One – STARTING A BUSINESS
Starting a business can be both exciting and scary. It's a big undertaking and a big step. You have the idea, you have the skill but do you have the time and do you have the finance, and most importantly, have you done your research?
It s a sad fact that most small businesses fail within the first year. Many fail though, because they have not set out their stall correctly nor planned ahead.
This guide will hopefully help you in not making some of the classic mistakes when starting out:
Market Validation - IS there a Market?
It goes almost without saying, but the most fundamental starting point for creating a business is an idea. However, not all good ideas become good businesses. But to begin with, you must ask yourself, is there a market for this idea?
If not, why not? Is it because you have discovered or identified a niche, or is it because there is no demand? It is very important to try and identify which one it is. I have met many people who believe that their idea is 'the next best thing'.
They tell me this because they have come up with an idea, which is unique that no one else is doing.
Because no one else is doing it, is not a good enough reason. It may well be that no one else is doing it because there are not enough people who want it.
We all have different views in life and we all like and dislike different things. Just because you believe that your idea is unique and 'something special', doesn't mean that others will and never assume others will feel the same way. That is not to say it won't be in hot demand but the most crucial thing to do here, is to do your research.
New ideas are often very hard to get off the ground and the likes of Facebook and Google are exceptions, so why not look at existing markets and find a way of delivering them in a better way?
Whichever route you chose, research will help. Research comes in a variety of formats and each one of them is important.
a) Online research is a must, as it will quickly identify if your product or service exists and whether it's in demand. If there are lots of similar businesses then there is clearly a big demand and that is not necessarily a bad thing. If this is the case, ask yourself; "What can I do better? Why will