A successful business always starts with an idea, but one needs to know how to make the idea a reality. At this point a lot of entrepreneurs stop and fail to move forward. The flood of things and tasks that need to be done in a business for it to rise can simply paralyze, especially start-up entrepreneurs. So here are some steps needed to start a “right foot” business. To get you on the right track as an independent and successful business owner.
Business Plan
You need a clear plan to make your business idea a reality. A business plan is a plan that will accompany your business from the initial stage of starting a business to a more advanced stage of business growth, it is impossible to skip this stage, and it is a must for any new business that is planning its first steps and later in wanting to develop. What supplies may you need? New tools, heavy duty boxes or a new set of drills. Even a conceptual business plan on a paper napkin can be a basis to start with improvement and development over time. Most of the time it is better to start with such a plan than with nothing.
An Economic Plan
The first thing to do is prepare an economic plan (here is a detailed guide to making a plan) . The economic plan shows whether our business has economic feasibility, i.e. whether it is likely to profit or not (and when it will start earning and how much). Sometimes after putting the numbers on paper we find different results than what our intuition says. The economic plan reflects the income we want to reach, and takes into account the initial investment required and the expected monthly expenses.
To build an economic plan we need to decide what products we will have and at what prices we will sell them, understand how many customers we need in order to reach the required income and how much we need to invest in marketing and advertising in order to reach the number of customers we need and more. It’s really worth talking to other business owners in our field – both successful and not, to get a tangible and real picture of what awaits us. Any expense in the first few months of business should be seriously considered so that we do not burn our savings right from the start. Until we start enjoying a stable and regular income, we will try not to commit to fixed expenses (renting an office, hiring employees, etc.).
Economic Reserves
We must decide in advance how much money we are willing to invest in the business upon its establishment. It should be remembered that this is not just about the expenses we incur in the business – it is also about our monthly salary, after all, we need to continue to exist during the first months and even the first years of starting a business. Dedicated savings for starting a business will allow us to attract a fixed salary home every month and an ongoing investment in the business for marketing and advertising purposes until the business stabilizes and we can use the income from the business. Money always comes first in business, so be smart and savvy!
