idea become a successful
reality? These 12 guidelines
will help you focus on what's important when starting a new business.
What do you need to do to
start a business?
What will make or break
your business? Here are 13
important guidelines for
turning your business idea
into a successful business.
1. Know yourself, your
true motivational level
The amount of money you can risk, and what you're willing to do to be successful. Sure, we all want to make millions of dollars. But what are you willing to give up reaching that goal? How many hours a week will you work on an
ongoing basis? How far out of your comfort zone are you willing to stretch? How far will your family stretch with you? To be successful, keep your business plans in line with your personal and
family goals and resources
2. Choose the rightbusiness for you
The old formula – finds a need and fills it, still works. It will always work. The key to success is finding needs that you can fill, that you want to fill, and that will produce enough income to build a profitable business
3. Be sure there really is a
market for what you
want to sell.
One of the biggest mistakes startups
make is to assume a lot of
people will want to buy a
particular product or service,
because the business owner
likes the ideas or knows one or two people who want the
product or service. To
minimize your risk for loss,
never assume there is a
market. Research the idea.
Talk to real potential prospects (who aren't family
and friends) to find out if
what you want to sell is
something they'd be
interested in buying, and if so, what they'd pay for the product or service.
4. Plan to succeed
If you're not seeking investors or putting a huge sum of money into your business, you may not need an elaborate business plan, but you still do need a
plan - one that specifies your goal – your destination – and then lays out at least
skeletal roadmap for how
you'll get to where you want
to go. The plan will change as you progress and learn more about your customers and competition, but it will still help you stay focused and headed in the right directions.
5. Don't procrastinate.
I've heard some people advise would-be business owners to not move ahead with their business until they have investigated every last detail of the business they want to start, and are absolutely sure it's all going to work and be profitable. The problem with that approach is that it leads
to procrastination. No one
ever really has all the pieces in place – even after they've
started their business. Yes,
you need to research the
market, have a rudimentary
plan in place and do things like get a tax id if needed, register with local officials, if required, etc. But if you try to make everything perfect before you launch, you may never get around to starting the business at all.
6. Start on a small scale
before going all out
Some people believe that
entrepreneurs are risk-takers.
But for the most part,
successful entrepreneurs don't
like walking blindfolded on a
limb. Instead, they take controlled risks. They test an
idea on a small scale, then
build on what works well,
tweak what shows promise
and discard the disasters.
7. Don't fixate on mistakes or get demoralized by them
The difference between successful people and
everyone else is that the
successful people learn from
their mistakes and move on.
They don't dwell on failure,
blame the economy, curse their bad luck, or blame other
people for their fate. If the
path to their goal is blocked,
they look for an alternate
path, or sometimes choose a
different, more attainable goal.
8. Learn from others
Find mentors, join groups with
like-minded people, and learn
everything you can about
your industry and what it
takes to get from where you
are to where you want to be. Attend industry conferences.
Take training courses when
they are available. Buy
courses offered by experts.
You'll save a tremendous
amount of trial and error by learning from people who
have been there before.
9. Think of what you do
AS a business.
Keep track of income and expenses, keep
business money separate fromtpersonal funds, and find out what regulations your business needs to abide by.
10. Understand the difference between working for yourself and building an ongoing business
If you want to build a business, you need to
develop systems and methods that allow you to hire other people to DO the work of the business while you plan it. You limit the potential for growth if you don't bring in other people to work for you.
11. If the business you are starting will need investors to grow
Do what you can to find out what investors are looking for and where to find those who might invest in your kind of business. Local angel and venture capital groups are a good place to start – attend meeting they hold or
meetings that investors are
speaking at.
12. Never stop learning
and trying new things
What's profitable now, won't necessary be profitable next
year or 10 years from now.
So, don't let yourself fall into
the "this is the way I've
always done things" rut. Keep your eyes and ears open for new things. Are there newer or better ways to market your products and services? Are customers
asking for something you're not offering? Is there a
different type of customer
you should be targeting? Get
answers by reading
everything you can about
your industry and listening to your customers.
