Starting a business
Will the Business satisfy your needs?
People start a business for a variety of reasons. This may include trying to find an alternative to paid employment or a desire to earn more money or be more independent.
You are more likely to be successful if your business venture can meet your interests and needs. It's also worth thinking about whether you are prepared to cope with the impact of running the business on your lifestyle and family commitments.
Ask yourself:
* What is really motivating me to go into business? Is it strong enough to keep me enthusiastic and involved?
* What do I want to achieve?
* What aspects of running the business am I most likely to love or hate?
* Am I prepared to put the necessary time and energy into the business - and will this be acceptable to those closest to me?
* Am I prepared to work long hours as and when required?
* Can I live with the stress and the risks involved?
Is Your Business Proposition Sound?
It's not enough to want to run your own business. You need to assess whether the goods and services you are offering can generate satisfactory profit through both good and bad economic times.
Reviewing the feasibility of your business idea is your first step before you undertake a more detailed business plan and commit time and money to the venture. This should tell you:
* Who will be my customers?
* Why will they buy my products/services from me and not my competitors?
* Can I make a reasonable profit from selling my products or services?
* Is there a future need for my products/services?
Business Planning and Marketing will give you further help on how to assess the viability of your business proposition.
Know Your Market
* Consult people operating in your industry, including competitors, agents, suppliers, associations and knowledgeable individuals.
* Find out current trends in the industry and seasonal fluctuations.
* Identify your target market. Who are they? Where are they and will you be able to reach them?
* Identify your competitors. What do they offer and to whom?
* Identify potential suppliers.
Know Your Product or Service
* Know what your business is going to do and what it is not going to do.
* Decide what is going to make your business stand out.
* Identify where your business is likely to be strong or weak and what you can do about this.
* Find out your industry's and competitors' pricing policies and terms of offer as a basis for deciding on your own.
* Explore how competitors market their products/services.
Assess Business Viability
* Determine whether you can meet all your fixed and operating costs until the business can generate sufficient cash flow from sales.
Fixed costs: include plant/equipment, establishment costs, rental bonds, insurance.
Operating costs: include rent/utilities, stock/office supplies, wages, marketing material.
* Prepare a cash flow projection for the first year to ensure you can meet your expenses.
* Determine your business break-even point.
* If you are buying a business, request details such as three years' trading figures, break-up of purchase price, history of business and reason for sale. See Buying a Business and Franchising.
* Determine your own financial position, ie your assets less liabilities - and whether you will be able to raise sufficient finance to cover costs. See Raising Finance.
Can your business idea generate enough money to meet your needs and expectations? Calculate sales required to cover your income expectations plus operating costs on a weekly or monthly basis. Is this realistic? |
