Small business Ideas
Tips on starting your own business
Starting your own business could seem a daunting idea at first, however, careful business planning and learning from other business entrepreneurs can help you towards achieving your goal. In this article, we shall be looking at how to devise a successful business plan for small to medium-size businesses. We shall guide you on how to avoid getting yourself into difficulties and how to stay focus and committed to setting up your new business.
Qualities and Qualifications
First thing you must remember that you don’t need to be a genius or have any professional qualifications to start your own business. Of course, if you have such qualities it will help you in applying certain established business strategies that can make your business look more professional and you will be less likely to make the obvious mistakes. Don’t let lack of professional qualifications and undermine your business goals. It may well be that your personal qualities, skills, work experiences and desire to have your own business are sufficient to manage a successful business
Business Planning
Your business planning will ultimately be dictated by the nature of the business, the size of your business and the financial budget available to start and manage your business for at least the first 12 to 16 months. Therefore, it is so critical that you thoroughly research your business idea and match it against your skills and experience in the field. Look around in the market place of similar businesses and see their success rate. Is your business a unique concept or similar to other businesses in the area?
Budget
If you have a limited budget then you must ensure that you keep your overheads as low as practically possible. Your main overheads are your cost of renting business premises, business rates, gas and electricity cost, staff wage, business marketing, and promotion. Keeping your overheads low will give you more cash flow that can be used in the marketing and promotion of your business.
Time, effort and commitment
Apart from choosing the right business idea, having a well-thought business plan and an adequate financial budget, there is another very crucial aspect that you must pay serious attention to and that is your time, effort and commitment to the business. It is no good having a desire to start your own business but your effort and commitment is not matching to full your desire. You are certain to have many ups and downs throughout your business life and you must be prepared to remain steadfast and focused if you wish to succeed in the long run. As mentioned above your first 12 to 16 months will be your most crucial time in business.
Home-based or office-based?
Are you thinking of running your business from home or from the office premises? Both options have their benefits and drawback. Many people start their initial set up from home before they venture out and once they feel more established or comfortable. If you are not having many faces to face customer interaction then operating from maybe a workable idea but giving the customer a home-based impression could suggest you are a very small set up that could hinder your business growth plus there is a possibility of distraction with family life and children around.
Having a proper business premise for your business will give your business a professional image and a more disciplined business operation. However, this option comes with its own problems such as high business overheads
Self-management or outsource?
Many businesses fail to survive due to lack of resources such as time, money and high business overheads. If you feel you have a good business idea but lack resources and time to run the business then there are alternative options you could consider. For instance, if you have a full-time job and you do not wish to leave your current job for the fear that your business idea may not work or if you wish to keep your full-time job and also start your own business to generate additional income.
Instead of running the business yourself you could outsource and employ a third party to handle your business. This might seem an alien idea to many but in fact, thousands of businesses use outsourcing companies to run their day to day business functions at a very small cost. Outsourcing will allow you to establish your business with minimal overheads and your business will be handled by experienced and professional staff from day one. Hiring a virtual receptionist to handle your business calls and renting a virtual office for your business premises are some of the services offered by an outsourcing company like Answerpoint. For more information on how outsourcing can help your business visit https://answerpoint.co.uk.
Conclusion.
Starting and managing your own business isn’t easy but with some guidance and by adopting certain established protocols, you can lead your business in the right direction. Make a proper business plan and consider all your options. You need to remain focused and committed to your idea. You need to have sufficient funding for your business for at least the first 12 to 16 months. If you lack business funding or time then you may want to consider outsourcing some of your business tasks.
I hope this blog is a great start for your career and a good inspiration for the way you work.