The idea of starting a business can be scary. We’ve all heard stories of those entrepreneurs who squandered all of their life savings on a business idea that didn’t pan out, leaving them destitute. Setting yourself up doesn’t have to be like that, however. It is entirely possible to start small and build up from where you are, you just have to be ready to put the effort in. Read through our 6-step guide to starting a business, we’ll show you that it is entirely possible to turn your dreams into reality.
1. Do market research
The first place to start is with market research. The aim of doing this is to work out if your business idea is viable. Can it work, do you have something that people will actually want? Is anyone else doing it? If not, why not and if they are could you do it better or cheaper so that you can compete with them? Try to understand the probability of your business succeeding if you were to set yourself up today. If not, consider what changes you could make to your plan to make it more likely to work.
2. Make it official
Make sure that you see to the legalities of your business early on in the process. Take time to ensure that your business is registered properly and that you have arranged to cover your tax liabilities. This is also the time to secure your branding. You might, for instance, need to consider trademarking an image in order to protect yourself from competitors.
3. Finance your business
Spend time looking into how you will finance your business in those first years. Read through our guide to starting a business to find out about some potential sources of investment. You certainly don’t want to be ploughing in all of your own money and with plenty of help out there you don’t need to.
4. Write your business plan
Your business plan helps you to envision the direction that you want your business to grow in. It’s not only an important document for potential investors further down the line but it’s also important to you because it gives you the chance to truly reflect on how your business will develop over time. There’s plenty of advice online that can be used to help you write a sound business plan.
5. Develop your product or service
This is the bit that you really need to get right before you go to market. Spend some time ensuring that your product or service is top-notch because if it isn’t customers certainly won’t stand by you. If you need expert help, employ them but we really can’t stress enough the importance of ensuring that what you offer is good quality before hitting the market.
6. Start building your team
This might not happen until sales start coming in but building your team is important for scalability. Make sure that you employ others who are passionate about what your business offers and have the ability to really make your business grow. They should be experts in their field, whether that’s marketing or product development. It can be tempting in the first years to hire all-rounders to try and save money but a new business really needs expertise.
