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As a business leader, you can sometimes make hundreds—maybe even thousands—of decisions a day. When you first start your business, the decisions you make then can often have a real impact on the way your business will function in the future, even if it seemed trivial or unimportant at the time.
As entrepreneurs themselves, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have certainly made their fair share of decisions, and below, they each share one important decision they made during the first few years of their company that impacted the way it functions today, as well as the important lessons other business owners can learn from these experiences.
1. To Pivot To A Smaller Niche
A decision I made early on was to pivot into a smaller niche and focus on a specific group of a target base. This allowed me to better understand that specific niche and its ins and outs better than a larger company could; therefore, I came off as more of an expert and was able to massively expand my business. Sometimes business takes you in a direction you never would’ve thought. Being able to pivot and embrace it could be the difference in success. – Todd Bialaszewski, Junk Car Medics
2. To Trust My Team Members Right Off The Bat
Most people say that trust is earned, but I have always chosen to inherently trust who I hire and let them show me what they’ve got. I’ve hired young, straight-out-of-college professionals and put them in high-pressure situations—I had to when running a fast-growing company. Nine times out of 10, they showed me that they in fact deserved that trust from the get-go. It gives them a better sense of confidence and secures quicker buy-in. Sure, it can be risky, but if you bring on a team member who really screws you over after giving them an opportunity to do great, then you may want to be more introspective about your hiring process and what you look for in an employee. – Shay Berman, Digital Resource
3. To Onboard The Right People
Getting started, the one important decision that I made was onboarding the right people. I ensured that my team not only had the right skills to get the job done but also comprised professionals who uphold the company’s culture and values. This helped me create a team of self-starters and diverse talent profiles who excelled at collaboration and helped keep the needle moving against all odds. What aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from this decision is that you need the right people by your side when getting started. New businesses encounter a lot of challenges from the get-go, but a reliable team makes it a bit easier for you to push through and achieve the set goals. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
4. To Pay Attention To My Customers’ Needs
My brother and I started our entrepreneurial journey in the web design sphere. But the longer we delivered that one service, the more additional questions we would get. Turns out, people needed a lot more assistance than building a website. That’s how we ended up as a full-service digital marketing agency. So my biggest takeaway from this experience is to always pay attention to what your clients are asking. Listen to what they are saying. Yes, you have this core offer, but remember to look around. It’s very easy to miss opportunities when you are grinding non-stop. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
5. To Include Customers In Product Development
Right from the beginning, we included our customers in the development of our products to get their timely feedback and create our products in close proximity with them. We’ve kept this practice today and we have built up a strong customer community. This helped us avoid building stuff no customer would ever use, and also helped us to build and maintain strong customer relationships. – Dave Hengartner, rready
6. To Stay True To Our Mission
We decided in the early years of building LogicPrep that it was important to create a holistic experience for our families that addressed all aspects of the college application journey. Over the last 15 years, that application process has changed, but we have been uniquely well-positioned to navigate those shifts given our philosophical commitment to helping students and their parents understand and maximize this journey no matter what shape it takes. Remember that the business environment may change—or the problem you’re addressing may even shift—so be sure you’re clear on your mission so you can adapt accordingly. – Lindsay Tanne, LogicPrep
7. To Avoid Outsourcing Our Work
One of the decisions I made in the early years was to build an in-house team instead of outsourcing our services. While outsourcing some of our work in digital marketing may have been a more cost-effective solution initially, I chose to invest in training and developing my team to perform all tasks internally. This choice allowed us to maintain control over the quality of our work, establish trust with our clients and form lasting partnerships. Despite initial challenges, today my company is thriving as a fast-growing and respected Canadian business, thanks in part to the strength of our dedicated team. Other entrepreneurs can learn from this decision that a focus on quality and trust, coupled with a long-term perspective, can lead to sustainable growth and success. – Kazi Mamun, CANSOFT
8. To Invest Heavily In Marketing
A major decision I made during the first few years of my company that had a real impact on the way it functions today was to invest in marketing my business. In the initial phase, one of my major goals was to reach out to the right audience and convert them into sales. The best way I could make that happen was through marketing. So I invested aggressively in SEO, social media marketing, digital marketing and more from the beginning. The impact it had on my business was fantastic. It helped me create a strong brand identity, build a powerful following and also create awareness about my product. All of this has helped me boost my conversions and increase my profit. All entrepreneurs should invest in marketing if they want to build brand awareness and reach out to their target audience quickly. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
9. To Systemize Everything
A decision I made early on was to systemize everything. Whether we were onboarding new clients, hiring our first employees or managing day-to-day tasks, I ensured early on that all repeatable tasks followed a prescribed process. Over time, these processes evolved into well-refined policies and procedures that the entire company follows, increasing accountability and streamlining operations. – Jack Perkins, CFO Hub
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