Trying to start your own business can be exciting, but it’s also
really scary. It’s a whole bunch of mixed emotions and sometimes those
emotions can be so overwhelming that you never even start!
We have dreams when we’re young and as we get older, those dreams change. We start out wanting to take on the world.
Singers, actors, astronauts and doctors, soon become public servants, office workers and tradesman.
While there’s certainly nobility in ANY workplace, the question remains, when did our dreams change?
For some, the dreams is simply to start your own business, but at some point in time, you deviate from this plan.Maybe
it was the risk involved, or your circumstances changed. Or maybe
you’re thinking about starting a business but haven’t really pushed
yourself over the edge yet?
Well starting a business isn’t hard and doesn’t have to be any more complicated than you make it out to be.
Here’s 5 simple things that might give you enough push to start your own business.
1. Follow your dreams
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed for an entrepreneur, it’s failure. But with failure, comes strength and knowledge.
It
takes failure to reach success, because of the many lessons you’ll
learn along the way, but unfortunately we’re not built to accept failure
easily.
It’s not easy to get back on the horse after you’ve
fallen off. In fact it’s very tough! Entrepreneurial spirit is strongest
now than it ever has been, but many dreams are never realised because
we aren’t confident of our own abilities.
Trying to start your own
business can be overwhelming but there’s always someone who can talk
you through the obstacles and challenges you might face.
- Friends
- Family
- Networking events
- Mentors
The
obvious key to starting a business is to simply start. And if you don’t
know where to begin, then look to the resources around you. If you
can’t be resourcesful, how do you expect to succeed?
2. Be savvy and minimise costs
With
technology advancing faster than it ever has before a lot of savvy
small business owners are starting to look at low cost solutions to
starting a business. Choosing to rent everything in the office from the
reception (Outsourcing to another country or to a virtual office) is a
great way to save on expensive overheads when you’re starting out.
It
means you can stay up to date with technology without the high upfront
costs associated with it. It also allows you better control of cashflow,
which is the number one reason most businesses will fail in the first
12 months.
Think about ways to minimise costs, but dont cut costs. There’s a big difference.
-
Try the Phillipines for a good quality, low cost, Virtual assistant.
You can expect to pay between $5 – $7 per hour for a reliable outsourced
worker and if you research the market, you can find one perfectly
versed in english, with graphic design and IT skills to complement the
service.
- Cross capitalize with another small business start up.
Split office space with a non-competing start up business. Advertise in
the local paper or online. You’ll not only limit your overheads, but
also share a space with someone as motivated as you are
- Create
strategic partnerships. Does your business, product or service offer
something valuable? Trade that service with someone offering a product
or service that YOU need. Bartering is a great way to minimise spend and
save money for cash flow purposes. Cash is king
- Rent out
un-used space. If you have space in your office, rent it out part time.
Make the most out of any opportunity to increase your capital. Work
smarter, not harder.
3. Get a good work-life balance
Starting
a business takes a lot of work and it won’t stop once you’re up and
running. If anything, it will get harder before it gets easier.
But this isn’t a reason to quit or to never even start at all!
It’s
important for you to be happy, and if you spend all your time in the
office, it’s very unlikely you will be. Even if you’re just starting
out.
We’re in a position now where we can capitalise on tools to
access our computers and work stations for anywhere we want. Invest in
good, low cost internet solution and spend one day a week working from
your favourite park.
Or take a spontaneous trip. Taking a break
over the weekend doesn’t mean you have to completely forget about work –
Keep you smart phone close and your laptop closer.
4. Think about your strategy online AND offline
Most
small business owners are guilty of letting the ball drop online. They
fail to realise the potential that’s out there for online businesses.
Social
media allows you to compete alot more evenly with bigger corporations
and businesses because you can reach your consumers directly. Sure it
might take you a lot longer to develop such a large userbase, but that’s
the only advantage they have.
You might spend hours obsessing about the layout of your store, but what about your online presence?
How
are you going to build an audience, convert customers and keep engaging
with these customers in the digital space? A good starting point to
help you think about this are the online insights tools that you can
find for free on the internet.
Whether your business is online OR
offline, the most valuable thing to you are customers. Before you even
think about beginning, you need to think about HOW you’re going to get
customers and secondly, HOW you’ll be converting them.
5. Don’t give up
Not everyone will have as much faith in your business as you will.
There’s
an old saying that says “Don’t listen to what anyone has to say about
how silly your business idea is. Because right now, there’s some
millionaire walking around who invented the pool noodle”.
And how true is this??
While
it’s always important to heed the advice of others, (your critics can
actually be the most helpful) if you think it’s a brilliant idea then
you can make it work. What ever the mind can believe and concieve, it
can achieve.
Success is about the journey, NOT the destination,
and their are plenty of other routes available for you to take. If you
find one road’s closed, then simply take another.
Success is about learning and consistently improving and growing. You’ll definitely get setbacks, but prepare yourself for them.
Source: http://thesuccesssoup.com/startups/start-your-own-business
