Planning to own your business empire or become a successful entrepreneur?
Go through the following guide if you are a little confused about the initial steps to be followed for starting a business of your own.
Let’s take an example to start a Network Marketing business since it is in huge demand these days. One of the major attractions of business is that there is no particular limitation to be an entrepreneur. You don’t have to obtain graduation or some other types of certifications, or also you don’t need a huge bank balance in your account!
The major thing that you should be having is to be really passionate as well as a great plan!
Read below and get the basics on how to establish your own business empire.
Step – 1 : Assess Yourself
The first thing to figure out is to assess yourself! You should have a clear idea about why are you planning to start your own business. Is it because you want a side income or to leave your regular job and want to do something you love creatively?
Well, you should be having a clear answer for all the above-mentioned questions before actually starting your own entrepreneurship.
After having a solution for the questions then it’s time to fix on a business plan that you will be comfortable with.
Write down in a notepad about the following ones:
- The skills you have.
- What is the thing that excites you?
- Your area of specialization.
- The amount of money that you can afford to spend.
- The minimum cash reserve that you need to have in your kitty!
- The lifestyle that you wish to lead.
- And finally, are you serious?
Make sure that you are cent percent honest with your answers. And this is what creates a strong foundation for the things that you do up next.
Step – 2 : Fix Your Business Plan & do the necessary research
Fixing in mind on a business plan that is planning to start is the next step that you need to have a clear idea about. Make sure the idea you are planning to execute is a killer idea. Try to be more creative as possible. It should stand out from your competitors as a whole. It’s okay even if the plan that you are making is not an entirely new one, but have something special that your competitors don’t have!
You can even go out and talk with the people who are experienced and make a thorough understanding of the field you are going to explore. Or, in short, you can make deep research through both online and offline platforms.
Step – 3 : Get Feedback
Feedback plays a very major role in your business success. Provide a space for the customers to give their opinion about your product or service. It helps you to understand the positives as well as the faults in the way you deal with things. And once you come to know about the negatives, do think about it and take the necessary steps to improve them and make a great customer experience and happiness.
Have you seen in some restaurants where they would build a “wall of love”, on which you can post your messages on sticky notes or other really cute materials! That’s something you can also do.
This mechanism, allows you to stay relevant and stand apart from the other businesses.
Step – 4 : Make It Official
When you run a business firm in a country of your choice, it is always necessary to make the processes involved official. Everything should be done only legally. It’s very much important. Always stay genuine. The result you will be getting will also be a positive one. Always staying legal will help you to stay away from worries.
Some of the checklists to be done are given below:
- Business Name and Structure (like its Private, LLC, Partnership, etc.)
- Registering Your Business
- Goods And Service Tax ID
- All necessary permits
- License
- Bank account
- Trademarks, Patents, etc.
In case you feel that you need certain clarifications regarding the things to be done to make it official consult a lawyer.
Step – 5 : Write your business plan
A business plan is a well-written document explaining the various phases through which business establishment travels right from the beginning of the product until its completion. Check out the key ingredients of a successful product development process if you have just started a new business.
Normally a business plan includes the following details:
- Title Page
- Overall Summary
- Business Description
- Marketing Strategies
- Competitive Analysis
- Design and Development Plan
- Operations and Management Plan
- Finance Factors
For each of the topics include at least a three page long data. This document is what you will be needing all the time still your business exists. It will be updated as your business expands its horizons to newer heights.
Finance your business
Everyone might not be having the basic finance required to start the business. But there are a lot of options available for the ones who have a really wonderful idea but not the finances. There are various organizations (both Government and Private) who are ready to help the startup business firms.
You can also invest your savings if you wish to. But make sure that you take every step very carefully.
Another option available is applying for bank loans. Almost all nationalized and private banks offer loans for starting a business enterprise.
Then there is an option of conducting a crowdfunding campaign online. A bunch of small investments you receive through the crowdfunding campaigns will lead to a huge amount enough for you to start your own business.
Step – 6 : Be an active participant in the development process of your product
Now it’s time to create your product. Sometimes you may not have the technical knowledge required for developing the product. In such a case, you can make use of the services of a third party service provider. But apart from blindly giving out the process to someone make sure that you also actively stay updated while the development process. Supervision from your side is very much required. You can research a lot and have a better understanding of the product development flows. And such active involvement may help you to develop your product at a much cheaper cost. Also, make sure that you never compromise on the quality of the products made.
Step – 7 : Build Your Own Team
After a certain level, you will be needing a strong team to support you in running your business successfully. Make sure you hire a group of people who are ready to work in tandem with you and thus make your business a successful venture.
Step – 8 : Select an Apt Location
Choosing a location for your business office also need to be done with absolute care.
Different people will have different priorities regarding office building. But still, there are e some basic things to be considered before finalizing one office location. And they are given below:
- Style of operation: You should make sure that the location you choose should be fitting for your business style and image.
- Demographics: When you choose a particular location for your business office, you should be considering your customers. This is very vital. Some businesses may be required to have the office location near to the customers and in some cases like a software development firm, it’s not a much bigger issue.
- Accessibility: Your building location should be accessible to your customers. Also, they should be provided with the necessary parking facilities.
- Competition: As a business owner you should have a clear understanding of the competitors that you will have to face once you enter the industry. Sometimes it’s good that you choose a location near to your competitor and otherwise the opposite. This factor will be depending on the business you choose.
- Building Facilities, Rent, and Other Miscellaneous Costs: The building space that you are choosing should have all the basic amenities required for running your business smoothly. The factors like rent, internet connection, etc. all should be taken into consideration before finalizing on one location.
After selecting your building space, the next thing you need to take care of is the aesthetics of the location chosen!
Step – 9 : Expanding your business
There are multiple ways to expand your business once it starts out smoothly. You can try venturing into new markets, market to a wider audience through online platforms like social media, etc. Using the social media platforms you can conduct campaigns both paid and free. It will definitely help your business to grow to higher heights.
Another point to remember is to retain the present or existing customers. The service provided should be a wonderful experience for them so that they will be coming back to you whenever they are in need of the service!
Once you start following these strategies, never think of resting. You will have to work really hard to keep the customers coming back to pay since the competition out there is really high. You must try new ways to strategize your business to boost growth.
Summing Up
This blog is just a small guide about the things to be taken care before starting a business! The actual truth is that teaching all of this through a blog is not possible.
You will have to do a thorough research before, but hope this blog will be a guiding light in your travel ahead.
Also, remember running a business of your own is not that easy. It requires pure passion, determination and will! You will be needing to always stay updated with the latest trends and as per time. If all these things are done accordingly, then success won’t be a much more difficult one…
So, there isn’t a perfect solution for a question like “How to Start a Business?”
Its purely relative.
Wish you Good Luck!
