Editorial: 4 Things To Consider Before Starting Your Own Business

Starting a business is a dream come true for most people in this world. Doing what you want, when you want, & making your own money while not having to answer to no supervisor (or boss…or whatever they call them nowadays) are some of the best aspects that come with doing so. If you plan on going this route, there are things that need to be considered before taking that step. Even before you write a business plan & plan to do it big, four things have to be done: know what you are going to sell, know who you are selling it to, know how to go about selling it, & know who will be needed on your team.

1. Know What You Are Going To Sell: The first and most obvious step in building a company is deciding what you are going to sell. What product or service of value are you going to offer to the world? Are you going to make a new medical device that simplifies surgery? Are you going to build the next great software company? Are you going to sell your know-how as a consultant? You have to determine what value you can provide to the world. Said simply, what do you have that other people will pay for? This answer is the foundation of any business that you build.
2. Know Who You Are Selling It To: Once you know what you are going to sell, you will need to figure out whom you are going to sell it to. Think about your target customers and whether you can effectively sell to them. If you have figured out how to make the best air conditioning unit the world has ever seen, setting up shop in Alaska may not be the best idea for rapid growth. You need to know who will buy your products or services and how large the market is. Ensure that the market for your good or service is large enough that you only have to sell to a very small percentage of the available market to be successful. No matter how good you are, you cannot count on capturing the majority of any market.
3. Know How To Go About Selling It: Next, you will need a plan for marketing your product or service. If you are convinced you have a great idea and that a ton of people will want to buy what you are selling, you now you have to figure out how to produce it, what it will cost you to produce it, how to price it for sales, how to make people aware of it and how to convince people to actually pay for it.  This process is called execution and it is where your grand ideas begin to intersect with reality. Unfortunately, the execution stage is also where a lot of great business ideas begin to die a slow death. Homework, a focused strategy, some common sense and a little bit of luck are what you need in the execution phase. If you are creating a product, you need to determine how to make it and what resources you will need to get your product to market. If you are perfecting a service offering, you will need to figure out how your services will stand out from the pack. Everyone has great ideas. Successful entrepreneurs take those ideas and execute relentlessly on them.
4. Know Who Will Be Needed On Your Team: As you develop initial plans for execution, you will need to focus on the talent and experience required to build your business and get your product or service into the hands of paying customers. For many budding entrepreneurs team building presents serious practical and financial challenges. Some do not yet know how to recruit the right people at the right time. When it comes to team building, you might benefit from thinking less like a business owner and more like a coach. If you were preparing to field a professional sports team, you would recruit the best talent you could find. You would also look to round out your team with a diverse array of skills and make sure that each key position was filled by the strongest player you could afford to recruit.

More Words Of Advice:

• Never make the mistake of assuming that you have to grow your company too quick.
• Always compensate your team members for their hard work. Whether it’s money or making them partners (if there’s no money upfront).
• Always keep in mind that your business will not blow up overnight. Anything worth having takes hard work & dedication and building a business is no different.

For more business advice, go to OppsPlace.com!!!