08/02/2018
Are considering starting a business? If the answer is yes, below are 7 things you need to consider before starting a business.
1) The Idea
Your idea is the birth of a journey you are about to undertake as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is all about developing solutions to address everyday problems e.g. most social media platforms were developed to enable easy real time communication between people in different geographical locations. For your idea to work, it should be solving a problem. The problem should be large enough for you to generate significant revenue in the process, it is one thing to pursue an idea where the collective players generate total annual revenue of P1 billion than pursue one where the collective annual revenue is P100,000. Commercial viability is everything in business.
2) Funding
Once you have established a business idea you want to pursue, start considering the following:
• How much will it cost to get the idea off the ground?
• How am I you going to raise capital?
• Should I finance the idea from my pocket or look for investors?
• When I find an investor how much of my company stake should I give up and why?
3) An Effective Business Plan
When one has no plan they usually operate in the dark, where they often spray and pray. A Business Plan is a strategic document that will help you in managing and growing your business. A well-designed plan lays out a vision of growth and the steps needed to get there. A business plan also plays an important role in obtaining funding from investors.
4) Legal and Compliance
There are certain industries which are regulated by governing bodies and for one’s business to participate in that industry regulatory approvals must be sought. These industries include but are not limited to the following: -Banking, Mining, Lawyers, Micro Finance, Pawn Shops, Asset Managers, Pension Funds, Mining etc. It is important that one understands the requirements and complies with them. Failure to comply with regulation always carries heavy penalties.
5) Company Registration
A decision must be made on how you are going to structure your business. There are many company secretaries you can engage to help you in making this decision and registering the company. These secretaries will also help with Tax Registration, Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) registrations and opening a bank account.
6) Target Market
Your success will depend heavily on how well you understand your customers and their needs. An entrepreneur needs to clearly define their target market and buyer persona. Who are your customers, what is their age, are they married or single, where do they live, what are their spending patterns, what sort of lifestyles do they live and what problem are you primarily solving for them. Once all of this has been established you should then define your unique selling proposition (USP). A Unique selling proposition sets you apart from the competition, highlights why a potential customer should take up your solution instead of the competitors.
7) Your Attitude
A positive attitude is the one thing that will help you in overcoming the challenges and difficulties that you are about to endure as an entrepreneur. You are taking a huge risk which will not pay off in the short-term. If you have know-it-all mentality this would be the perfect time to lose it. Unexpected things are going to come up, only those who are willing to learn and have humility can withstand the level of uncertainty that come with entrepreneurship
