9 things every entrepreneur needs to know before starting their business
Thinking to start your on business? Not sure if you are on the right track? Need guidance with where to start? Too many questions in mind but no one to answer them?
Starting a business is never easy, nobody ever said it was going to be easy and nobody ever will dare to do so because whoever has been there, knows that ups and downs are sure to come your way. It will be a rough passage but you ought to be ready to catch those stones and build a bridge out of it.
Below are a few things you shall know and keep in mind when starting a new business.
1. Don’t Fear Failures!
As a startup, you need to know that you will most likely fail.
Yep, you heard that right! Initially, whatever your business is, it is going to fail. The idea behind telling you this is not to demotivate you, NO! It is to prepare you for what is about to come your way. If we check the statistics, history stands witness; all businesses will go down the hill. The finances will crumple and the people who swore to stand by you will leave. But you know what? That is the thing about ‘Success’, it never comes easy. The first failure, my friend, is a sign that you’re on your way towards success.
2. Know the Legalities!
Every locality has its own legalities that you must know prior to starting your business. You should know about the taxes that apply to you and your business, the registration process and the licenses you would need. In fact, the best of all is to hire a lawyer for yourself. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, at least take their advice and ask them the basic legal requirements for a start-up. There are no losses bigger than the ones you find yourself in after failing to comply the legalities.
3. Have a well-sought Brand Name
A brand name is how people will recognize you, thus, the name has to make sense. You cannot name your brand “Carrot” and sell clothes there. When we think of Carrot, we think of food, not clothes. A brand name shall articulate with what your business is about. Instead of jotting down a million names, selecting a few and then deciding which one to go for, simply choose the best business name from websites that can help. Not will it just make your life easier but will also give you a catchy brand name promptly.
4. Know your Economy!
Before starting, it is always a wise idea to know your surroundings. For a start-up, those surroundings are the current economy, the locality and the bills and other expenses you are likely to expect. That way you know what pricing strategy to set and know how much capital you are going to need.
5. Business is all about Competition
Remember having studied in Economics in the 10th standard that “Business is all about Competition”. It is time to modify it a little bit! “Business is all about staying in the Competition”. Within the first 5 years, your business will decline to a level where it will finally bite the dust, but you have to remain in the competition. Go slow, or even drag yourself, but just STAY IN THE COMPETITION. When I say, “Stay in the Competition”, I mean “Never Give Up”. Even when your business is practically at its lowest, everyone leaves you and your competitors start to think they’re one competitor down and stop worrying about you, work hard in silence.
6. Evaluate and Re-evaluate your Idea!
Your idea has to be unique enough to capture your customer’s attention and retain it. It has to be fresh and it must never go out of fashion. When I say, “never go out of fashion”, I mean it should always remain in demand. You must know a bit of economics for that matter. Investing in food, for instance, is a very good idea as it will never go out of fashion. As long as there are humans, there will be hunger and the need for good food to fulfil that hunger.
7. Create your “www”
Owning a site today is compulsory as a medium to converse with your audience. That is where you reach out to people and tell them what you are all about. Get an IP address for your business and manage the site’s portfolio. Remember, your site is the first impression of your business on a potential customer so make sure to leave a good one!
8. Try and be AN ALL-ROUNDER!
Initially, you won’t have a huge capital to work with, so you have to work around with what you already have. To cut down on additional costs, try and be an all-rounder business person. Don’t just own the company, try to manage the people, finance and other resources, as far as possible, all by yourself. Market your brand yourself. You can always take help from your family and friends. Once you have enough capital to work with, go ahead and hire more people.
Many businesses close down simply because the bosses weren’t able to pay their employees and I’m sure you don’t want that. Do you?
9. Customers are never easy!
“You can’t just ask the customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”
- Steve Jobs.
There is this thing with time, it never remains constant. The same goes for the Consumer Behaviour, it keeps changing. You might as well monitor the factors that cause that change but according to a marketer, the Consumer Behaviour can never be interpreted to a 100%. The maximum a marketer has ever achieved is 67.5%, with 32.5% of consumers changing their minds for reasons unknown.
These are a few pointers to consider before you choose to start your business and they cannot be overlooked. Some of these will keep you going while some of them will make sure you do not have to close down because of things like “legalities, a recurrent idea, and not knowing what to expect”. The things mentioned above have all caused troubles for the newbies of the corporate world, so we hope they won’t become an obstacle for you.
Let us know in the comments below regarding what you think is the most important of all these when starting a business?
