Starting a business is a very exciting and challenging journey especially when it is your first business, nevertheless, this is a carefully curated guide to starting a business. Anyone can be an entrepreneur irrespective of age, career path, or degree, however, there’s a need for a strong plan and drive to see the journey through.
With the help of this guide, Our aim is that everyone just starting a business would be able to create the emergence of a viable, profitable, and employing business organization.
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How to Start a Business
The first step in starting a new business is figuring out what business an individual will like to venture into.
Starting a business from home can be a nice idea, especially for first-time business entrepreneurs or employed individuals who are probably tired of the 8 am-5 pm job. It’s encouraging to start a business when you think about the freedom of not working 8-9 hours, every day in a compacted office, not having to report to a boss, and the possibility of continuous business profit.
10 checklist for starting a business
Here are some carefully selected nuggets on how a beginner can start a business;
Step1: Identify the problems in the market that you want to solve.
The first step in starting a business to be a successful entrepreneur one must have the ability to select and offer the right products or services.
Figuring out what to sell entails researching what problems an entrepreneur’s immediate environment is facing and finding ways to solve these problems in a way that aligns with the entrepreneur’s passion.
Once there’s an idea, it is important to begin an analysis.
- Do you like this product?
- Will you buy and use it for yourself?
- How will this product improve the customer’s life?
- Is there a demand for the product?
- Is the demand large enough to make a profit?
- Who is my target audience?
- Can I relate with them enough to convince them to give this product a try?
For a product to succeed it needs to be sold at the right time, to the right people, and at the right amount.
Step2: Know yourself.
Every small business owner has skills, traits, abilities, and knowledge that gives them an edge over others when starting a business.
These abilities are the strength the entrepreneur possesses.
As an entrepreneur, it is necessary to develop a strong understanding of your strength and weaknesses so you know where to best focus your attention.
Step3: Talk to experts and be ready to learn, unlearn and relearn.
Entrepreneurship is a stage for learning and being innovative.
Even when a business is on the right track, unforeseen issues, chances for growth and improvement can quickly pop up, and this is where the need for an expert comes in, to help take chances and improve the business.
Experts can be parents, family members, or mentors. It doesn’t have to be professionals.
Step4: How to source your product
Sourcing for products is looking for where entrepreneurs can get products they intend to sell at affordable prices and of the best quality, meaning that it is also possible in starting a business with no money or little capital.
Products can be the raw materials an entrepreneur is looking to convert into finished products or if you want to run a service-based business, the product you’re offering is the service.
When sourcing products an entrepreneur can follow these steps;
- carry out market research
- Contact potential suppliers
- Ask for samples
- Choose supplier and order
- Evaluate the supplier
- Keep other supplier options
Step5: Draw up a business plan and business model.
Starting a business with a simple business plan and making adjustments as the business grows is the best way to formulate a business plan.
Developing a business plan helps with accountability and the best approach to business.
Here’s the content of a starting a simple business plan
- Problem your business solves
- What does your business do?
- List your target audiences
- Business SWOT Analysis
- Marketing plan (product advertisement and promotion)
- Financial plan (source of funds, day-to-day expenses, capital)
- Financial projections for each quarter
As the business grows, an entrepreneur can add other elements seen in developed business plans.
Step6: Work on business branding.
In starting a business, branding is also an important aspect of any business. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge over competitors. Business branding is beyond the business logo and business color.
Good business branding encompasses every aspect of the business, be it customer experience, business values, simplicity, or consistency.
Step7: Using the SMART goals to drive goal setting. ( long and short term)
Naïve expectations are one of the biggest reasons why businesses fail. Business goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
When setting goals in starting a business, it should be put into consideration that the first year of business is not always the best.
Step8: Start promoting and advertising
The most effective way small businesses can create awareness of products is to opt-in for face-to-face (F2F) marketing.
Advertising to the immediate environment personally who then continue to spread the word about the product or service is the most effective and economical way of advertising.
Step9: Never underestimate the power of constructive feedback
Feedback makes an entrepreneur’s day. Receiving feedback from end-users of products and experts helps identify how the brand is viewed and how improvements can be made.
Remember, it is not all about gathering feedback, it is making use of them.
Step10: Register your business with the government and create a separate bank account for your business.
Conclusion
We would summarize it all by saying even though starting a business can be tough(we won’t lie), it could be a long hard slog, and statistically, you might be destined to fail in your first attempt, but that still doesn’t mean that you can’t succeed in it too at your first trial, so we would advise that you learn about your financing options, marketing, and sales strategies, HR, and also get connected with the most relevant resources and supports in the business community, because this would most likely give you leverage among other business competitors.
If you’re looking for more ideas, don’t forget to check out Shopify’s post on How to Start a Business in 2022.
We at LevelupTrybe are rooting for you, and if you ever need more clarity and advice on how to start a business, feel free to message us anytime, we are here for you!
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