BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR TODAY: A GUIDE TO STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS

“Life is too short to be working on someone else’s dream.” 

Starting up your own business can seem like an intimidating task- especially when you have no prior experience. Realistically, it may take years to launch a successful company. Setting up a successful startup will require determination, passion, hard work, consistency, money, and, even failures. 

Having control over your own business is satisfying, but it is definitely challenging. So, I have shortlisted all the main key points you need to know before becoming your own boss. 

This article contains 

• Formulating a business plan
• Appropriate funding sources
• Registering with the government and purchasing an insurance policy
• Surviving alone in the business world is hard
• The task of carefully choosing third-party vendors
• Giving yourself the right image in the market
• Conclusion

• KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO: Formulating a business plan

How do you come up with a perfect business plan? There are two main things you need to focus on- 

1. your passion
2. how can you give value to people

Once you have decided on the above, find and study businesses that are similar to what you want to do. Say, if you are passionate about traveling, you can assume how a traveling company will benefit people. 

With this, you have to find all the thriving traveling agencies and study how they function. This will help you create an outline for your business. Do what they do, but better.

Bureau of Labour Statistics (U.S) research shows that nearly 50% of businesses fail within the first five years and 70% in ten. So, a business plan becomes utterly crucial in holding yourself accountable to achieving set goals in desired time. A business plan will completely legitimize your business idea. It will also come in handy when you’re looking for securing funds from investors.

• SECURING FUNDS: Appropriate funding sources

The next step is gathering funds to let your business stay afloat in the long run. Funds vary depending on the type of your enterprise. 

Not sure about how much cost you’ll need? No worries! There are plenty of beginner-friendly cost templates available online. 

Some of the best sources for securing funds are:

1. Online startup loans
2. Business Accelerators
3. Business Overdrafts
4. CrowdFunding
5. Venture Capital
6. Friends and Family

• LEGAL BUSINESS STRUCTURE: Registering with the government and purchasing an insurance policy

Before your company is ready to be registered, you need to determine the legal structure of your business. This includes:

1. Sole proprietorship
2. Business Partnership
3. Limited Liability Company, etc

Then proceed with acquiring different government licenses, to legally operate and handle your business. 

The next step is purchasing the right insurance for your business. It will help deal with incidents at your workplace.

• FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE: Surviving alone in the business world is hard

Howard Schultz, who served as the CEO of Starbucks for more than 20 years remarked “Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture.” Read my article on how to hire the right people for more information. 

Some important people are needed to start your business and make it successful. Business News Daily talks about it more in detail. Such few important individuals required are:

1. CEO 
2. COO
3. CMO
4. Sales Manager, etc

• CHOOSING B2B PARTNERS: The task of carefully choosing third-party vendors

Third-party vendors will have access to your potentially sensitive business data, so you need to be careful while you search for the right investors.

Experts recommended asking vendors about their previous experience, analyzing their track record with already existing clients, and, what kind of growth they’ve helped their clients achieve. 

• GROW YOUR BUSINESS: Giving yourself the right image in the market

Growing will take some time, but this is where you, as an entrepreneur, will be needed to make the correct decisions. 

Build a company website, social media accounts, and, logo, to go along with a great marketing plan.

Remember, you will get out of your business what you put into it. 

CONCLUSION

As an entrepreneur, there are things that will not be in your control. Setbacks can happen and some employees may leave. Life as a businessman will be tough and you may even make wrong decisions. 

But learning from them and moving forward is the best part. As long as you understand this, any hindrance that might come your way will be easy to tackle.