There is something that sounds so liberating and downright enjoyable about running your own business. However, according to Forbes, 80% of entrepreneurs starting a business fail in the first 18 months. So how do you set yourself up to create a business and lifestyle that you love and that is also successful?
Quite often the vision and call of business and entrepreneurial life comes from one of the following:
- I have the skills and the ideas – people want and need what I am offering – I want to start a business
- I have skills – people have asked me to do things for them and pay me – I think this looks like a business
- I have skills and ideas – I don’t want to be working for someone else any longer – I need to start my own business
Rarely, is starting where the problems occur. It’s the sustaining and building, without having the right infrastructure in place to begin with that the whole dream can come crashing down or possibly even fail to launch. The process for starting a new business means you need to make decisions to define your business and ensure you are setting it up to grow. So how do you put in place a strategy to help you be the 20% – not the 80%?
Let’s start by determining where you are in the ‘I want to build my own business’ spectrum.
Take the free quiz to see if, ‘You have what its takes to start your own business?’ Click the image to go to the quiz!
Here is a step-by-step guide for starting a new business:
Vision and Research
Write a business plan – goals, objectives, vision and the how, what and when. Know your own strengths and weaknesses – what you can do yourself and what will you need to outsource and what impact will that have on your budget?
Time and money
Look at your budget. What will you will need to get started and how is it going to be funded. What monies will you need – do you need to draw a wage early on? If not, can you get by with an existing job while you build your business. Make sure you are also aware of the time building your business will take. How many hours can you dedicate? How many do you need to dedicate? What does that mean in terms of how long it’s going to take you to gain momentum?
People
Gather a cheer squad around you. Make sure your cheer squad will give you some tough love if and when you need it. You want a mix of inspirers who will support you 100% and give you a pep talk when you need it. You also need realists and people who have been there before and who can help hold you accountable and move you forward.
TIP – Be open to their suggestions, but don’t gather too many people, otherwise you will just end up with an overabundance of conflicting advice.
Training
Take advantage of online training, webinars and one to one services. Don’t think you must know it all because you won’t. Technology and best practice changes at an alarming rate. Be cautious with how you spend your time.
The age-old adage of time is money never runs truer than when you are running a business.
You can download four (4) free training books on how to set up your accounts and spend an inordinate amount of hours going through using trial and error to resolve. Or you can hire someone for an hour or two to run you through from start to finish and answer any of your questions along the way. Once again, don’t become overwhelmed with all the information that is out there. Be very selective.
Names and legalities
Choose your business name and register it. You will also need a domain name. Don’t forget to look at your online platforms. Even if you think you won’t use a specific social media for example Instagram for some time, make sure you include it in your research and hold your names from the start.
Action plan
You can’t do everything at once. You need to work out where you are going to focus your time at the start and schedule out all the rest. Create an action plan starting with the basics – goals, objectives, vision and the how, what and when.
Don’t be afraid to put things on the ‘to do later’ list.
Concentrate on the items that will get you up and running and that are revenue producing. Everything else can come later. You aren’t in business unless you are actually bringing money in, so start there.
If you are or want to be a new business owner, I am here to help you along the way. There are a number of free resources I provide and a series of services that will help.
Book a free strategy call and I will jump on a zoom session with you and start heading you in the right direction
You can do this! Talk soon.
