MUST DO FOR THE BEGINNER ENTERPRENEURS
How does this sounds to you “BEING YOUR OWN BOSS” does this gives you goose bumps, if the answer is YES then there is some hidden passion in you which is craving to be out of the skin and wants you to give it a chance. Most importantly you are going to follow your own dream. These chances are life events, as you plan to navigate through the life journey of being an Entrepreneur.
Let’s understand the definition of ENTREPRENEUR –“a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit” Before placing the entire or major part of your earnings at stake there are some essentials tips gathered from successful business owners advice.
Whether you want to start working as a freelancer out of your home or create a brick-and-mortar store, starting your own business can be remarkably rewarding. It’s also really hard work that is laden with pitfalls if you aren’t careful.
#1 FOLLOWS YOUR PASSION
The best way to keep you motivated all through the ups and downs is to do what you love to do. Follow your passion as you are taking a leap into setting up your own enterprise because it’s going to demand a lot of time, energy and money. Passion drives you to give it all, don’t be a entrepreneur for the sake of being an business owner of something which is absolutely novel to you or doesn’t drive you as that going to be your disaster plan.
#2 FOLLOW STRATEGIC CHART
This is the nutshell of the entire process as advised by most of the management writers, getting through the detailed researches could be tiresome, follow the strategic wheel of any enterprise.
RESEARCH –YOUR SWOT [strength –opportunities-weaknesses and Threats]every business possess these characteristics one need to identify , it is advised to take the external agencies advice as once we spark an IDEA we kind of become obsessed with it and think only one way. A third party research is at times eye opener and presents an unbiased true picture. Build DEMAND ANALYSIS on paper and strike through a plan to cope with it, a lot many questions like HOW, WHO, WHEN, WHAT, WHOSE are going to surface your mind but that’s for good. Chart up the numbers and your plans to meet those numbers. SALES PITCH-most important to think upon , effective sales pitch is how are you going to present your product and services to the customers, the name, sales plan, market coverage, advertising plan etc all fall into it. SALES CHANNEL-or some enterprises name it as supply chain or distribution network also forms your indirect hands to establish your business, are you planning to develop novel channel or planning to go with existing channel partners of multiple company’s ,all have its own benefits and challenges.
BUSINESS PLAN -Once you’ve run the numbers and you’re confident that it’s a great idea, developing a business plan is the next step. A business plan is your blueprint for making your business successful. It lays out your business concept, how you fit into the marketplace, and the details of how your finances will work. Your business plan is essential if you are going to need investors or a bank loan because they’ll want to see that you have thought things through. Even if you don’t need financing, a business plan is a great way to understand how your new venture will succeed and what issues you could face. ONE YEAR PLAN – once you open your own business, it’s rare that a business hits the ground running. It’s okay. Develop a plan for the goals that you would like to reach in your first year of business. Keep your sights optimistic, but realistic. Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly you can assess your business plan and see if you’re on the right track or need some deviations .It’s obvious, no business runs on the paper plans, contingencies do some as we are in perfect open market competition and not only sales, your credit policies and sales plans are driven by market forces and so they need periodic changes.
FINANCIAL PLAN –financial planning is the most important aspect for any new enterprise as it is widely quoted, short capitals end up eating the invested capitals, simplifying it short working capital halves you financial efforts and end up in entrepreneurial losses. Don’t put yourselves in this kind of situation, plan you financial in advance. INVESTMENT portfolio loaning or raising equity capital or debt financing are all part of it, the later needs corner to corner details. Build your Projected Profit and loss statement for the year, this covers up all large and small costs and their ratios to the product or services being offered, ratio’s are important as they present direct comparison to the main product and can be easily monitored. Deviations from the projected statement need to be monitored with dedicated financial expert raising alarms time and again as required.
#3 TIME MANAGEMENT
Let’s pause for a moment and remember the “self” in self-employed. When you work for a company, you might punch in and punch out as your other associates do. These are the hours you work; the other time is yours. That’s not the case when you are an entrepreneur. When you are trying to build your passion into a lasting business, it can be easy to lose track of your time management and get sucked into your business 24/7. Working tirelessly can take a toll on your other social obligations, your family, friends and other associations. Take time with them, even these times help you building your business.
Time is essential and similarly you need to develop the TO DO list, every business has some steps to be followed daily , time you devote to social media building your brand, answering customer reviews, time devoted to sales training and meeting clienteles.
Hiring people is the most important task for any new business enterprise. It is always advised scan through incase it is small enterprise , in case of large work force involved ensure setting up strong HR hiring policies and multiple check points to get through right candidates. Have strong policies of the reference checks and previous experiences. There has to be a consideration of the cost factor as well , hiring too experienced candidates add up to the cost , in case you have applied strong monitoring then a mix of experienced and apprentices can reduce the cost considerably. Do run through the legal laws on hiring and cost of employment.
#5 NETWORKING
Be a connector; start creating a network of the entrepreneurs in similar capacity, trade advisors and market managers. These networks and associations works as a simulator to any organsiation, particularly budding enterprises as they informally advice you on the market trends.
Develop and share helpful resources through your online platforms. You might find that people follow you to learn more, or return the favor by sharing similar resources with you. When you create opportunities for conversation and engagement, you invite others to join your broader network.
#6 ATTEND RIGHT EVENTS
No matter your industry, there are a host of conferences, trade shows, and panel events tailored to your interests. From virtual meet-ups to local gatherings, there’s no shortage of networking opportunities at your fingertips. For the best return on your time, pursue the events that align with your values, current needs, and business strategy. These events are organized by industry experts and are often addressed by leaders, enforcement agencies and also provide insight into the future of the segment ahead , all these are important in business as they have cumulative effect of any size of enterprise.
#6 EXIT STRATEGIES
So far it sounds like starting out working for yourself is a lot of tedious work. It can be. Think about your five and 10-year plan. Now imagine that everything goes extremely well. Your business soars and is successful beyond your imagination. Congratulations!
Now what? Do you want to continue the business until you retire and pass it down to your children? Are you hoping to find someone suitable to take over and keep it going with your vision?
What about a buyout? There’s nothing wrong with setting your price and deciding that when the time comes and someone makes an offer you’ll take it. You can take that money and start something new or just relax and retire early. Here could be a vice a versa situation as well , in case it doesn’t go well according to plans , then what is an exit plan , have you planned something irrecoverable, Keep in mind how you want to leave your business and, if necessary, start working towards that end as early as you can in your business plan.
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