Many times as young entrepreneurs or even young professionals looking to make a new career move, we get discouraged by the notion that we do not have enough experience to do something, to apply for a job, or to make the big move that you want to make.
Forget about it!
However, as a young entrepreneur, you have to take hold of that notion that you don’t have any experienec and throw it out the window – toss it away. Everything that you have doneup to that point is your experience. Just because you may not have a college degree or haven’t worked in a specific industry does not mean that you do not have some experience that you can apply to the work that you will be doing or the business that you want to start. Personally, I have lots of experience in internet based business ventures but if I want to break into a brick and morter business, say a retail store, some people may not think that I would have any experience that would work in that venture. Yet, for those that know me, they know I have been running an eBay business for the last couple years; which is basically have a retail store, just online. Taking that experience into a real world store front in a shopping center will help me to determine the amount of inventory and stock I need of different items, the reorder points of items to make sure that they are always in stock, the pricing strategy’s to be able to compete with competitiors, etc. No matter what you have done in the past, you can find an expreience that will help you in your future ventures.
There are always other things that can make up for your lack of “experience” when starting a new business venture. If you are starting a new business, you better be passionate about it. Without having a passion for the work that you are doing, people will be able to tell that you don’t feel 100% confident in your idea. Along with your passion for your business, you need to have a good vision in place.
Passion + Vision = “Experience”
In everything that you do related to your business start-up, make sure you share your passion with the people that you talk with; no matter who they are – your friends, your parents, your family, your professors, your classmates. If you can continue to show that you are passionate about your venture, others will believe in you. If you have a strong vision to share with people and help them see what you see in your business, others will believe in you. The key is that you have to market yourself – you are your brand/business!
Once you get others to believe in you, the hard part is over. Now that you have other people believing in you and supporting you, exploit them for anything you can. Now, I know that could sound bad to some, but remember, as an entreprneur, your funding is limited and you are not looking to spend ALL your money on things that you can bootstrap. So, you have all these people believing in you, ask yourself “what can he/she do for me?” When you answer that question, ask that person! Maybe you know someone who does website design, ask them to help you out for free or for a very discounted rate so that you can get something up and running. If you know a lawyer who specializes in working with entrepreneurs, ask them to help you out off the clock to save you some money or see if they will provide private consulting at a discounted rate. Look at the profession of all the people you know and see how they can help you. If you can share your vision and passion with that person and make them a believer, then you can get what you want from that person pretty easily. Majority of people are willing to help someone they know and someone they know is passionate about what they are doing.
Still worried about not having the experience you need for your business? Then if you really want to, look at getting an internship in that industry or a part time job. Even just getting your foot in the door and working in the industry for a short period of time, you can get some experience. However, know that having experience in the industry should not be your final determining factor as to whether you start your business or not!
As you start to build your business and your brand, you will start to gain the experience you need.
I have heard of this “Fake it until you make it,” phrase, it may be a sensible strategy to adopt, provided you do not boast too big or talk about something you have absolutely no knowledge of.
Unfortunately some of the more experienced people in the industry tend to want to knock you down if they sense the slightest bit of vagueness, even though your intention, your ideas and opinions are correct. They feel that you are not qualified to give your opinion even if it is valid, just because you do not have as much experience as they do. Just ignore this kind of people, they just don’t want you making it in the same industry as them and become their competitor.