and one for the heart (something that you are personally passionate about). Then find some organisations to work with to make a dent on these two Global Goals.

Here are some resources:

• Buy1Give1: You can commit to allocating a small percentage of each sale to a Giving Project that addresses your chosen Global Goals. How great would it be to tell a client that by deciding to working with you, they've also funded something like putting a child through school?

• QBI for Good: Our City Leader Mike Clark has recently launched a business podcast that's sure to inspire you through your entrepreneur journey. By listening to the episodes, a donation is made on your behalf to a Giving Impact.

• Check out Daniel's 5 Ways to Use Your Business for Good to embed doing good into your business

You can learn more about the framework for providing a bigger purpose for your business HERE.

This wraps up our 21 ways to prepare your business for a better 2021. We hope it's been helpful, and if you found any particular idea valuable, let us know, so we can continue sharing more of the stuff you love.