There’s never been a better time to start your own business. The economy, with all of its ups and downs, is actually a great environment for entrepreneurs. But it takes more than a great idea – and a will – to start a successful business. Many people will start a business, and then quickly end it. That’s because they didn’t have the right tools and knowledge to start their business outright.
It Begins With An Idea
The beginnings of any great business start with a good idea. If you have an idea that you think is marketable, create a few samples and then form a focus group. Gather friends, family, and even strangers together to give you feedback about your product. You’ll gain valuable insight into changes that can be made and improvement to make. You’ll also discover if this product is indeed marketable. Based on the reactions from your focus group, you’ll have a better understanding of how the general public will react.
Get The Funding
No business will go far with the money behind it. You’ll need to get some funding in order to get started on the right foot. There are many options when it comes to funding. Some choices include:
- Banks and small business loans
- Government grants
- Dipping into your life’s savings
- Getting investors
Don’t feel like you are limited to simply saving all the money you need for the first year of business and a traditional small business loan. There are many funding options available. There are many funding options available. Factoring is another option to increase cash flow that all start-ups should learn more about.
Hire The Right People
Once you’ve got the idea nailed down and you have some money in place, the next step is to start hiring. When you start your own company, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of hiring friends and family. This is a natural instinct because you want to surround yourself with people you know. However, just hiring friends and family is not always the smartest move to make.
When it’s time to hire, consider:
- What are your long-term goals? Think about what you want to accomplish in one year, five years, and ten years down the road. You’ll need good, loyal people behind you to accomplish your long-term goals.
- What are your short-term goals? Similar to the long-term goals, you need to consider immediate goals. Is your immediate goal to get the word out about your product? If so, hiring a marketing team should be high on your hiring list. Is your short-term goal to produce more product? If this is the case, you’ll need a production manager and team. Consider what’s most important to you now and then hire in that order.
- What are your strengths and weaknesses? In the beginning, you’ll do a lot of the work in the business yourself. When you hire for other positions, consider your own strengths and weaknesses? Are you creative, but terrible with numbers? You may want to hire an accountant first and do the marketing on your own for a little while.
Make Sure The Paperwork Is Complete
Before getting too far into your new business and spending a lot of money, make sure all of your paperwork is complete. Some of the paperwork you’ll need:
- A business license – in the city and state where you operate your business.
- Any patents or trademarks.
- Tax documentation.
- A contract, non-compete agreements, and other employee documents.
You may want to hire a small business lawyer to help ensure that you have completed all of the paperwork you need. Taking this step now will save you a lot of time – and trouble – later on down the road.
In the end, most people agree that owning their own business is better than working a traditional job. There are drawbacks, of course, and a lot of hard work, but with the right determination and a good plan in place you will likely find success.
Jaime is an avid hiker and skier who loves to write in her spare time for CenturyLinkQuote.com– home of CenturyLink Service.
26 Comments
Leave a Reply
Cancel reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Ashley Campbell
February 20, 2012 at 6:17 pm
I loved this article. These are four great secrets that you revealed. I believe that one should firstly have the correct idea and always make sure that they have the paperwork complete. One can then try and get the funding and the right people for the job.
Thanks for sharing.
-Ashley
Jaime
February 20, 2012 at 8:34 pm
@Ashley – Thanks! Glad you liked the article.
Danny
February 21, 2012 at 4:18 am
Nice article! let’s hope a lot of people will try to start their own business and stop being scared of the economy.
If you want to get a loan and when starting a business in general, it’s good to have a businessplan, one of the only usefull things you probably can learn from business school 🙂
As new start-ups who actually write their plan out in a business plan are more likely to be succesful. And don’t use the excuse “I have the plan in my head”, because if that’s the case then just write it down, should not be a problem.
Thomas
February 22, 2012 at 6:38 am
I would encourage other entrepreneurs to spend a lot of time boiling down what their business is, what it does, and what it represents. If you nail down a 60- to 90-second synopsis, that will pay a lot of dividends throughout the life of your business. Start-ups don’t die, they commit suicide. In other words, 90 percent of start-ups fail because the founders get bored, discouraged, or something else, and they move on to other things, not because of some catastrophe. No matter how dark it is today, things will always better tomorrow.
Jaime
February 24, 2012 at 2:33 pm
I completely agree!
James
February 24, 2012 at 2:38 am
I really like your idea of hiring the right people. Surround yourself with an awesome team because you’re going to need them to overcome all the obstacles that come with starting a company. Lots of people have great ideas that they try to tackle by themselves, but I think it’s almost impossible to do everything by yourself.
gondola shelving
February 25, 2012 at 7:46 am
Before entering in the world of business, we should be prepared not just to the papers that you have to process but at the same time to the competition. We must open ourselves to unexpected circumstances. Everything that you have said are important points to start a business. Whenever hiring an employee, they play a big role for contributing success in your business. I am really inspired with your article. Thanks alot.
Ms.Thole
February 27, 2012 at 4:35 am
I do believe that business industry is a big place for all the opportunity but still you need to consider different factors to attain the goal and insight why you impart yourself in this matter…
Jaime
February 27, 2012 at 4:50 pm
You bet! I\’m happy you liked the article!
Ms.Taylor
February 28, 2012 at 10:07 am
Thanks for the several tips you share with us, this is really a step for a great business inwards…
kourtney
March 2, 2012 at 1:57 am
I like the way you delivered the tips. It is true that we need to start business with right decision. Even though economy starting to go down or somehow increasing, trying to start a business is a right move. Nice article!
Ann
March 6, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Hi Jaime,
This is an awesome article for all entrepreneurs. It should be a ‘must read.’ You covered all the basis and gave great explanations of the reasoning behind each one. I am definitely sharing with all my friends.
Jaime
March 7, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Thanks Ann, I appreciate it!
pearl
March 9, 2012 at 1:57 am
Hi Jaime, kudos for your informative article! In business start-up tasks and requirements are difficult and it requires money, time, effort, broad knowledge and resources. Your article is full of information and I love the way you provide tips in starting a business. Beginners in business will surely gain great ideas from you.
Nicholas
March 12, 2012 at 4:46 am
Wonderful tips, these are must follow tips before starting up any business. I think the market research is one of the most important thing before starting any business, many ignore this but it gives a broader perspective about the market and how your business going to stand in the future.
Skyler
March 16, 2012 at 8:14 am
Great article! New business owners should read carefully! I find this post very useful. I’m planning to open an office supplies store and one of my products are Custom Door Mats, Personalised Mugs and Travel Mugs. Now I’ve got a little idea on how to start.
Bennetts
March 24, 2012 at 7:07 am
These 4 Incredible business start up secrets can surely help a lot people. I do agree with you that many are starting their own business but quit after a while. Indeed, before starting everything must be all set. The business won’t really work if you don’t have enough business knowledge, tools and strategies. The start up secrets that you gave can really be a great guide in starting a business.
Anita
March 29, 2012 at 12:11 pm
You said: No business will go far with the money behind it.
Didn’t you want to write: No business will go far withOUT the money behind it.
I’m confused:)
Without adequate funding, you can’t do absolutely nothing in almost any kind of business, including online (something those selling courses and ebooks are not too eager to disclose up front!).
Both this article and comments I found useful overall:)
Terry
March 31, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Another way to get funding would be through crowdfunding.
Sarah Reece
April 5, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Hey Jaime,
This is an awesome article, you’ve laid out all important points right here before us. I’ve seen quite a few people with just an idea in their head, jump in too quickly, and are not able to go far. This is because they lack proper strategy, plan and the right tools to succeed. A properly defined plan and blueprint is a must have to start off. The other tools, workforce, funding etc. is also very significant, as you pointed, to make it big in any business.
Thanks for sharing these great tips.
Gabrielle
April 23, 2012 at 1:40 pm
These are all great tips! I would like to add one of my best tips: If possible, try to test your business before going live or launching the product. For example, a lot of video game companies these days will start marketing a game before they hardly even started working on it. They do some marketing, present the concept on forums etc. just to see the response. If there’s not much interest, they never start developing the game. I guess this is related to what you call a focus group.
Rita Dawson
May 3, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Great informative post! I really loved the points you have discussed. Thanks for sharing.
Felicia Corrine
May 4, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Any entrepreneur venturing into new business will find your tips very useful. Thank you for providing the information.
Johnny
May 11, 2012 at 4:12 pm
I like the tips. I think the most important thing for a would-be entrepreneur is to really do a lot of legwork before actually “starting” their business. Become an expert in the technology you’re going to be using, research what you need as far as documentation, where the best place to incorporate is, handle taxes, etc. That way you can have all of the logistal stuff out of the way when you really want to focus on getting your company off the ground. Also try to find holes in your plan, anticipate roadblocks, and figure out whether you still have a viable idea and how you can overcome bumps in the road.
Johnny
May 11, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Also make sure you’re ready to work your you know what off because youre going to have to work a heck of lot harder than the average person and the competition in order to make a place for yourself in the market.
Gregg Williams
September 5, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Organization is a big part of business success. You can easily get buried in the day to day things as a business owner and important stuff can fall if you aren’t careful. I would get some organization office supplies like file folders, binders with index tab dividers and just remember to not put things off.