7 Steps Every Entrepreneur Needs to Take Before Starting a Business
Shalom Solomon
The dream of being your own boss, of not having to answer Sir or Ma to superior at work appeals to a lot of people.
Entrepreneurship has become even more appealing with the economic recession which peaked last year; where some businesses had to let go of their staff during the lockdown.
People had to turn to running little businesses to survive. This somehow piqued the interest of many to start their own businesses.
As interesting and fulfilling as entrepreneurship or being your own boss sounds, it is no easy walk in the park.
Starting and running your own business requires hard work and dedication. Basically everyone within reason are clamoring to start a business which is no surprise at all.
In fact, macroeconomic prophets have predicted that the billionaires; the Dangotes of the next generation are among the startups of this decade.
Well, irrespective of the prediction above, not all of the startups in this decade would become big companies in the future. Some might fold up, some might end up doing small scale gigs but some would survive and thrive.
Now, the main difference between the businesses that don’t make it and those that do is in the preparatory stage.
Even without a degree in Engineering or Building I know that houses built on poor foundations will not last long. So it is with businesses, any business that is built on a poor foundation would as well not last.
In this post, we will discuss the very important points you must consider to properly start your business.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
How to Start your Business
It is true that every industry and sector in the business world operates by distinct rules and laws. At the startup point though, the process is basically similar. Certain boxes must be checked to build a business that works and would stand the taste of time. We’ll get into them below:
The first step before undertaking any venture of import which I believe starting a business is one, is to make sure you are actually ready to start. As I’ve said earlier on, entrepreneurship requires hard work and dedication.
The big entrepreneurs of today aren’t joking when they say they sleep for few hours every day. Ask yourself if you are ready to invest your time, effort, sometimes luxuries and money required to start and run the business.
Going into entrepreneurship is not a matter of coincidence, even if you get into the playing field that way, you have to at a point decide that you are really doing this.
You have to be intentional about this very decision there is no going along with the ride or going wherever the wind takes you. You need to be ready.
The next step is to decide based on your passion, experience, interest and expertise, what niche of the industry you want to be a part of. Identifying this would enable you narrow your search for the problem you need to solve. It would also enable you single out competition and focus your research.
Ask yourself the following questions:
What sector or industry do you want to specialize in?
Do you have the required knowledge start a business in that area?
If you don’t, how do you intend to acquire knowledge and expertise?
This is the conception point of every business. Once you’ve selected a niche to specialize in, you can now begin to develop a business idea based on a need or gap you have observed. The need might be a totally unexplored one or you find better ways to solve existing problems.
Most businesses that have stood out from their peers in the industry came up with unique business ideas. They found problems that have not been solved or found new ways to solve problems.
Take digital banks like Kuda, basically they offer the same services as the regular banks which is saving and moving money for their clients.
What differentiates them from the regular banks is that they offer they services on the internet and as such offer convenience and low banking rates in addition to the basic banking services.
Once you’ve identified the problem you want to solve, the next major thing to do is research. Knowledge as they say, is power. The better you know the industry you are about to go into, the more prepared you will be to take on challenges.
Study the niche, are there other businesses offering similar services, what are the challenges they are facing and how do they overcome such challenges.
Study your competition both your direct and indirect competition. Your direct competition are those businesses that offer the same services you do.
And your indirect competition are those who can offer alternative solutions to the problem. For instance, the direct competition for Kuda is other digital banks and its indirect competition are regular banks.
Mentorship is an old existing trend in the business world. We can see it with Igbo business men who learn from a mentor for a specified period of time before starting out on their own.
It is often best to get a mentor in the same field of business but in cases where you can’t find one, find a mentor in a related business field who you respect to guide you through every step and show you the intricacies of running a business.
This step is the core of your business operations. Drafting a business plan is a very delicate yet vital process. Your business plan will be the blueprint of your entire business operation. It is at this point that you envision what your business would be.
You will also need to outline the problems you intend to solve, the products and services your business will offer, how much it will cost to start and run your business, the structure of your business and so many other vital points.
You should keep in mind though that your business plan does not need to be etched in stone. You can still revise it and tweak some details in the future.
Be that as it may, you need a complete business plan on ground before moving forward. As it would enable you see clearly the next steps to take, if you have enough money to start the business on your own or if you need a loan or investors.
It is a given that investors would need to see your business plan before deciding if they want to invest in your business or not.
Of course, writing a business plan is not the end of the road for an entrepreneur. The main step that will test the strength of your business idea and plan is in the implementation.
It is now time to enact everything you have written on paper. You can decide to give it to a more experienced business person that you trust to go over, which is why it is important to have a mentor.
Conclusion,
The process of implementation in itself can be slow or fast, it can be grueling or exciting and easy, you might even have certain false starts.
But that is why we are humans and also why you are going into business, because you can take the risks and also rise back up when you fall.
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Jhon Doe
- 20 October, 2018
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Jhon Doe
- 20 October, 2018Lorem ipsum dolor sit, amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Accusamus numquam assumenda hic aliquam vero sequi velit molestias doloremque molestiae dicta?