You have found that you are good at doing something and are being urged by friends, family and contacts to turn it into a money maker.
You are indeed tempted to but, starting a small business is a big thing. It can sometimes be a challenging path to take and it is easy to stop before you even start.
To help guide you
Identify what makes your offer unique
To do this, ask yourself:
What do I love most about my product or service?
What special skills or knowledge do I have?
What will make customers come to me instead of the competition?
How will customers benefit by purchasing my product or service?
The answers will identify your uniqueness and the reason why your business will stand out from the others out there. And will highlight the aspects you will generally use to describe your business to potential customers. Which, if well-articulated, will emotionally connect with your target customers. In essence your uniqueness will be your brand as it will convey who you are, what you stand for and what you can deliver.
Ask Around
Ask people doing the same thing as you would like to in your network, location or in your social media groups. Then get as much information on the product or service as you can that is available online and go through it.
Checking who is doing the same thing as you would like to will give you an idea of what lies ahead and if the path they took is the one you will also take. Or if you will forge another.
Make a plan
Many people are proud of the fact that they stumbled onto a business and never planned a single thing. And some people just find planning a lot of work. Yet, a well prepared plan can save time, money and a lot of tears in the long run.
A plan will make you work out whether you can afford to start the business. And it will let you know how much money you will need to start, if you need to register the business, how much that will cost and if there are taxes to be paid. And it will assess how you will do in future.
If you plan, you will give the business a good chance of success and growth.
Make Changes
Going into business for the first time will require changes to your lifestyle, professionally and personally and can involve a significant financial commitment. Whether your business succeeds or fails depends on many things including your work style, abilities, initiative and capacity to work, as well as the economic and business environment. And your support team.
Have people around you that can be trusted and are reliable. And have some to advise you and help you with start-up issues and then assist you as your business develops. Listen, watch and learn.
