1. Affordable office space
There are many affordable places to start a business. If you chose an up and coming place to base your business at then your overheads will be less. Many technology business for instance can work from anywhere because the majority of their services can be provided over the internet.
2. Gain expertise from experts
Business mentoring is absolutely key to the success of the entrepreneur. You don’t know everything and so need experts around you to aid you. A common mistake that young businesses make is trying to do everything. They secret is to kind other people to compliment your own weaknesses.
3. Networking events
Network events allow you to find work and other businesses to compliment your work. Valuable leads can be found at both the free business networking events and the more specialized fee based business events.
4. Cashflow is key
You’ve heard about profitable businesses going under right. This is because they ran out of cash. They had got enough leads and business but could do the job because their cashflow can dry. This is because they didn’t plan properly.
5. Planning
You’ve heard of a business plan. Well, you need one. The business plan isn’t a static document either. It changes throughout a businesses life cycle. If you fail to plan you plan to fail.
6. Pricing
Your price must reflect your experience. As your experience grows so will your earnings. At first work may be scarce but try not to deviate from the specialization. It is ok to do the odd job which is not par of your specialization but stay focused on your business plan.
7. Marketing
You must get word out that your product or service exists. But more importantly you must use your available resources informing the right people that your product or service exists. This is where market research comes into it.
8. Sales
So you’ve started to get interest in your services but you’re having difficulty closing that sale. Are you asking the right questions? Don’t push too hard. Make friends with them. Ask them about there business. Find out what they want.
9. Quality
Do a good job and deliver your product to a high standard and your customers will refer their associates to you. Do a bad job of inferior quality and your ex-customers will tell their associates not to use you.
10. Get paid
If you don’t get paid then your Cashflow will suffer (see 4), if should be part of your business plan (see 5) to maintain your cashflow. If you don’t get paid then you will fail.