1. Do a SWOT Analysis
Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the industry that you are entering into. Ascertain who your existing competitors are and the major trends sweeping through your chosen industry.  

2. Listen to Your Gut Feeling
Don’t underestimate the power of your instincts, even in business. If you have a good feeling about your new venture and/or your business partners, bank on that. If you have a bad feeling, such as something does not seem to fit, listen to your intuition and explore it further.

3. Write a Clear Business Plan
The quote, ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ is synonymous with writing a clear business plan. Take a moment to envision where you want your business to be in both the short term and long journey. Some of the frameworks to keep in mind are the revenue model, financial goals and production strategy.

4. Think Big but Take Small Steps
When a dream seems too big to accomplish, I remind myself that the only way to eat an elephant is to take one bite at a time. As in business, any big dream is achievable through steady small steps whilst focusing on the ultimate goal.

5. Have a Business Mentor
There’s no better example of what the future may look like then a business mentor to look up to. A mentor can guide your steps when you are starting out, offer advice and provide a wealth of experiences that you can learn from.

“Winners are not people who never fail but people who never quit,” Anon.