Owning a business is fast becoming a status symbol these days, but it is a serious undertaking and a huge one. You should not take a business approach without careful consideration and understanding of your personal goals. No one runs into business because of a feel-good idea, there has got to be some time of scrutiny to be sure whether it is really a worthy business idea.
The dream stage of starting a business has so much potential. Everything is possible and nothing can go wrong, you even do all sorts of calculations and come up with different ideas that lead to you finding profits with the least possible effort. However, after the calculations, brainstorming and the dream stage. The real stage starts once you sit down, take your time to actually plan, and consider your goals and do the much needed work.
But first, let’s think and plan before you jump. Here are things you need to do before starting a business.
1. Choose your business.
Ask yourself, ‘’what business should I go into?’’ This is key because it can be pretty challenging to come up with ideas to make money. What are your skills and talents or what experiences do you possess? It is important for you to be good at the plan you choose before launching out, but you do not have to be an expert in the field to start. No business would be started if everyone had to wait to be their best at it, so here is where your personal talent, skills, experiences and knowledge come in. What are you above average at?
Find out from your friends and family, look through your resume – job descriptions. Courses and classes you have taken. Make a list of it. You can always offer services of your skills and talent, you never can tell who might need it.
What are you passionate about, what are your interests and hobbies? What makes you happy? What do you like, write them down and once you have a list of potential business ideas you can narrow it down.
With the list in your hands, think about how you can combine more than one from each list of skills, talents, experience, and knowledge with passion, interest and hobbies.
2. Create a business plan.
Find out if the business idea is a realistic one. This will save you a lot of money, wasted time and self-remorse. Be realistic about what you are willing to do and sacrifice because not every business plan will work, put energy into achievable plans. Weigh your resources. Are your available resources able to start up your business plans? Your resources should include time, money and manpower. It is necessary to take the amount of time you will require into consideration, you may burn out at some point working around the clock to get started. This is why whatever business you choose will have to make sense for your life. It should not be “all or nothing”. Starting small with time, money and manpower that you have available is better than not starting at all as you can easily grow then easy does it!
3. Research The market.
Take a good market survey to know if the product and service you want to offer is needed. If there is an open market already in that field. Learn the ways to deliver yours in a different and unique way to get an easier path to sales. You will still have an edge if you are creating something totally new in the market as long as it is useful.
4. Validate your idea.
Take a look at what is the unmet need or a gap in the market, figure out your unique selling proposition (USP), will your specific market or the price you are offering to make you stand out from others in the business. There may be a
million business planners, but those who succeed are those whose selling points set them apart.
Who will benefit from your business? You need to find the market, find the right people for your product and services. You may have to develop a niche for yourself if the product and services are already in existence. Find out who needs your product and service and how you will get it distributed.
5. Develop a brand.
A brand is the first impression anyone gets about your business, this represents your personality, your mission, product and services. It is not just the designing of logo and website, but it entails your company’s direction and place in the market. Your band is the influence you will have on people once they see your logo and pages.
Finally, have the right mindset. Make a choice to succeed with your plans, be positive and keep a low profile while working on it. It is absolutely necessary to hold onto your day job for as long as you can, you will definitely need the cash flow. Keep your priorities straight and get all the support you need.It might be hard to juggle everything with a 9-5 job but the last thing you want is lacking financial security.
