5 Things an Entrepreneur Must Know Before Venturing into the Luxury Beauty & Wellness Business Luxury is an extremely complicated segment and you must be extremely cautious about the strategic business plan-that you chalk-out
By Milan Sharma
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"Entrepreneur' is the most misused word in the recent times. All the people who start new business are not entrepreneurs. Before you know the things that entrepreneurs should know, you need to know if you fall into entrepreneurial category or you are just a business person, who has started a new business. Economist Robert Reich has rightly described leadership, team building and management as essential qualities for any entrepreneur. You may have a different mix of these qualities but the more you are near to the right mix (the right mix is specific to the business type), more successful entrepreneur you are going to be.
Based on my experience as an entrepreneur (well I consider myself as one), following are the 5 most important things an entrepreneur must know before he/she ventures into the Luxury beauty and wellness business:
Clarity is the key. Confusion is death.
It is very important that you have a profound clarity about the Luxury beauty and wellness business before you venture into it. Luxury is an extremely complicated segment and you must be extremely cautious about the strategic business plan—that you chalk-out. You need to understand and evaluate every minuscule detail.
Saving the Luxury.
There is a very thin line between Luxury, Premium and Expensive. If you deviate a bit, Luxury will eventually lose its tag and become Premium. If the erosion continues, consequently, it will be throned as Expensive. So, as an entrepreneur, who's into Luxury beauty and wellness business, you should consistently be persistent to hold the flag of Luxury by maintaining the basic nuances that Luxury business demands. When it comes to Luxury there are no adjustments and compromises in infrastructure or service standards. Everything must be of the highest standards.
You need to HOLD on.
It's not a business, it's a patience test. It will take time to show results and you need to hold on till that time. Luxury beauty and wellness business is like a cricket test match; it tests your patience and mostly players who have patience and sound technique excel. My recommendation—Get your basics right and maintain them as far as you are in the business.
Unless you are a Superman, you need to Focus.
Trust me there is only one superman and he's busy making movies, so, you are not the one. If you are not a superman, you can't waste your limited energy and resources. This means being focused is paramount for an entrepreneur in any business. You need to choose how and where do you want to invest your time, energy and money. Trust me, you can't do everything, you must enlist areas that need your maximum attention. You need to be wise enough to use Pareto principle—which states that your 20% inputs are responsible for 80% of results and remaining 80% of inputs will give you 20% of results.
Don't fit into the calendar, be all over it.
There are no specific working hours or working days. An entrepreneur is like a solider, who is always on duty or like a mother, who is always available for her child. Being an entrepreneur is all about the continuity, you can't just switch off. Continuity turns chances into opportunities and opportunities into success. You don't want to be out of the reach when opportunity knocks your door. Therefore, don't try to fit in the calendar, be all over it.
Like the things I have mentioned above, there are many things which are helpful for an entrepreneur but all may not be true for every entrepreneur. And this is the beauty of being an entrepreneur, you have the liberty to take your own road and break the notions with innovations. Keep innovating.