Setting up a business is never going to be an easy hack, especially with so much competition, yet with the right attitude, approach, a little capital and tons of determination, you can succeed. Creating a business that makes money is all about planning and preparation, and with that in mind, here is our checklist for setting up a winning business.
- The Concept – The very nucleus of the business, it must be defined, a product or service that is in demand and not an industry with no future. If you can offer something unique, even better, but you should have a concept, which might be a fully comprehensive service, or you could be price focused, guaranteeing to beat any price. You should be knowledgeable about your chosen field, and most entrepreneurs have a background in their industry to the degree they could set up a company.
- Funding – The number one reason why businesses fail in the first year is lack of funding, so you need to crunch the numbers and make sure you have adequate funds, plus you should have enough money to survive the first 6 months without making a single sale. If you are short, consider taking out a short-term business start-up loan, which could be repaid within the first year.
- Digital Marketing – The entrepreneur does not regard digital marketing as an optional extra, in fact, hiring a good SEO company would be a priority. Once you’ve hooked up with such a provider, they would help you to develop an aggressive marketing plan, which they would implement. Let’s face it, everything is online today, and without digital marketing, you will be an also-ran, struggling to survive.
- Business Plan – Simply put, this is your handbook to success, and a good business plan covers every aspect of the industry, including, start-up capital, organisation flowchart, marketing and short and long-term forecasts. If you need some help compiling a business plan, there are lots of free resources online, and following a template, you simply add your content. When you think the plan is finished, hand it to a business guru, who will, no doubt pick holes in it, which is an essential process that enables you to tweak the plan after review.
- The Resources – You should know exactly what you need, resource-wise, and with clever use of the Internet, there isn’t much you can’t organise. One must be very methodical when writing a business plan, and try not to be too optimistic, indeed, one should approach it with a critical mindset, looking for obstacles and issues.
- Attitude – It is critical that you understand what lie ahead; there will be many obstacles in your way, and at times, you will feel like the gods are conspiring against you, and may even wonder why you even bothered. Embrace the minor issues and with a can-do attitude and a fair helping of enthusiasm and motivation, you will eventually succeed.
Most entrepreneurs go through a process of elimination when they have a business idea, and if things check out, after putting together a complex business plan, they will cover all the bases and implement the operation.