Starting and running a successful business is rarely as easy as it looks. While success stories have become more common with the rise of social media and technology, failure and challenging moments are just as prevalent in the entrepreneurial journey.
As experts, the members of Forbes Business Council know the effort that goes into running a business. Below, 20 of them offer first steps for entrepreneurs seeking to start a successful business, as well as how and why those steps impact success.
1. Determine What Success Means To You
Start by defining what success means to you. Whether it’s impact, income or innovation, having clarity on your personal goal shapes every decision that follows. Without it, you risk building something that looks like success to others but feels empty to you. – Jon Osterburg, Jitasa
2. Clearly Define Your Purpose And Problem
The first step is to clearly define your purpose and identify a real problem you’re passionate about solving. This will give your business meaning, direction and a reason to exist. When your mission aligns with market demand, it becomes easier to attract customers, build a strong brand and stay motivated through challenges. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors
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3. Build With The End In Mind
I recommend entrepreneurs begin with the end in mind. What are you trying to create, and for what endgame? Is it to sell, or to pass the business on to your kids? Designing a business from the ground up with the exit strategy in mind adds incredible value and clarity in decision making. You are far more likely to reach your ultimate goal if you focus on it from day one. – Craig West, Capitaliz
4. Assess Feasibility
It would be good to have a mindset of starting an innovative business, which should help an entrepreneur stand out from the rest. Assessing feasibility is essential to understanding the projected profit and loss and cash flow situation for the next five years, as it helps ensure that the business can sustain itself and generate enough profit for further expansion. Recruit staff with passion, positivity and a desire to succeed holistically. – Ramesh Arora, SIGNATURE HOSPITALLITY GROUP
5. Validate Your Idea With Real Customers
The first step in building a successful business is validating your idea with real customers. Before you invest time or resources, have honest conversations to understand their needs, pain points and willingness to pay. Success comes from solving real problems—and that clarity only comes from deep listening, not assumptions. – Arunabh Dastidar, Leni
6. Prioritize The ‘Why’
Start by asking whether you are passionate and can truly help the customer. Too many entrepreneurs focus on the exit before proving value. If you build from purpose and solve a real problem, everything else, from the product to the team and funding, will follow. The right foundation isn’t strategy; it’s service. – Jamil Bouchareb, Restaurantware
7. Assess The Market
Assessing the market has to be the first and most fundamental step. If there’s no sufficient market need for the product or service, or you can’t create that demand, then the business does not have a solid foundation to start. This includes assessing how the market will develop, in particular with changing technology and demand. – Paul Williams, La Vida Europe Ltd
8. Map Out What You Want From The Business
I always suggest mapping out what you want to get out of the business, both personally and professionally. Beyond making a profit, entrepreneurs must ask themselves what they must or must not have from this business. For example, when I started my business 16 years ago, one of my “must haves” was spending time with my sons. The definition of that has evolved over time, but it has remained a constant and kept me happy at work and at home. – Gary Romano, Civitas Strategies
9. Find A Partner
The first step to ensuring you will have a successful business is making sure you have an implementor in place. Most people who are starting a business are the visionary or the idea person. You need to have someone at your side to help you implement your vision so you can focus on big-picture items like problem-solving, growth and innovation. – Melissa Johnson, E3 Coaching LLC
10. Know Your Target Audience
Start by getting radically clear on who you serve and why. Without a deep understanding of your audience’s pain points and desires, your message won’t connect and your offer won’t convert. Clarity is the foundation, as everything successful is built from there. – Shay Levister, Shay Better Coaching LLC
11. Build A Strong Data Team
Start by building a strong data team. Solid data lets you make clear, confident decisions from day one. It also helps you understand your customers, spot trends early and adjust fast. If you want to grow smart and stay ahead, let data lead the way. – Trey Ferro, Spot Pet Insurance
12. Develop A Marketing Strategy
Get really good at creating content and being the face of your brand. The most successful businesses I’ve seen are led by founders who confidently show up on camera. When you share your story with authenticity, you build trust, and trust builds traction. Content is the bridge between your brand and your audience, and you’re the one who makes it real. – Kelly Rocklein, UGC Pro
13. Choose The Right Name
Finding a business name that is not already being used is one of the hardest things to do right now when starting a new business. It seems like everything has already been taken, but if you get creative, you can still find an amazing name that can help build your brand. – Tonia Ryan, Techvoya
14. Build Awareness Of The Business
Building awareness is the first step in marketing. Before someone becomes a consumer, they are a watcher seeking signs of trust, reliability and consistency. Because they will pay close attention to how you show up, your goal is to make sure your brand is what comes to mind when they’re ready to buy a specific product or service. – Sharmylla Siew, Cobalt Funding Solutions
15. Prioritize The Primary Problem
Focus on the problem you’re solving. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of the business itself, but true success comes from understanding the real needs of the market and how your solution fits into it. Once you know the problem, build a product or service that genuinely addresses it. Get feedback early, iterate quickly and remain adaptable. – Umair Javed, tkxel
16. Figure Out Distribution
Before building the product, figure out how you’ll get it in front of people. We thought deeply about distribution before anything else. You can have the best solution in the world, but if you can’t reach the right audience, it won’t matter. Start by asking how you will sell this. Then, build backwards. – Aleksandr Zemel, NYWD
17. Practice Strategic Silence
The first step I recommend for starting a successful business is practicing strategic silence to gain clarity. Silence is not a luxury in a world constantly pulling at our attention—it’s a leadership tool. Before drafting a business plan or raising capital, take time for stillness and intentional reflection to tap into the voice of purpose. Before you launch outward, lead inward. – Jacqueline Grice, J Diamond Inc.
18. Get Your Family’s Blessing
Check in with your partner. I invest in pre-seed and inception-stage founders, and you’d be shocked at the number of companies that fold at the finish line of a fundraiser because one of the co-founders forgot to ask their spouse if they could start a company. Entrepreneurship is a whole family commitment, so get their buy-in first! – Kevin Novak, Rackhouse Venture Capital
19. Ensure You’re Ready For The Responsibility
Running a business is stressful. Before anything else, you need to be brutally honest with yourself regarding whether you are ready for that pressure. It’s not just about having ideas that you want to realize, but about having the ability to make fast decisions, handle unpredictability and keep going, even in challenging circumstances. – Valentina Drofa, Drofa Comms
20. Take That First Step
Take the first step. Not the perfect one, not the final one—the first. Do so with bravery, boisterousness and a belief that it’s all part of the fun. Action breeds clarity, and momentum beats perfection. Businesses don’t start with certainty; they start with movement. – Paul Boross MBE, Big Sky
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