Curiosity and Tips. How to Start a Small Business

Your dream is to own your own business, be your own boss and become a captain of industry? The challenges and difficulties will be on the agenda, but you will not necessarily have available a long resume. But these things do not just happen: keep reading to create a plan!

Method 1 of 4: Define Your Target

1. Start from an idea. It may be that you have always wanted to offer a product or service because you feel it useful to consumers. It is said that this is a good already invented!

• It may be instructive and fun to brainstorm with a group of brilliant and creative. Started by a simple question: “What to give?”. The idea, for now, is not to create a business plan, but to know that the product or service orientation. Surely scattered many options, but soon emerge that perfect.

2. Define your goals. Would your financial independence or sell the company to the highest bidder? Want a company based on your passion and earn so your salary? Keep these factors in mind before you start.
3. Write a business plan, a document that collects your strategies and is shown to investors, bankers and other parties that will help you figure out if your idea is feasible. Get a book to learn how to write one. In principle, these are the elements that can not miss in a business plan that respects:

• Executive summary, which describes the general concept of your idea: as will be monetized, about how much money you need, where parts (even from a legal standpoint), who will work and what is, in short, your story. You’ll have to convince readers of the potential of your business.
• A specific description of the company: Define how you will adapt to market your product or service, what is your target audience and how will the distribution.
• Marketing strategies. You will need to identify potential buyers and convince them to understand how to make use of your own product or your service. What is the size of the market? What are the opportunities for expansion? You’ll have to sell these variables to the readers of the business plan.
• Competitive analysis. Developing the previous sections, you will understand who is represented by the competition. Discover your path to success and keep his mistakes not to commit them.
• Development plan. You will create a tangible product or service you offer? How will this process? Define the raw materials, packaging, storage and transportation modes. You’ll need to hire more people?
• Operations. Who’s the boss? Define your organizational structure, from the receptionist to the CEO, for this to work effectively, and to know what the costs. Remember that the business will evolve, then you will need to hire new employees based on the changes to which will be the subject. At first, the staff could be formed simply by you and by a lawyer and an accountant external.
• Financial part, or what you are going to spend and earn. Since this is the most dynamic part of the plan and perhaps the most important as regards the long-term stability, it should be updated monthly in the first year, every four months during the second year and finally annually.

Method 2 of 4: The name of the Company and Construction Team

1. The name can collect you in mind before you start and inspire you for the choices you make. While the plan is growing, and things start to take shape, you may change your mind, until you get to the final.

• Take a cue from the Beatles, who often gave fun titles to their songs before you finish them. “Yesterday”, for example, was called “Scrambled Eggs” (“scrambled eggs”).

2. Form the team. You can take the path alone or with trusted friends. An exchange of ideas creates synergy and the results brought forth more than a mind can be much more valuable.

• Think of successful couples like those of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In these cases, the union has the strength and all became millionaires. Of course, having a partner is not a guarantee of success, but you can give it a try.

3. Choose wisely the people with whom we will cooperate: it is said that your best friend can also be a good business partner. Here’s how to choose the staff:

• The other person makes up for your weaknesses? Do you have different but complementary qualities? If you know both do the same things, you might overlook many factors.
• Do you have the same overall goal? It is normal to have fought on the details, but you’ll have to agree to respect the fundamental decisions, otherwise, the real purpose of the business will go to hell.
• If you do interviews, identifies the true talents beyond the certificates and degrees. Innate abilities often exceed what is taught in a conventional manner. And if you find professionals that combine both, so much the better.

Method 3 of 4: The Legal Side

1. Find a lawyer: you’ll have to get along and he will have to demonstrate an understanding of your ideas. Open a company requires compliance with rules municipal, regional and national. Entrust to a professional capacity will get you to success.

2. Decide which type will be your business. This part is important with regard to taxes and investors. It is a complex decision, therefore informed of the pros and cons of each type.

3. Think about how to finance the company at the beginning. Will you turn to a bank, venture capitalists or angel investors to, ask a loan to a family member or a friend or you use your savings? The viable options are varied. Be realistic. Earlier losses are normal, then you will need to have a monetary reserve to finance the business until you profits. One of the roads that lead straight to failure is under-capitalization.

You can establish that they need 50,000 Euros to start the company. Pay the full amount to buy everything you need, but when comes the second month, you can not afford to pay the rent, bills, and employees. To prevent this problem, your reserves will amount to a year without revenue.

Purchases must be minimal at first. The furniture, for example, still not a priority, then recycles and uses only the necessary elements. Work from home and arrange business meetings in a bar. Many businesses have failed because the principle has focused more on the decorative details that the company itself

4. Straight to financial success. At what price you want to sell your product or service? How much will the production? Make an estimate of the net profit, from which you removed the fixed costs, i.e the rent, electricity, salaries of employees, etc.

5. Spy competition. Evaluate the value of the products and services offered by your competitors and see if you can beat them from this point of view. For example, you can bring goods from the lower price, add a one year warranty or give away a gadget with the product.

• The competition must be analyzed from the point of view of social and environmental credibility. Consumers are increasingly aware of working conditions and their impact on the environment. Obtain certifications from organizations from high reputation, as labels and stars, may reassure consumers.

6. You will need to be aware of the costs and keep them in line with your projections. Whether you have a large or small company, you will always know where they end up your money. For example, if you use more electricity than expected, do something about it.

If known waste (for example in the use of current, as the phone, stationery products or packaging), look around and minimize or remove the nuisance. When you begin, think in a frugal: rent instead of buying and choose prepaid plans for services instead of entering into long-term contracts.

7. Open a bank account for traders and small businesses at the beginning of the path.

8. Create a website, especially if you dedicate to e-commerce. You should contact a professional to do it.
Take professional designers: it’s expensive, but you’ll have a professional-looking site. If you accept payments online, invest in security encryption and make sure you have to deal with reputable companies.

9. Consider the workspace. If your home is not enough and needs an office occasional affiance one if necessary.

Method 4 of 4: The Launch of Business

1. After the planning and financing, you will need to develop the product or service and sell it. So, get the raw materials and put the staff at work. During this phase, you will find that: You may make changes to your ideas. Perhaps the product should be of another color or another form. Perhaps your services are expanded or restricted. After the testing and development, you’ll find yourself wanting to improve what you offer to overcome the competition.

You will need feedback. Ask your family and your friends.

You’ll need more space. This happens more often than expected. Once stocks begin piling up, your home will not be enough anymore. Rent a shed.

2. Check out the advertising in you. No one will believe in your product or your service if you do not believe it first. If you do not know anything about marketing and do not know how to sell, try to make an attempt in this area too. Aware of the quality of your product or your service, put them in relief with advertising. Print business cards appealing.

Be present on social networks: Facebook, Google+, Twitter … People will begin to follow your progress and learn more about your offer. Just make sure to keep separate accounts for business than personal.

3. Consider the marketing plan and distribution. If you’re going to make advertising in newspapers, send text and images at least two months before the actual publication.

• If you’re planning to sell in the stores, you will need to order your place on the shelves. If you will sell online, prepares the site of e-commerce.
• If you offer a service, made known in the newspapers adequate, in the newspapers and on the internet.
• If you have a website, you should take a course in creating web pages (online they’ll find many, some free). This is essential because, if problems arise at 2 am, you will immediately solve alone.
• Make contacts in the industry and informs your future customers that the product or service you have always wanted is finally available.

4. Launch the product or service you organizing an event and sending press releases. Let the world know on Twitter and Facebook: everyone should be aware!

• Organize a party and invite the right people. You do not have to do things big: ask for help from your family and your friends.

Advice

• Do not be afraid to experiment with prices.
• Be available to potential customers, so when they need the product or service you offer, they will think of you right away.
• Doing Business on the Internet is much easier than opening a business real deal and startup costs.
• The open franchise is a good idea, even if the share of the beginning is prohibitive for most people.
• Most direct sales companies have a capital start lower than a traditional company that distributes in real stores.
• Continue to learn and adapt to change. Discuss the management of small business experts with friends, with your mentors, with local organizations related to your business and the online forum. It is easier to thrive when you do not waste time and energy and you adapt each time.
• You can also sell on sites like Etsy or eBay.
• Do accurate and timely accounting records (check this ‘Small Business Accounting Cheat Sheet’).

Warnings

• Watch out for people who ask you for money before you give you what you need. Prosperity is based on mutual gain (a franchise store should have startup costs legitimate: managers should earn from your success, not only dall’averti given access to the business).
• Eye to who offers something for “nothing”: sooner or later you will have to pay somehow. The variations of this scam are innumerable, some more sophisticated than others. The scheme of pyramid marketing is one example.

Originally published at Entrepreneur News and Startup Guide.