Starting a business is a big decision.
Big decisions require strategic planning to center your energy and resources on the right tasks. So before taking the plunge, here are some important things you must consider first.
The purpose or mission statement serves as the steering wheel of the business. It will not only direct you in making informed choices along the way but also guide every individual that will be a part of your business to the same destination.
These are not just empty words. A clear purpose embodied in action gets everyone excited to follow suit. It builds a culture of trust and respect within the business. The people you come across become the prime advocates to promote who you are as an entity.
Starting a business costs money. How you choose to fund your start-up expenses can make or break your business. This is why it is very important to have a clear view of your financial projections.
Keep in mind that no financial solution is “one-size-fits-all” because every business has different needs. Once you figure out how much funding you’ll need, the next step is deciding how you'll get it.
Ways to fund your business:
With self-funding or "bootstrapping", your personal finances will be the main support of the business. You also retain full control, meaning you are taking on all the risk.
If you want to retain complete control over your business, but don't have enough savings to support it, you can also consider a business loan. But be careful not to go overboard. Know your financial limits.
Looking for "angel investors" is another way to fund your business. This is commonly offered in exchange for an ownership share and an active role in the business. But be thorough in doing your background research to ensure that the investor has worked with startup businesses.
The business plan is the foundation of any business. It's the manual for how to best design, run, and grow your startup. While most entrepreneurs would probably say that “things do not always go as planned”, especially after launching, this does not mean that it isn’t a necessity because they'll also tell you this:
Laying out your plans and researching to validate your ideas is absolutely necessary---and developing a business plan is exactly the perfect exercise to do so.
Here are some components you'll want to have in your business plan:
1. Mission Statement
2. Description of the business
3. List of products or services
4. Current market and opportunity analysis
5. List of decision-makers in the business
6. Financial projections
Timing is a significant element in starting any business. And no, it has nothing to do with luck. It has to do with assessing the broader ecosystem of things that will have an impact to ignite your business.
One tool that can help you with this is called PESTEL or change factors analysis.
Keep in mind that the flow of decision-making is also important and not to be overlooked. Have you ever heard of the Jeff Bezos 70% rule?
It's a decision-making method that works like this: Make your decision when you have 70% of the answers or information you need to come to a conclusion. Because waiting 'til it gets to 90% (which is required for high-quality decisions) will most likely mean you've waited too long. Arriving at 90% takes a lot of time and the opportunity will have passed.
Being decisive when starting a business is key. It’s okay to be a little early, but being late costs opportunities.
If your new business is a small venture that will require little to no help from anyone but you, good. But if you plan to build an empire out of it, you will need expert help from a pool of professionals.
Whether you like it or not, the time will come when you'll have to make a decision to either delegate the task of doing the primary work to others or continue to do so and hire someone to run the business.
Whatever you decide, realize that growth means letting go and accepting that it's impossible to know and do everything on your own.
