YOU should ask yourself questions about the START of your business:
1. Do YOU UNDERSTAND how to START your business RIGHT?
2. Will YOU make sure the BUSINESS IDEA will work, before YOU START?
3. Will YOU check the VIABILITY of your business idea, before YOU START?
4. Will YOU RESEARCH your BUSINESS IDEA well?
5. Will YOU PLAN your NEW BUSINESS RIGHT?
6. Will YOU THINK about GOOD ORGANISATION in your NEW BUSINESS?
7. Will YOU START your business RIGHT?
8. Will YOU ensure YOU have enough MONEY to start your business RIGHT?
These are some of the questions, YOU should be asking yourself.
The start to your business could be the most important part of your business.
In the UK., one in two new businesses do not see their THIRD birthday. There are many reasons for this, but one reason is a POOR START.
For a GOOD START, you need the following:
1. Good business idea
2. Good research
3. Good planning
4. Good organisation
5. Good financial control
Let me explain some of these points:
1. Good Business Idea
The business idea must be one that will work.
If it is a new idea, that is niche, there is high risk of failure because the market for your products will be small. YOU must evaluate the size of your trading market, before you start, to determine if the idea is viable.
Too often a business will fail if there is insufficient market for your products. In a niche market, it will take time to target your new customers and this usually means the initial losses to the business are greater than what the business can stand.
The best ideas are ones that are copies of others, that have been shown to work. By copying an idea that works, a market has already been created for the product, you intend to sell – so, YOU have customers ready to purchase from YOU.
When YOU start your business, YOU do not have to work so hard to target your customers, so the profit should come in quicker. The more potential customers, YOU have, the more profit, YOU will have and the better your business will be.
2. Good Business Research
Whatever your business idea is, YOU must RESEARCH it, to the point of exhaustion. Once, YOU have established your idea is viable, don’t rest on your laurels, YOU must get out and look at the market place and see how YOU can sell into it.
No stone must be left unturned – absolutely everything must be looked at. YOU must have GOOD RESEARCH.
3. Good Business Planning
GOOD PLANNING must follow GOOD RESEARCH.
You will require EIGHT PLANS, in all:
Viability Appraisal – This tests the viability of your idea
Training, Experience and Skills Plan – This plans what training and experience, you will need
Business Model – This models how your business will function
Operations Plan – This plans how your business will operate
Marketing Plan – This comprises your selling strategy
Financial Plan – This plans the finances of your business
Business Plan – This is a summary of your total planning
Startup Plan – This is a plan of your startup
If these plans are done RIGHT, YOU should have everything in place for a GOOD START, then your business will operate RIGHT and make a PROFIT.
It is important to only proceed with your idea, if YOU can show that it is VIABLE. By continuing, when your idea is not VIABLE, is committing FINANCIAL SUICIDE. In business, YOU cannot do the impossible.
YOU will need certain EXPERIENCE and TRAINING for you new idea, and too many people try to START, without the RIGHT TRAINING, EXPERIENCE and SKILLS. It is no good THINKING that YOU will acquire these, when YOU open your business. Then, YOU will need to concentrate on RUNNING your business, not learning the SKILLS.
As part of the TRAINING, EXPERIENCE and SKILLS PLAN, YOU must plan your own needs and those of any employees, YOU will take on.
It is important to get your BUSINESS MODEL RIGHT, so that your business will function RIGHT – YOU need to plan this carefully. To help YOU, look at the MODELS of your COMPETITORS.
Your OPERATIONS PLAN is how YOU will OPERATE your business, in DETAIL. By THINKING this through and PLANNING it RIGHT, YOU should be able to OPERATE your BUSINESS EFFECTIVELY and EFFICIENTLY.
The MARKETING PLAN is your PLAN for how YOU will sell your PRODUCTS and reach your TARGET CUSTOMERS, while the FINANCIAL PLAN is a PLAN of everything FINANCIAL in your business, for the first THREE YEARS of TRADING.
All the planning is pulled together, for the BIG PLAN, namely the BUSINESS PLAN. This is important, if YOU intend to borrow funds for your STARTUP.
Finally, the STARTUP PLAN will include your DETAILED PLANNING for your START. By doing this plan, YOU will not just open your business, but LAUNCH IT.
4. Good Business Organisation
GOOD ORGANISATION is imperative. A great many starts are rushed, because too little time is given to doing the process right.
Once, YOU have PLANNED things right, GOOD ORGANISATION must follow. This means setting up systems for absolutely everything in your business and having everything ready to start.
Businesses that have a GOOD START with GOOD PLANNING and GOOD ORGANISATION, then have GOOD FOUNDATIONS and nearly always go on to be GREAT SUCCESSES.
Conversely, businesses that have POOR STARTS, always suffer due to the inadequate PLANNING and ORGANISATION.
5. Good Financial Control
So many businesses fall down on the FINANCES. YOU must ensure YOU have enough MONEY to start your business well, and if YOU borrow MONEY, YOU must ensure your new business has sufficient CASH-FLOW and PROFIT to repay the loan.
YOU should plan your finances as part of your FINANCIAL PLAN. But, one common mistake is to exceed the budgets set in the FINANCIAL PLAN, by spending MONEY on things that are not required for the start of the business.
YOU must be disciplined in what YOU spend and only buy what is needed. YOU must also remember that most new businesses will trade at a loss, until the REVENUE SALES can be grown sufficiently.
YOU will need extra finance in place to pay the bills and keep the business going until the profit can support the business.
YOU MUST GET YOUR START RIGHT.
In Summary
For a GOOD START, you need the following:
Good business idea
Good research
Good planning
Good organisation
Good financial control
In short, your BUSINESS IDEA must be VIABLE and well RESEARCHED. Prior to opening, YOU must PLAN everything down the last detail and, YOU put GOOD ORGANISATION in place.
YOU should give much THOUGHT to how YOU START your business, the more thought and planning, the better your START will be.