Whatever your dream may be, you’re not going to achieve it without believing in yourself. Whether others believe in you or not doesn’t really matter.
Tia Roqaa, founder of beauty box Roccabox which has been going from strength-to- strength gives her top-tips for budding entrepreneurs looking to start their own business:
Research & planning – It’s competitive, so do your research and make sure you have a strong USP. And keep your overheads as low as possible for as long as possible. This could be for beauty or any industry. Before I started I worked a full time job and spent my evenings and weekends doing the groundwork on Roccabox, I built my own website and set up social media channels to gauge interest. It’s a really competitive market and you’ve always got to stay ahead of the curve.
Hard work – it’s not going to be easy, it’s going to take a lot of perseverance. Alongside my job I started working evenings and weekends on my idea. In the early stages it was all about research. I was probably the world’s top google user. Then, when I was made redundant from my previous role, I had no savings so at that point I had to to make a decision if I should get another job, or if I believed in the business enough to go for it full time and launch. I chose the latter and never looked back.
Follow your instincts, and be cautious not to let your dream go – I once had an ex boyfriend who became a business partner post-launch of Roccabox, he was older than me and a very successful businessman. When growing my business I listened to a lot of his advice and went against my own ideas. This was a slippery slope and nearly saw the business collapse beneath me. Luckily, I recognised this and got rid of him and his ideas and it was the best thing that I ever did. Being at breaking point made me re-look at my business and completely changed the way we worked and made it what it is today.
The right team – it’s important to have strong, positive & trusting people around you. I am not an expert at everything, so the more we grow the more technical things get presented to me which totally blow my mind. But that’s why it’s so important to have a strong team to know about the things that I don’t. The biggest thing is never think that you are on your own. There’s always going to be somebody that can give you the right advice or the right platform. There’s plenty of selfless people in the business world that want others to succeed.
Realise there will be ups & downs – when I started my business, I had a vision, and that was what I was working towards. And when things were going well, I could see that vision clear as day. My plan was coming together and I was on a relatively straight path towards my goal. But then, we had a bad few months and I was so bogged down with everything going wrong, I had forgotten my vision, which of course meant my business was at a stand still. How does it know where it’s going when I’m at the reigns and I don’t even know?
So I went back to my business plan, I looked at what it was that I was meant to be doing, and how I had planned on getting there. I made a few tweaks or ‘pivots’ and after a few months the business was back on track, thriving and better than ever.
So I would like you to always remember your vision and to believe in it. Remember that it’s your vision, your dream, your journey, not anyone else’s. And if you’re feeling a little bit lost you always look back to that and refocus, re-energise your idea and eventually realise that your vision is taking you somewhere after all.
About the author
Tia Roqaa is CEO & Founder of Beauty Subscription Box, Roccabox – www.Roccabox.co.uk
Are you an entrepreneur or looking to start your own business? We’ve got hundreds of articles on learning entrepreneurial skills, how to become your own boss, marketing your products and managing your own team. You can find more of our entrepreneurial articles here.
