TIPS ON STARTING A BUSINESS

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Businesses have moved from the more traditional domain to make them much versatile, especially when you think of YouTubers, social media influencers, bloggers, virtual writers & artists and so on.

Before you make a concrete decision to start a business, whether for profit or not for profit, there is the need to engage in a high level of planning so as to reduce the number and degree of unforeseen circumstances. 

The acquisition of the right resources is always paramount. Resources include even the very minute items/issues.

As a business student for some years and an amateur business lady, I have a couple of advices to share but bear in mind that they are not in chronological order. 

1. Develop a unique selling proposition.

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This doesn’t have to be a particular type of product or service. This can be a special quality or characteristic which may or may not be physical. Currently, there are a lot of products and services in existence so much so that it is difficult bringing up an idea of one that no one has thought of or is not already in being so why not take an ordinary one and make it inimitable.  Personally my unique selling proposition is realism. I write and say things as they are and one of the ways I do that is by addressing as many sides of an issue as possible considering the fact that we are not all the same. Everyone is right in their own right. 

2. Investigate on the most suitable target market.

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When you look at your unique selling proposition, which people do you know will need and appreciate it. It doesn’t automatically have to be one. There could be three; those that will need it always, those who will need it as & when the need arises and those that will grow to need it or love it. With mine for instance, studying the world we are in where everyone wants to hear positive & appealing words, shunning away from the negatives even when it is the truth as well as individuals who are both optimistic and pessimistic as and when it is necessary. 

3. Determine the people you want to work with.

Ideally when starting, you will want to work with those around you because they most likely understand you and your vision better as well as the fact that you minimize cost by not employing or contracting external people. With this though, you have to be careful since sometimes people we trust do not want the best for us or do not have the same goals as us.  For instance, my mother, sister and about four friends are those I consult on. Nevertheless, I am on a platform for bloggers where ideas, opinions, experiences are shared because sometimes they don’t get me since they are not into blogging. 

4. Strategize on how you will be delivering the unique selling proposition to your target market.

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When you are certain about point 1 and 2, you must use those decisions to develop a strategy as to how you will get 1 to 2. I use blogging because I felt it was regulated, I could stay in the background for as long as I want and I had control over my personal platform. I also use social media to make some ‘noise’ about my blog page ensuring my link is well publicized. Also, I write my blog posts in a way that I find to be exclusive to me. 

5. Design a future plan detailing issues of change.

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A plan about how you will change things up and how you will respond to change in the external environment. How you propose to advance the product or service you are offering, how you will deal with competition, new regulations, decline in customers, issues with suppliers and much more since these are extremely inevitable. Well, I have a plan but I cannot tell you about it. You will experience it when it is in fruition. 

6. Set a date for when you want to start the business.

This enables you to be quick on your feet before procrastination leads to the halting of the commencement of the business. My set date was the first week of January 2018 which if not the case, I will still be ‘planning’,

7. Consider why you want to start the business.

This will determine whether you will be able to pull through and stay in business for long. When you are profit or money minded, you must also have passion for what you are doing else it most likely will not be as successful as it could be. I started blogging to express myself and attempt at transforming the mind-sets of people that do not lead to the general improvement of the world. 

8. Decide on whether you will work on it full-time or part-time.

I am on a part time basis not only because I am a student or thin blogging is not profitable but because in the long-run I still want this to be a platform where I can express myself without fear of losing profit, customers, partnerships or means of livelihood. Figure out which you want to do and why. That will guide your schedule and activities, 

9. Create a brand name & logo, a website, social media platforms and finalise on a location.

This is very fundamental. External stakeholders can tell how serious you are when you have these even at the early stages of your business. It becomes more pressing when you have a specific product or service you offer and are out seeing investors and profit. For those wondering, I am halfway through. 

10. Have a can-do spirit, be determined, passionate, confident, understanding, open-minded and much more.

Go all out for what you believe in and ensure that though you are business minded, you act humane as well. Build yourself internally for the business world. Mentors and role-models can help with this. I have a few both in the blogging sphere and outside. 

NB: Every aspect involves some level of financial analysis.

Thank You for Reading & All the Best!!!