When you want to start a business, it is natural to seek advice and guidance from successful entrepreneurs in a similar space. When I started The Chai Cart, I, too, looked for mentors in the food industry. I was very lucky that I found amazing people who were so generous with their time and knowledge.

Yes, I was lucky. But I received help because I was also well prepared. I respected their time enough to ask for help in areas I could not otherwise find solutions for. Rather than starting the conversation by asking them to help me, I would tell them what I had done and what challenges I am currently working on. This would instantly lead to them not only giving me advice but also connecting me with the resources they had.

I have received plenty of emails from people who were inspired by my story and wanted my advice on how they could start a food cart/truck in their part of the world. Almost all of the emails asked for help without giving me any indication they had done anything else than think of an idea. Want my advice? Before you approach any successful entrepreneur for advice, here are 10 things you can do to prepare for your entrepreneurial journey:

1. If you haven’t done so already, start by reading the best-selling books on business and marketing. Search for “entrepreneurship”, “starting a business” and similar phrases on the internet and read as many articles as you can.

2. If you are looking to enter a new industry or space, visit the library (if you can go to a Business School library, even better). Find research / white papers, market studies, etc. in this field and read them. All of them.

3. Start building a prototype of your product. Be passionate about your product. So passionate that you will not risk the integrity of the product in order to scale.

4. Make sure there is a product-market fit. Spend time on market research. Don’t just ask your friends, be sure strangers are responding favorably to your idea. The most important thing to know here is: are customers willing to pay for this.

5. Know your competitors. Research them and read all about them. If they are public companies (if not, find a public company that is the closest in business model), download the past 3 annual reports and read it. Understand it. What’s their business model? How do they make money? What future risks are they thinking of?

6. Write a business plan. A detailed one. Build a financial model and live in that spreadsheet for several days and weeks. Know the cost of every little thing. Factor in the labor costs. Find the selling price that will turn a profit. Go back to step 2 and validate there is still a market at this price.

7. Attend classes, seminars, webinars, workshops offered by various organizations, or at conferences & trade shows. You could also reach out to Small Business Associates (SBA) — our government has plenty of resources to help small businesses get started.

8. Apply for an incubator program, if available in your city. Incubators are a great way to test out your ideas. Yes, it costs time and money but these costs are insignificant when compared to the actual time and money you have to put into the business.

9. Do not forget about the mundane. It is worthwhile to understand what permits, insurance, approvals, etc you are required to get, at the City, State, and/or Federal level. Sure, the absence of clear laws can lead to new business opportunities but skirting the law will surely create hurdles.

10. Focus, focus, focus. If you can’t describe your value proposition in 30 seconds, you are not focussed enough. It is okay to pivot as you explore, but stay focused on one idea at any given time. Trying to do multiple things at the same time will set you up for failure.

Does this sound overwhelming and yet exhilarating? Because it absolutely is both. While there is no set formula for success, there sure is one for failure — and that is being unprepared or even underprepared. I’ve written entrepreneurship is about passion -no, it is not just a passion for your idea, but a passion for all aspects of the business. If after reading this, your enthusiasm is not at its peak, ask yourself, why do you want to be an entrepreneur?

Originally published at https://medium.com on February 19, 2020.