Starting up a business is not as easy as opening a shop and waiting for customers to come flooding in.
Your dream business is one you have thought about and planned in your mind for several years. It is your baby, and just like a new baby, your start-up business requires a lot of investment in terms of time, research, and funding. Here are top tips for getting your start-up business off the ground.
Ready Your Mind
Just like becoming a new parent, before you enter into any business, or start one up, you have to make sure you are ready mentally, physically, and emotionally. The things you are procrastinating about, do them now and get them out of the way. It can be your driving test, a house remortgage, or even something simple like having the defective lights in your bedroom replaced.
Make sure that everything is in working order in your home and daily life before endeavouring to enter into a new challenge. Once you get that business going you won’t have much time!
The Planning Stage
Research. Find out everything you can about your market, their needs, and their wants. Try not to be stuck in the “might want it” market. These are the people who might want your product once you provide it. Find a need, and answer that need. That’s the way to have a stable consumer base. Make sure you do good market research.
Choose a viable location for your business. Check out the competitors in the vicinity, if there are any. Observe foot traffic and market behaviour. Check for fluctuations of need among the target consumers. Sample your competitors’ products. Decide on your approach. Create a plan on paper and decide on your timeline. Once everything is set, you can now start implementing your business.
Recommended reading: Market Research For Your Business – Getting It Right
Implementation Stage
Now that you have a viable business plan, make sure you follow the plan when you implement your business. However, be prepared for changes. Most of the time, things don’t go the way you plan (just like parenting!), so it pays to be versatile.
Changes are to be expected in any business venture and preparing for it early on will allow you to move past the hurdles of unplanned changes, be prepared to have an all-in attitude, at least for the first few years of the business.
Raising a start-up business is much like raising a child; you’ll have sleepless nights, busy and harried days, and you might not have a social life for a while. Everything is new and unpredictable. Just like a colicky baby, the business will come up against a few challenges, you’ll need to be versatile and ready to act when the need arises.
You have to be able to think on your feet and make split-second rational decisions. Try to prepare for every eventuality so that you won’t be caught by surprise. Once your business has weathered the first few years, the succeeding years will be more stable and smooth sailing; you’ll have more time away from the business without worrying.
Finances
Make sure the financial aspect of the business is well managed. Consider employing the services of an accountant or a solicitor, or both to guide you through the registration process, as well as the first few months.
Your accountant will be able to assist you in terms of keeping your books of accounts in order, as well as the taxes the business pays. Employing an accountant permanently may not be cost-effective, so the next logical choice is to hire a bookkeeper or outsource your book keeping to keep on top of your finances.
Source: Business Achievers
