In this article, I will try to give a certain algorithm of actions for those who are interested in where to start their business. I will not insist that starting your own business can only be done this way and nothing else. I will just share with you my experience and understanding of how and with what small business begins. If you want to start your own business, and you have similar questions, I hope this article will be useful to you.
Before You Start your Business
There is a thought, and I adhere to it, that all people, in terms of how and where to start their business, are either figures or dreamers. Everyone dreams, I am sure, but few do! This is precisely the answer to the question “Where to start your business?”. To begin with, not to become a dreamer, but an activist. To know, to have or be able to EVERYTHING that you seem to need to start your own business, you will never succeed. Always want to read a little more, learn something else … and you will remain a dreamer.
To start your small business, you should not want to but do it. Let slowly, systematically, but still, create your own business from scratch, work on it. There is no other way. Some people need hacks to succeed or rely on it. Like I won’t put in expenditure to get a transparent business card designed or rent a place or give enough money to the works. This is commonplace, and you probably have heard about this more than once, I understand. But this is the “bare” truth.
Own business – How to Start?
So, let’s take a look at the steps how to start your business from scratch.
Step 1. Solution
This is serious. Very seriously. Let it seem to you that you have already accepted it. Some of you have accepted, yes. But not all, unfortunately. You have to make a difficult decision that you want to start your own business. Start and run your own business. For a long time. Forever. And it is much deeper than it seems at first glance. A decision is not just a desire to be an entrepreneur, a desire to start a business. And it’s not a dream to get rich or not work for an uncle. It is a deep belief that you are internally prepared for this. That you are ready to sacrifice something – your time, hobbies, entertainment, watching TV. What are you willing to work. What you have to go out of your comfort zone. That you are ready to face difficulties – and more than once. That you are ready to make difficult decisions often.
If you were planning to start your own business, thinking that your life will not change, my advice is to continue to work for your uncle. And this is really good faith advice, honestly. You are just so comfortable. And, if you asked where to start a business, I would say: with readiness to change and change everything (almost) around. For the better, of course :-).
If you are ready – excellent, I’m happy for you! I am sure that if you have made a firm decision to start your own business and not give up, you will succeed. I will end the paragraph with a quote from Henry Ford: “Whatever you think that everything will work out or that nothing will work out, you are right!”
Step 2. Idea of own business
To start a business , of course, you need to have a business idea. I have repeatedly said that a business idea is not something super unique and unrivaled. A business idea can be a little highlight in even an ancient business. You can, of course, without a twist – but it’s more difficult. If there is no UTP, it is more difficult to develop a business. But this is a slightly different conversation.
Let’s say so for clarity – you must decide what you will do. Just take your time, any business idea needs to be honed. Perhaps you already know exactly which business you want to start. Or maybe you just decided to go in for business, as I used to be, for example. What exactly – still need to decide. Where to get a working business idea from, and how to understand whether it will be in demand, I wrote in an article about ideas in small business, so here we won’t talk about it for too long.
Tip: when choosing a business idea, pay attention to demand, competition, margin, labor costs, the possibility of additional sales and long-term cooperation, etc.
Step 3. Action Plan
Usually, after you have decided on a business idea, it is recommended to write a business plan. But I would like to add here a small step in the form of an action plan before you start your business plan. This will help you to realize your plan faster. The action plan will contain both obvious steps, such as writing a business plan, registering a company or renting an office, as well as less obvious ones, such as reviewing what was done at some stage and making changes (not everyone does it), or attending a seminar, or arrange some kind of meeting. All these points can be useful to you both before and after starting your own business, so it’s worth adding them to your plans. Just write down what you need to do and when.
Step 4. Business Plan
The business plan preparation described to the smallest detail is in the corresponding section, so we will not dwell on this in detail here. But I cannot but say what I consider important: writing a business plan for myself and for attracting investments, in my opinion, is very different. For myself, a full-fledged, business-friendly business plan is not needed – it is better to spend time on more useful things when starting your own business. I myself spent a lot of time writing a business plan, most of which was not needed.
BUT! Do not neglect those parts of the business plan that will help you better understand both your business and the market as a whole. This is research, planning and analysis. This is the marketing and financial part of a business plan. You will also read about this in the above article on the preparation of business plans.
I want to emphasize: in fact, the main thing here is not the writing of the business plan itself (although what remains on your paper will help you in the future), but the work that you will do when writing the plan. Research, comparisons, the study of competitors, analyzes, etc. – this is what you most need, which will give you a very valuable advantage in the form of market knowledge and your business, in particular.
Step 5. Registration of the company
So, you have written your business plan. You are ready to start your business. The next step is to register a company. You can choose different forms, most often LLC or IP. If you do not know how to do this, read the step-by-step instructions on our website. Or entrust this business to law firms. The choice is yours. It’s better that you get online business cards made after you have registered your company to stay professional.
Step 6. Organization of own business
By “organizing your business” I mean providing all the necessary conditions and resources in order to start this business. For example, you would need:
Find the appropriate staff (although, of course, at first you can work alone).
Find and rent an office space (storage, sale, etc.), depending on what kind of business you will be engaged in (if it is really needed!).
Decide on how you will advance at the beginning of the business, and develop appropriate advertising.
Establish communication channels, plan interaction processes (both internal, between employees, and external, with suppliers and customers).
Organize document management and office work of the enterprise.
Depending on the type of business, there will be certain specifics and they, of course, must be taken into account. Perhaps you do not need any of the above at all – for example, look for employees if you intend to start your own business alone, or rent a room if your business allows you to work from home. But in any case, you will have to think over and consider all organizational issues.
Particular attention should be given to marketing, i.e. how you will attract customers. This is the most important thing not only at the beginning of a business, but always. Do “deliberate advertising” – read more about it here.
Step 7. Starting your own business
All start! I hope you decide where to start your business. In addition, how to attract new (or first) customers, read the link.
I wish you patience and good luck! Thank you for the attention!
