Starting your own small business as a new entrepreneur is an exciting time but the experience is also fraught with complexities. Although this process of leaving no stone unturned can be lengthy, it is also made much easier if you know what you are doing and you plan ahead accordingly. Here are several tips based on my own experience of starting small businesses.
What Type Of Business Will Suit You?
Some of you may already have an idea of what kind of business to run but others will not. They will know only that they want to run their own business so that they can escape the rat race, be their own boss, work their own hours and control their own destiny.
If you don’t know what type of business will suit you then you need to start brainstorming. The ideal place to start is with a passion of yours. Given that you know so much about specific subjects, it makes sense to leverage on your talents and build a brand and a business around them.
You don’t have to have a huge passion for your business niche but you definitely do need to have some.
Separate Your Logic From Your Emotions – Be Critical
At this stage you may have several ideas swimming around in your head. Now is the time to be critical and to analyse each idea to see if at least one of them is worth pursuing.
If you are offering a popular product or service, how are you going to differentiate yourself from the competition? On price? On something else? Be very wary of competing against the big companies. Small companies should not fight on price because it is usually a battle that will eventually be lost.
If you are offering something that is very specific then ask yourself if there is enough of a market for it. Is your target market local or can you also sell via the internet to a global market. Remember, the internet allows businesses to be profitable from selling even the rarest goods and services because on a global scale, even a tiny market becomes huge.
Create A Business Plan
By now you should have some idea of what you want to do and you should have done some preliminary research to make sure that it is a viable concept. Now you need to come up with a plan.
A business plan is not a fancy, complicated document. It is the product of your research and should give detail on your target market, what you will be offering, turnover/profit projections and goals.