THE decision to start your own business is an exciting one, but it’s also not a decision that should be taken lightly or one that you should rush into without really considering if this is the right move for you individually and also professionally.
So, if you’re thinking of going into business for yourself, then this post is going to give you some tips on a few things to consider before you jump in and start making any concrete plans.
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Your Business Model:
The business model you decide on is important in order to get started, but it’s also worth remembering that your business model will continue to evolve, and just because you go with one business model in the beginning doesn’t mean you can’t add in other variations of different models as you go or even change it completely.
However, it’s something you’ll need to be clear on for the beginning just so that you can get things moving and off the ground with your business.
What Your Business Will Offer:
In order for your business to be able to provide you with an income and support the lifestyle that you desire, then you have to be making money. This means, you need to have products or services that you’re able to sell on a consistent basis.
So, if you’re not yet clear on what your business is going to be offering, then now is the time to be really thinking about this and making sure you have carried out proper market research and fully understand the kinds of customers you’re targeting for this offer.
Of course, depending on your business and the business model you’re creating, then you may have many products and services or even a combination of both, but this doesn’t matter as much as it does to be clear on each offer you have in your business and who exactly it’s for.
If You Can Afford It:
When it comes to starting a business, it’s a lot easier in terms of finances nowadays than it previously was.
In the past, you would need to find a premises and the money for that, you would likely need some kind of business loan from a bank or seek a private investor, and then you would need to invest in products to be able to sell them, and also potentially invest in storage space such as a warehouse, and then you’d have to look at production.
Depending on your business, for example, a physical shop or a business where you make handmade goods, then a lot of these costs still could apply.
However, nowadays, it’s a lot easier to start a business from home using just your laptop if you wish.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that there aren’t other aspects of finances to take into consideration that your business could affect. There are still going to be some start up costs associated, no matter how much you bootstrap.
The other aspect is how much of an impact this will have on your personal finances. For example, if you currently rent your home and are hoping to get a mortgage in the next couple of years, then working for yourself could cause issues when it comes to getting approval, and you may have to go down the route of looking into sole trader mortgages which are a bit more complicated to navigate than traditional ones.
Your Business Name:
Many people will tell you that your business name isn’t too important, and whilst it’s certainly not something you should be spending months focusing on when there are definitely more important areas to be thinking about, it’s also not something that you should take too lightly or just settle on any old name with.
Your name is part of your branding and identity for your business, so if you’re not going to be using your own name or a variation of that, then it’s definitely something to give some thought to as you don’t want to find that after a few months or years of building up your business identity that you then have to change it because it doesn’t align with your products or services or that you don’t like it anymore as this can cause branding confusion and can even result in previously loyal customers being put off when you announce your new name as was the case when InfusionSoft rebranded to Keap and nobody seemed to care for the new name.
We hope that this post has been helpful in giving you some clarity around the things you should consider when starting your business so that you can see if this is the right choice for you at the moment or if perhaps you should wait a while or consider some different options.
