July 7, 2022
Starting your own business can be an exciting endeavor, but it’s also one of the riskiest endeavors you can take. As an entrepreneur, you’re responsible for your company’s growth and success or failure; that’s a huge load to carry on your shoulders! Here are 10 tips to help you keep from burning out and making sure that your new business becomes the successful venture you know it can be.
At first, starting a business might seem like a big financial risk. But if you’re sure your business idea has legs, there are ways to make it affordable. You can start small—start with a small brick-and-mortar location and build out from there. If your home is where you feel most comfortable, that could be an option as well; many people start businesses out of their garages or basements.
Before you write your business plan, take a step back and try to answer a question that might sound simple, but is in fact one of those big things: What am I going to do? Do you want to build a brick-and-mortar retail shop or establish an online store? How will you market yourself? What type of inventory will you carry and how much can you afford to buy at first?
While many entrepreneurs get by without external funding, depending on your industry or situation, it may be worth it to seek out advisors or investors. If you do decide to go down that path, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Make sure to take action on whatever feedback is given; in my experience, I’ve found that people are willing to help if they know you’re serious about making a difference.
For a lot of people, it’s easy to come up with ideas. The hard part is actually sitting down and doing something about it. If you have an idea in mind, start researching and find out what that thing is going to cost, how much you can sell it for, who your market will be and how much demand there will be. There are a ton of factors to consider when starting a business—and if you don’t do your homework, you could end up wasting time and money. A great place to start is by talking with other entrepreneurs (or even professionals) in similar industries. If nothing else, they can give you some valuable insight into whether or not your idea has legs.
Now that you have a product, price it accordingly. You don’t want to be too expensive and scare people away, but you also don’t want to be too cheap. If you think your product is worth $100, start there. But don’t sell yourself short; if it is truly unique and special, it could be worth more than that. Be cautious of your start-up costs; if you set your price too high, no one will buy it!
In addition to a targeted plan, it’s important to decide where you’ll be selling your business or product. You can sell it online, through retail stores or through both. Deciding where you want to sell your business can impact many factors, including marketing and distribution costs and methods. Think about who will be buying your product and how they’ll get it before making any final decisions on where you’re going to sell your product.
Before creating any product, you need to know exactly who will buy it. This is where demographics come in handy. It’s also imperative that you know what your customer wants. If they want fast shipping and free shipping, you need to be able to fulfill that request. You also have to keep an eye on whether or not your customer needs updates on a regular basis, so always make sure your current customers are getting what they want from you at all times.
There’s no rule saying you have to start a business from scratch. If you have experience working in a related field, look into ways to put that expertise to use. If you don’t have an applicable background, think about how your experience can translate into a new career path. Perhaps you could set up a consulting practice or look into importing products from overseas. All of these ideas fall under self-employment, which is on track to become one of America’s most lucrative careers.
Everyone has a different idea of how much capital is necessary to launch their business. If you’re just starting out, $20,000 might be more than enough to get your product off the ground; if you’re running a complex enterprise, $1 million may not be enough to ensure long-term viability. Know how much money you need and secure it before making further moves.
Many of us have great ideas for starting our own business, but we never act on them. There are thousands of reasons why: It’s scary, it’s risky, or you don’t have enough money to get started. But if you don’t take that first step, it will never happen. So, sit down and think through what your dream business would be like—what would you sell? Why would people buy from you instead of a competitor? Once you can answer these questions, just start!
.png){kind=icon}
