KEEP
YOUR PRESENT JOB
Being practical is
extremely important when you are toying with the idea of starting a business.
You need a steady source of income before you can set up your business, so it’s
advisable to hold onto your current job. By retaining your present job, you will
be more secured when you need to take risks.
You will, of course,
need to spend extra hours and work harder. But the transition from being an
employee to a business owner will be far smoother as you won’t have additional
expenses to worry about.
WORK
ON YOUR BUSINESS IDEA
Coming up with a great
business idea is just the beginning of your journey as an entrepreneur. There
are many more steps that you need to take before you can get started. Fleshing
out your business idea is one of them, and it’s very critical to the success of
your venture.
Is your business idea
really unique? What value will it generate? Is it something your target
audience really wants? Or is it something you think they’d want? Getting
answers to these questions is important to determine whether or not your idea
works.
ANALYZE
YOUR MARKET AND CHALLENGES
You have a brilliant
idea that you know will definitely work, but what about your competition? Will
it be difficult for a rival to copy your idea and repackage it in a better way?
A potential investor will ask you this when you approach them for funding. It’s
very important to understand the market you operate in and your competition.
You should first look
at the trends and identify challenges that your business may face. The next
step is to understand how you are going to address those challenges to stay
profitable.
ASSESS
YOUR CAPITAL NEEDS
You require money to
start your business, but how much do you really need? Without a clear idea you
run the risk of coming up with an unrealistic valuation of your business, which
will put off investors and get your loan application rejected. So before you
start wondering how you should raise money, you should focus on evaluating your
funding requirements. How much do you need to get started? How exactly are you
going to use the funds?
NETWORK
WITH PEOPLE
When you don’t have money to start your business, it’s essential
you find the right people who can help. You may attend events and trade shows
where you can find potential investors. You may also join various online forums
on social networking sites where you can find useful tips and resources to
bring your business to life.
Most venture capitalists and investors are quite active on
social media, so if you can wow them with your idea you may find a great way to
get started on your business dream.
RUN
A TRIAL
Want to be sure if your business idea is indeed unique? Run a
test and find out. A pilot will give you the confidence you need to take your
idea to the next level and mitigate risk. You can start on a small scale by
giving away some freebies to a few people in your target audience group to see
how they respond.
A small trial can give you some new insights to grow your
business and identify challenges that you might have overlooked.
GATHER
FEEDBACK
If you are planning to get into a completely new business, it
would really help if you got a second opinion from someone who knows the market
and the challenges involved. A business idea that looks good on paper may not
be that attractive when you actually get into it. An expert’s opinion may help
you look at things from a different perspective and gain more knowledge that
you may lack.
SECURE
A SMALL BUSINESS LOAN IF NECESSARY
There are several loan programs aimed at helping first time
entrepreneurs set up their business. The Small Business Administration (SBA)
operates the loan programs offered by the U.S. government. To qualify for the
loan, your business must meet some criteria such as your business must operate
in the United States, your business must qualify as a small business according
to SBA guidelines, you must operate for profit and you should have a good
credit score.
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