Hundreds and thousands of people start up their own businesses every year. Some want to start a business because they want to be their own bosses, others want to start growing their own money, while some have a spotted a great vision that could grow their personal economy.
An interesting data suggests that the annual increase for start-up businesses has peaked with an estimated growth of 29% over the last three years. Moreover, according to Inc.com, a publication focused on growing businesses and companies, the survival rate of businesses predicted for 2013 is 69% for the first 2 years; 44% for the first 4 years; 49% for the first 5 years; and 31% for the succeeding 7 years.
These interesting numbers attest on the growing enthusiasm of people in starting a business. Although optimism is important in starting a business, there are still other contributing factors to its success. Without proper business and strategic plan, the struggle could get harder.
#1 Everything Starts With a Big Idea
According to the encyclopedic manual on Finance and Business by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf entitled “The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step for Building a Great Company,” 90% of new products fail.
In today’ economy, the very first thing that you need to think about are the ideas backing up your business. The biggest business empires of this era—Facebook, Microsoft, and Walmart—started up small and they all started with a big idea.
The direction of your business starts with your idea. Your business plan, your funds, and everything else that surrounds your business will stem from your idea.
Ask yourself, what does your business want to do? Where do you plan to operate? Who will be my competitors? Where do you plan to source out your funds? And what is the point of your business?
In starting a business, no idea is right or wrong, all it really takes for it to succeed is strategic business planning and by segmenting your ideas in the right place and time. If you are prepared and determined to succeed, then you are already in right direction in starting your business.
A good piece of advice before beginning your business is to journal your vision and ideas for the next six or twelve months upon starting your official business plan. Write your thoughts while saving up for your capital. Everything about running a business has to be aligned, from your ideas and planning to your mode of operations and funding. Save up at least 10 to 20 percent of your salary in first year as an additional investment for your capital.
#2 Turn the Big Idea into a Business
The key to successful business is to know your market, which entails you to research. In starting a business, it pays to be humble. Your ideas may be good enough, but you have to back it up with knowledge about the business. So before starting a business plan, make sure to have a good “feel” of the market—the trends, the latest strategies in marketing, the most cost-effective way to advertise and so on…
Document your research. This will help you make the right decisions as you start to create a business plan. Do not hesitate to make changes with your direction as you learn the fundamentals of the relationship between your “planned” business and your market.
In writing your business plan, take into consideration your documented research, which may include a survey about your target market, demography, and what people are expecting from your future product or services.
In addition, as early as the planning stage, make sure to start searching for prospect partners and suppliers. Even if you plan to do the business on your own, connection are still vital in starting your own business. This includes your suppliers, partners, and if applicable, your distributors.
Although it is a good idea to journey on your own, you will eventually realize the need to have partners. Your partner has to have the relevant skills, knowledge, and talent with regard your business. They can also help in order for you to focus more at what you are best at. Moreover, if you want to invest more on people, consider building a team of experts to help you succeed in your business.
In today’s very competitive market, it is essential to never disregard a simple aspect of the business. For example, if you plan to do business online, you may want to hire a person expert in internet marketing for the promotion of your business or perhaps a social media expert to advertise your brand on Facebook or Twitter,
A part of your planning is your suppliers. As early as this point, you should already have a list of your suppliers for you to make a good estimate on your budget. This part can be done either through phone or online. There are different platforms such linkedin and Facebook where you get contacts of prospect suppliers. Perhaps, to make more effective tie-ups, consider attending trade shows and seminars to widen your professional ties with people.
#3 Financing Tips
Make sure to overestimate your capital. Even if you already have just enough to start a business, you still have to find some other ways to fund your capital more that what you plan to allocate.
Having an educated idea about your capital will be outlined on your business plan. However, how do you source them?
Here are some tips with regard the financing of your business:
*Start with your own pocket. Many fear investing using their own money. The thing is if you believe in your idea with a strategic business plan involved, then there should not a room for fear. Starting using your pocket means using not just your savings but your other assets such as selling some old properties like an extra house, appliances, and other properties that you may want to give up for a bigger return of investment (ROI).
* Another good source for your capital is your friends and family. You may want to pitch your ideas to them while promising a return once your business starts to earn profit.
*Lastly, you may want to start a business loan from a bank. It is the most traditional form of sourcing money for businesses. To learn more about loan banking, make a research about the best banks that offer the lowest interest rates.