Get Started With Your Business By Making A Plan
Start your business by making plan, there are several elements to consider before leaping into any commitment and a few questions to ask yourself to help guide you toward a successful endeavor.
Successful endeavors are led by people who have a clear purpose and who are able to stay committed to a plan by persevering when things are less straightforward and by
checking their plans constantly — ensuring they are staying he course to reach their destination.
3 Things To Consider Before Writing a Business Plan
Because a business plan will focus on the strategy, marketing, finances, and operations for your business, it is a good idea to begin with a few questions that will help you home in on the purpose of your business and how you want to conduct it.
1. Why Do You Want To Start a Business?
There are many reasons why people want to start a business. Some would say most of the reasons could be summed up with one word: freedom.
Freedom to create something that is meaningful or to fill a need, freedom to set your own schedule or call the shots, or even freedom to create your own environment.
Even if freedom sounds like your “why,” take a moment to define the purpose of starting a business.
Are you interested in developing a business for profit? Or to serve a cause and help others?
Understanding why you want to start a business is a good place to start.
Documenting your personal motivation (your “why”) will help: – Define the type of business you want to start and operate
- Develop the infrastructure that supports your business
- Maintain the momentum needed to pursue this endeavor
- Serve as a reminder when making decisions along the way
2. Do You Have a Good Business Idea?
With an understanding of why you want to start a business, take a moment to think through the idea of how you will start and operate your business.
What exactly do you want to do? Take a moment to jot down five to six things that you are passionate about or that you know you are good at doing, or that others you respect may have complimented you on.
Whether it is the way you write, organize garages, or create widgets, take a moment to write down the first five to six things that come to mind.
Don’t overthink it – just write them down.
Can you think of any businesses you could create based on the things you enjoy or that you know you are good at doing? These are good starters to use for research.
Take some time to do some research to determine whether any of these would have potential for you and your desire to start a new business.
Use the internet to search the topics, to see whether there are people who have similar businesses, and to learn how those people have established themselves.
Do not be discouraged if you find that others have had a similar thought and have started a similar business already.
This could mean there is a need for your product or service, and their work could be very insightful for you as you get started.
As you investigate the idea, ask yourself these questions: – Do you need to establish an ecommerce website? – Could you leverage other platforms that already have a built-in audience, such as Amazon or Etsy? Portals such as these, and others like Upwork and 99Designs, that support service-based businesses have already established processes and systems that could minimize your need for upfront investments and can also reduce risk and, if needed, help you get started at a smaller scale while you determine whether you need to set up your own infrastructure.
Then, ask yourself these three questions: – Did your research spark any other ideas? – Are there franchise opportunities that may be of interest? – What types of products or services meet the demands in the current market?
3. Have You Validated Your Business Idea?
Begin to narrow your ideas by getting an understanding of how often consumers are searching for the topic or resource you are considering by using Google Trends and the Consumer Barometer.
These tools can help you begin your market research.
Your ability to see how often terms are searched, in what geographic area, during what time of the year, and the way people use the internet could benefit your business.
Utilize the research made available by reputable data analysis companies that regularly make their findings available to the public, such as Pew Research Center, Gartner, Statista, Dun & Bradstreet, or other entities that share survey responses, technology usage data, and other business and/or consumer insights that can provide you with relevant statistics that can help you validate your business idea.
Consider tapping into your network by using a survey tool.
Ask three to five questions to get a feel for whether or not your business idea will resonate with others.
Post your survey on your social media pages.
Or consider using a service through Fiverr or a similar platform that can create online surveys for certain geographies, targeted audiences, etc.
Be sure to check the surveyor’s reviews and confirm you feel comfortable with their approach, etc.
With a service, you can reach people likely to be customers and receive anonymous feedback to help shape and validate your business idea.
Taking your idea and your newfound insights, begin to develop your market research so you can create a robust understanding of your potential customers, the market demand, and the future opportunities for your business venture