Starting your own business is a long term dream for most people. We understand it may seem more than a little daunting to most people in the early stages. Many people procrastinate and choose to stay in a safe yet unfulfilling role, only to regret later on in life never taking the positive steps and actions to actually making it happen and turning that dream and vision into a reality.
Almost every new start-up business will pontificate and worry about many things, but if you do careful planning, research first, and work towards your start-up business in a realistic and organized way, the only thing stopping you will be fear of the unknown. “Fear itself is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But Fear is a choice.”
We hope these Top Tips help to eliminate some of that “fear” and guide you into taking those important first steps. Read them twice and consider each point carefully, then visit our #MyBigIdea page and get started now!
1) Firstly, think about if you have what it takes to be your own boss. How will your skills and personality traits help your business? Write it down.
2) Write a business plan. Even if you do not need funding to set up your business, writing a business plan allows you to focus on all aspects of your business in a pragmatic way.
3) Always start by using your existing contacts and network of family, friends, friends of friends and work colleagues. Ask them about their business experiences. Such information is invaluable. Learn from other peoples’ experiences first hand.
4) Set goals for yourself. Short, medium and long-term. Write them down and keep them visible. evaluate and alter your goals as circumstances dictate but always keep your goals in mind.
5) Identify your customers. Age, gender and background. This will help you decide on your niche market and USP. It is super important to not only identify but to also understand your market.
6) Develop a network of like-minded people to share and discuss ideas and experiences by attending as many events and industry conventions as possible.
7) Outsource some of the specialized skill activities you have little or no experience in and concentrate on those aspects that you do best. There are plenty of experienced web designers, accounting services, IT consultants, and local SEO experts available whose services cost less than full-time employees. This does need to cost a fortune , you may have met some contacts in the networking groups we spoke about in point 6, or you could consider taking on interns from local schools.
8) Setting up a business for the first time is sure to be a huge learning curve so always remind yourself that any mistakes made are just valuable lessons and move on. (Very quickly!)
9) Be Logical. Break larger activities down into more manageable tasks and avoid jumping from one activity to another.
10) Prioritize all tasks in order of importance and work through your daily, weekly, monthly, list.
Always remember that no one said it was going to be easy. But I can promise it will be worth it and we will be here to help you every step of the way!
