Thinking of starting your own business?

Starting your own business can be the most traumatic, yet one of the most exciting things we do in our lives. It’s akin to having a baby and then supporting it through the years. In fact I sometimes wonder which causes us more anxiety and the greatest number of sleepless nights!

Advice comes from all directions, but for me there are a few key things you should consider:

1)      Ask yourself honestly are you are the right person to start a business? Do you have the drive, knowledge and skills to succeed? If not, can you get them and do you know people who can help you?

2)      Is there a genuine need for your product? Great product ideas don’t always fill a need and are sometimes ahead of their time.

3)      Can you can be the first in a market place? If not, can you give a perception to your customers that you are different?

4)      Will customers pay the price you need to make your business viable? Have you tested this? Many businesses fail simply because they haven’t checked customers will buy at a commercially viable point.

5)      Do you have the resources you need to start a business? Do you have the finances, premises, time and so forth? If not can you realistically get these in place?

6)      Possibly the single most important element, do you have a business plan? Does it map out how your business will grow, the strategies to deliver this growth and how much cash you will need to start and keep the business growing?

If you have the answers to all these, then congratulations, you are ready to start your own business. The key then is to test and measure on an on-going basis the key areas of your business and, most importantly of all, react and develop your business based off what you find.