We live in a time when promising businesses are born every day and new companies are opened. Examples of successful take-offs and quick victories are dazzling for many people, giving hope for the opportunity to achieve attractive financial and career horizons. Having spent many years in the homework – home mode, my own business seems to be a salvation from all troubles. However, there is another side to the coin.
The number of enterprises opened under the influence of a sudden rush and also quickly ended their existence is very large. E.g., many email marketing firms open up every day is U.S or similar startups. However, very few make it to the top. Therefore, before starting your own business, you need to weigh many factors and study a large amount of information.
Many specialists recommended to start with the answers to the 10 questions that will help you assess the viability of your business idea.
1. What problems will your business solve?
It is useless to offer people what they do not need. Your product or service should have value, close someone’s “pain”, help solve a difficult problem, and offer a way out of the situation.
2. Who is your target audience?
Many aspiring entrepreneurs really dislike this question and cannot answer it. However, the ability to make a portrait of your consumer makes it possible to build the right marketing strategy and make the product more competitive.
3. Does your product or service have a unique selling proposition (that is USP)?
What is your difference from competitors? Why should a person, for example, accustomed to buying pastries in his favorite store, have to break his little traditions for the sake of buying from you?
4. Do you have sufficient resources to start a business?
It doesn’t matter if you are going to open a large factory or make money on the Internet, you need to clearly understand at the start whether you have key assets available. Be realistic, rely only on sources that you can really use.
5. Who will work with you as a team?
If you plan to launch a business for which employees are needed to work, think immediately: how many people do you need at the start of the project, what kind of remuneration you can offer, how the workplaces should be equipped, what kind of functionality they should perform. If you plan to do business online, decide how you will communicate with employees and how to exercise control.
6. How will you promote your business?
In order to optimize marketing costs when starting a project, it is advisable to study competitors’ advertising strategies in advance, see which channels they use and how successful each of them is. Learn what types of online advertising are there, what are targeted, display, contextual advertising, how to promote the product through bloggers, forums and communities.
7. Do you have the knowledge and skills that your own business requires?
To effectively manage even the smallest enterprise, it is not enough to be a master of their craft. Make a checklist of what you need to learn and regularly upgrade your managerial skills.
8. Can you make a business plan yourself?
If you do not have experience in running your own business, it makes sense to turn to more experienced people. Sometimes at the start, you may simply not see important issues, the timely resolution of which will help to avoid many problems.
9. How much time are you ready to devote to your business?
You need to understand that if you really want your business to be not just an interesting occupation, but to make a profit, the first time you will need to devote a lot of time and effort to it, literally living it.
10. What are the prospects for your business?
The realities of today are such that only those companies that constantly grow, develop and follow modern trends remain on the market.