Ask Vikki: Entrepreneurs Either Win or Learn

Question: I’m thinking about starting my own company this year. Do you think 2022 will be a good year for startups?

Answer: I’ve asked the experts and they say yes. But the only thing I think you can expect with any certainty this year is change.

The way we do business today is very different from a few years back. With that in mind, we asked life-long entrepreneur Cliff Oxford for some advice for future entrepreneurs. Here they are:

5 Simple Entrepreneurial Tips for Finding Success in 2022

1.   Reconcile passion with profits. To create a good business model you need to have the will and the passion to do whatever it takes.

2.   Find an underserved customer base. Most business fail because they sell products no one needs. According to the Census Bureau, 4.3 business applications were filed in 2020 during the pandemic, which was the most in over a decade.

3.   Experiment with market solutions. Marketing should always be at the center of your growth strategy.

4.   Don’t quit. In entrepreneurship there is no winning and losing. It’s either winning or learning. Learn from what didn’t work and try again.

5.   Be ready for luck. Go ahead and take a chance. Try new things. It might help you find the solutions you’re looking for.

Cliff Oxford is a history and political science double major who built an INC 13 company from the ground up. He was voted Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018 in Atlanta and landed the highly coveted spot as Visionary and Execution Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant. Oxford has written for the New York Times and Forbes and authored the first accredited Entrepreneur MBA curriculum in the country at Brenau University in Georgia. He is the founder of Oxford Center for Entrepreneurs and CliffCo.com. He has also authored 3 books including Redneck Reverie. You can hear more from Cliff on the podcast PRose.