A lot of people occasionally think about whether it is a good idea to start their own business. Often the main questions are whether they have what it takes to make their idea a success and is their business idea a good one or not.
The good news is that if this question has crossed your mind, then you have taken your first steps to running your own business and becoming an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone and the thought of starting a small business and becoming a business owner isn’t something everyone considers. So, if you are already thinking about the possibilities then you are already on the right path to building a successful business.
How to Start a Business
Of course, just dreaming about starting your own company isn’t enough, there are a few other things that need to happen for you to realise your dreams. Firstly, you need a good idea for a business and the means to launch it. Plenty of people launch a startup but not everyone makes a success of it. You might wonder what it is that separates the successful businesses from the ones that fail. Often the key is following a proven business plan, coupled with hard work and enough money to keep your new business afloat.
If you’re wondering if you have what it takes to start your own business, then you should think about the following points to see if you have the necessary means to take things to the next level.
It’s hard work. For many business owners they must dedicate a lot of time and energy to setting up and running a business. This level of activity is hard to maintain if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing. Some business owners must sacrifice weekends and vacations to ensure their business remains successful, so if you can’t see yourself committing to this level of effort, then this might be a reason to not start your own business. Once a business is up and running many business owners can take it a bit easier, but it can still be a lot of work with long hours.
You Need a Solid Business Plan. For many people, when it comes to launching your own business, they think more about the potential profit and riches in the future than the reality of the day-to-day operations. Not only is running a business hard work, but it is also competitive and there are other people out there, often doing a similar thing to what you are doing who also want to make a success of their business.
To give your business the best chance of success you need to write a business plan, which maps out how you are going to run your business, and what resources you will need, and how you are going to make money. You should explore who your customer base is going to be and find out who your business competitors are. To get the most out of the business plan you should be honest with yourself when you come to write it and not always look at the best-case scenario. Ask yourself what challengers you are going to face, and how will you cope if things do not go to plan.
You should carry out some market research and check the pricing for your product or service. You need to establish whether you can make your type of business competitive in the marketplace. For example, in some retail environments you will need a lot of stock to launch and often the market already has big companies operating in it which can be more competitive on price. when you are starting from the ground up, the kind of business you are going to run is important. Understanding the competition, the pricing and your customers is a must. If you are coming up against a large corporate, then you are going to need some deep pockets to finance your operation.
One of the key reasons to write a business plan is to ensure that your business is viable. If it won’t work on paper, then you cannot expect it to work in the real world. There are many unknowns in the business world, but you can at least make a good effort at establishing what the major pros and cons are.
Many an entrepreneur has had second thoughts after they have put together a business plan. Sometimes what seems like a good idea on the surface, isn’t viable in practice. In the case of writing a successful business plan it is better to listen to your head than your heart.
Passion, Insight and Enthusiasm
We touched on this earlier, but running your own business is a lot of hard work, so you really do need to be passionate about what you are doing. If you lack enthusiasm, it is always going to be a struggle to put in the time and effort to make a success of whatever it is you are trying to achieve.
Sometimes people turn their hobbies into a successful business after running it as a side hustle for a while. Often these side businesses start off quite slowly but build momentum as potential customers are found. It can be difficult to balance a day job with a side job and eventually most entrepreneurs will need to commit full-time to the new business.
Because of the entrepreneur’s passion for the industry, they tend to have more insight and knowledge about what they are doing, and this breeds success in certain situations. Without this passion it is always an uphill struggle, so if you are not completely passionate about your idea, think hard whether you want to dedicate time and energy to it.
Cashflow & Finance
One of the most difficult things when it comes to starting a brand-new business is finding the money to finance it. Some lucky individuals can rely on their own savings to launch, but for others, they are not so fortunate.
In some cases, friends and family provide financial support or it is common for family members to work together within a family business.
When you write your business plan if you find that your business finances are lacking, and do not have the financial resources yourself to fall back on, what can you do?
The good news is that if you have a great idea and your business plan looks solid there are plenty of investors out there who are looking to fund new businesses and projects. Obviously, banks, investors and venture capitalists won’t just hand over money to anyone, you are going to need to have a very good business idea and demonstrate that it will work, either by showing them a business that is already launched and making money or through a comprehensive business plan.
If you have an idea for a business but do not have the money to launch it, you don’t have to necessarily give up on your dreams. You can still accomplish them by looking for outside investment, so this is something to consider if your cashflow and finances are an issue.
“Keep your business entry simple and scale up on success milestones.”
Reasons to Work for Yourself
There are some great reasons to become an entrepreneur and become a small business owner. You will be your own boss and hopefully, the business model that you have chosen will be of interest to you and match your passions.
You can work whatever hours you want, and you can be a bit more flexible in terms of what hours you put in. Remember, although you are in control of your own days and hours, most entrepreneurs end up working long hours, especially in the beginning, and if you like the routine and job security of the 9-5 then working for yourself might not be for you. However, if you want to be in charge of your own destiny and follow a passion to remove yourself from the rat race, then working for yourself might be the solution.
One of the perks of starting your own business is that all the profit you make will belong to you, your investors, and the business. You can make more money than if you work for someone else. Often one of the main attractions for starting your own business is to make money and have a healthy bank account! Successful entrepreneurs can become wealthy through starting a business and making it work, but the sad reality is, that some businesses fail. So, if you are just chasing the money, then you might want to ensure that your business plan is a good one before you invest your hard-earned money into the project. Many entrepreneurs see a few barren years before their profits grow.
You can learn a new skill set. If you like to learn new things, then working for yourself might be something that will interest you. Often in the early days a business owner will need to work across a lot of different areas of business, from logistics, buying product, marketing, and sales. One day you might be working on an email marketing campaign or sending our social media posts to market your business, the next day, updating an ecommerce system with the latest products. If you like varied work, then entrepreneurship might be for you. However, if you’re not interested in getting the know how to operate across multiple business areas, again have a long think as to what line of work and business will suit your skill set and motivation.
Thank you for reading.
A.