8 Simple Steps to Start a Business

Every person is equipped with a different set of skills and dispositions. While many are okay with scaling the corporate ladder, some want to branch out on their own. Doing a nine-to-five has its own advantages – fixed working hours, regular income and, probably, restrictive responsibility when it comes to the functioning of the entire company. However, an enterprise of your own ensures constant growth, if done correctly. Despite the crazy working hours, being your own boss is a different kind of thrill by itself. If entrepreneurship is on your mind, you have landed on the right page. We recently spoke about the skills you need to acquire if you wish to become a successful entrepreneur. We have steered away from the cliched “there’s no alternative for hard work” and “think out of the box” because you already know that. In this article, we discuss basic, viable steps and tips on starting your own enterprise.

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1. Courage is the first step

It is understandable that you are comfortable in your regular job and may even be apprehensive about letting go of your current steady paycheck. If you wish to start a venture, work up the courage for a rough ride, because no one meets instant success that lasts for long. Arrange for enough finances to last you for a few months, and start working on your venture full-time. Your business needs your 100% attention to thrive.

2. Work on the blueprint

Plan whatever you can down to the T. Do you have an idea for your business? Do some market research, get survey results, think about your positioning in the market. With the advent of the internet, there are good odds that the product or service you wish to provide already exists. If that’s the case, you need a USP to make your brand stand out. Plan your capital and resources. Talk to a mentor, if possible. Work with a legal counsel to get your paperwork in place. Get those fancy presentations ready for your investors.

3. Bring in the big bucks

You need a healthy capital, with expenses as well as overhead costs, to start a company. If you don’t already have that, you can always approach banks and get a loan for your enterprise. Compare interest rates and read through the fineprint to get a complete idea of what you are getting into. Again, having a legal counsel goes a long way. You can plan your ‘phase two’ of investments once you think you are ready to show the first round of investors some results. No investor will take any idea without projections seriously.

4. Plan every little detail. And then some

Money is not the only resource you will need to plan. Time, energy and human resources need a great deal of planning too. Hire people to do things you cannot and trust them to take care of things for you. That way, you can utilise your time doing more strategy work. Having said that, don’t forget that as an owner, managing your energies is the toughest, as you are very likely to feel overwhelmed. You may even be tempted to put your work over your health but that never works in the long run, does it?

5. Consider your risks and rewards

If you don’t know already, the SWOT tool is a great way to weigh your risks and rewards. SWOT matrix plots the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of your proposed ideas. This helps you get a crystal clear picture of what your ideas can give rise to. Risks are an inescapable part of running a business, but it is up to you to take an educated risk that has more odds of paying off.

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6. Always focus on quality

Many brands are held in the highest regard when it comes to quality, and Apple is one of them. As Jobs says, being a yardstick of quality is a sure shot way to be on your customer’s mind. Today, people don’t mind paying more if they are assured a good quality product or service in return. Quality is important for maintaining and expanding your current client base.

7. Talk about it

If you don’t talk about your company, who will? While providing great quality is important, it is also important that your audience knows about you. Reach out to your target audience database and tell them all about your company so that they can talk about you as well. Talk about it on long-reaching platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Talk to a marketing consultant, if possible, for laying a good marketing strategy. You don’t want your brand to be buried under numerous other companies who may offer something similar to what you do.

8. Failing is a big part of success

Like we said earlier, risks are an inevitable part of running a business, and not all risks pay off like a dream. There are going to be setbacks and rejections that you must learn to face. More than facing rejections, it is important to never give up. Perseverance is one of the pillars of a successful business. Don’t take your failures personally. Reach out to experts and invest in setting the wrongs right.

Wondering if entrepreneurship is the right career calling for you? Take the Mentoria assessment to find out!

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