Starting a business can be overwhelming and it requires certain process to make it a success. Hard work, commitment, and consistency on a daily basis are a requirement. There are certain fundamentals that one needs to look at and the first thing is to know yourself as it should fit your personality, have passion, have a plan and set goals. This simply means conduct the SWOT analysis, know your strengths, weaknesses, find opportunities and understands the threats. Evaluate, analyze and research the industry you want to venture into and by knowing yourself you will know if you have more strengths than weaknesses for it. Check who your competitors are and be open minded and creative, have an advantage over them. Know your target market and bring new developments that will better your business.

HOW TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS – GUIDELINE

1. Find a good business idea
Starting a business means you have to come up with an idea and make a business out of it. It can be a hobby or something you are passionate about. Anyone can come up with a dozen ideas but not all are good for business. It has to be one that will work and putting your own passion aside for a moment, will it appeal to your clients or customers as well. Following the certain procedures will help you analyze whether your idea will work or not. Check out the following guiding steps to turn that good idea into a business.

2. Conduct personal evaluation
Know your capabilities and this is where the SWOT analysis comes into action. Ask yourself questions and be sure to get the right answers to all those questions. The first one is why do you want to start a business? What kind of industry do you want to get into? Do you have more strengths than weaknesses for it? It is important to choose where most of your strengths lie. Do you have the right skills for the market and how much of your time will it take and how much of your time are you willing to give up? By having an idea to start a business means you need to have a plan and goals needs to be set but above all knowing yourself is very important. Take on a business that goes with your lifestyle and goals. Learn from someone in business so to get important basics and get some inspiration. Remember to look at the lows or the negative sides of it while you getting that inspiration. Stay true to yourself and be completely honest. Personal evaluation will help you with more room for improvement by coming with a more polished plan.

3. Research your market
Research your market and know your competitors as well as your target market. Are you selling products or providing a service and is it needed? Utilize every kind of research, suppliers, books, news, Google, go to those who will be your clients and understand what they need, check what your competitors offer them and find a way to be a step ahead. Having an advantage over your competitor’s means you have to know how they attract customers if their customers are happy and what is it that they are missing. Basically, seek where there are problems and provide solutions. Validate your idea by finding out if people are in need of what you are selling or offering. Research on the sense of urgency and check if your prices will work. If you need investment that sense of urgency will be a guide on when to start and work hard to get it. Check the cost effects and come up with a basic financial plan. Another important issue is how relevant will your business be in few years meaning if you sell a product, for example, will people be in need of it in a year or so or will it be outdated and no longer relevant due to how things fast change. Know how huge or small your market is then set your milestones and goals.

4. Register the business name and brand it
Making the business legal is the next big step. Research availability on the list of names you have. Branding a business is a great idea more especially if you want to turn it into a generational business. Get proper business permits, taxes and licenses then move on to see if you need employees, insurances and a good accountant. Trademark your brand and that is your logo, slogan, company look, fonts and color scheme amongst other things. Have a domain and know the pros and cons of different business formations. The sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability, and corporation are the types of the formation to consider.

5. Planning process
A plan is the key for success and if you need outside funding a business plan is a necessity as it defines your strategy. It is a way to formalize your intentions and help you to make a success of your business. It is unfortunate that some will not even go through your business plan but a great pitch will do a great job. Create a great pitch that will explain your executions and budgets to your investors. Even when you don’t need funding its best to write a plan as a way to help you on things like what needs to be done, how and what should be the next step? How much you need? 

Business plan guide:
: include company overview
: state your products or services explaining how they will fulfill needs or solve problems
: state the target market details
: marketing and sales plans
: outline key milestones and metrics
: list your management team
: create a financial plan
: appendix – not necessarily needed but can go a long way

6. Get financed and set up shop
Have your own budget and open a bank account. Estimate your start up cost and get finance either from business investors, bank or even a family member. At the stage when funding is in order you are ready to go, now look for a location and it very important to get the good one. A good one is the one that will make it easy for clients to get to you and it will dictate the kind of clients you attract. Look into the price, how accessible it is to transportation routes and if it does not restrict your promotions or operations. Check phone systems and visibility as lack of it may affect your business making clients lose interest in locating it. Set up social media platforms and advertise your opening day as much as you can and include the press if you can.

Go ahead and make it happen, it all starts as an idea but it can bring you wealth and fulfillment in life by doing what you are passionate about. Do not be afraid to make mistakes as they are bound to happen. They can be beneficial if you learn from them. Keep an open mind, adapt to tough situations and have fun making a success of it.