Sunday 18 September 2011

5 Things to Know Before Starting your Own Business


By Karani Kelvin.

Fine, there are many things one needs to acquaint themselves with before starting their own business.  Who knows, they maybe ten, twenty, a hundred or even a million!


Whatever the number, here are five basic things every entrepreneur needs to think and be sure about.


  1. The idea – there are many people who want to go into business. However, a majority of them know not what business they want to start. Don’t be in this category! To be successful in business, one needs to know what they want to do before starting it.
  2. The market – having a great idea and business is not enough. You need people to sell your product(s) and/ or service to. It is important that you thoroughly think and research on your intended segment of the market.
  3. Marketing plan – there you are, a great business and a big potential market. These are not enough. You need to go out and let people know that you have come up with something that will meet “this-or-that” need or want of theirs.  Put simply, you need a marketing plan. How do you intend to reach your perceived market?
  4. The capital – shouldn't this have come first? I hear you. See, you can have all the money in the world but without knowing what you want to do with it, it can be of little help to you. Once you have your idea, you have identified your market and you have a great marketing plan, it’s time to get capital and start your business. This is the time to translate thought into action.
  5. Sustainability – most entrepreneurs who fail do so because they did not think of how their business (or project) would be sustained in the long run. In the heat of the moment (forgive the phrase), entrepreneurs are blinded by their magnificent plans. The result is a myopic vision for the business. To succeed in business, you will have to think of what happens to the business one year, two years or three years later. 

We did mention that there are many things one needs to know before starting a business. We have however gone through five of them that this writer (from his research) found to be the most important.

Feel free to suggest other things that entrepreneurial minds need to know before starting their businesses.

4 comments:

  1. A good read. More ideas awaits you at: http://potentialinfinitum.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/how-to-avoid-personal-business-failure/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kelvin, I think you have explained the subject well. One tiny thought I could chip in is this. Whatever enterprise one goes into, do it like you do not need the money. Do it because you have a true passion for it.

    To be able to do the same thing year in, year out and deliver superior results, it has to be something one really loves to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, totally. Thanks for dropping by.

      Delete

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