Being an entrepreneur is a dream for many, but it can be overwhelming as well. There is no set path that all entrepreneurs must follow for success. Though there are lessons that can be learned from those who have come before. Any entrepreneur can learn from these five steps to ensure rapid growth for any company. 

Start Today 

Waiting around for someone looking for an idea to fund or someone else to help finish an idea is a sure way to never achieve those goals. Learn what is needed to protect the idea, whether that’s a copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret. Take classes on the subjects available and search out experts to consult on difficult topics when needed. Actively work towards achieving the goals for the company. 

Ideas Alone are Worthless 

Ideas are not the hard part of creating a company or coming up with a business idea. It’s being able to solve a problem for the customer, and if lucky, one that no one else has ever solved. Making the company the sole provider of the solution, which means no competition. This can only be accomplished if the mentality, psychology, and determination are present in guiding this company. Never giving up, looking at every problem or crisis as a challenge or opportunity for growth is a great start. 

Avoid Spending Money 

Do everything to not spend money. Build a lean solution that provides value to customers and only spend on essentials when necessary. This is because you always want enough cash in the bank, period. Most businesses fail due to running out of cash. Constantly make sure of this and if a cash flow or liquidity issue is even thought to be an issue, address it immediately. 

Run the Business as a Business 

Some entrepreneurs have a very bad habit of running their business as an extension of their personal finances. To keep it separate from the personal finances construct the right business entity and follow the rules set in place. Learn the difference between meritocracy and nepotism. A company should be run by rewarding, recognizing, and compensating based solely on ability and achievement or meritocracy. 

Nepotism is playing favorites and being biased against certain employees typically due to being related to someone in a high-end role in the company. This is obviously not how to run a company. In the instances where relatives would objectively make a good fit for the company, due diligence needs to be taken to avoid any appearance of nepotism. 

Be Decisive 

Learn how to make a decision quickly by limiting yourself to only “yes” or “no” answers for small daily tasks. This will limit the amount of micromanaging an entrepreneur could get caught up in by trusting the staff to take the response and run with it. This also encourages the entrepreneur to trust his or her gut, by honing this intuition through smaller decision it will be easier to listen to and trust on larger more complete decisions.

About the Author: Ronn Torossian is CEO of NYC based 5WPR.