Top Tips for Starting a Business
Starting a business is a very liberating and exciting thing to do. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a challenge, is resilient and believes in an idea they wish to exploit. I have started a number of businesses and helped numerous people set up a business for themselves. This blog is bringing together some of this experience. I hope you find this helpful.
So, what are my top tips for starting a business?
Your Idea – You need to be able to clearly articulate your idea – why you think it is good and what difference your product or service will make to your customers. Remember, your idea doesn’t have to be new; it just has to have a uniqueness about it that means people will choose you over your competitors. Test your idea on people you know. Gauge their reaction and adapt your approach if necessary.
Are you ready to be an entrepreneur? Do you have the right personality? I always think that to start a business you have to be an optimist. You certainly need to be resilient and you need to love what you do. You probably don’t like working 9 to 5 in a traditional office environment but prefer to be your own boss, confident about your business idea and the future. All that said, you also need to know your weaknesses and you certainly need to know when to stop, to realise that your original idea doesn’t stack up once you have started developing it further or conducted some market testing. However, remember that most entrepreneurs fail before they succeed!
Business Plan – You will need one. There is no way round this. It is a good exercise although not necessarily an easy task if you have never done it before. It can feel daunting but if you take it one step at a time you will build up the picture and it will help you focus and succeed. If you need a template, just Google ‘business plan template’. Most banks have template plans you can use. The Prince’s Trust has some very useful information which you can access via their website https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/tools-resources/business-tools/business-plans. We also have a template business plan which we use for our clients but in the end they are all roughly the same....
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Susanne Hasselmann, Scirum Ltd
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