How to start a business

Some pointers in starting a business of your own.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Enthusiasm
• Willingness to learn
• An idea
• Perhaps a little capital
• Hours
• Selling skills

1. Name your business
   One of the first thing you need to do is to select a name for your business. This identity must be suitable and professional sounding. Use your last name (if not too difficult) if you are unable to think of a good one, coupled with the product or service you provide, for example: “Peterson’s Cleaning Services."
2. Select a location
   Where are you going to work from? Your home? Check the regulations about home businesses before choosing this option. A regular office in an appropriate location is best. The added cost may be considered operating expenses and possibly tax deductible.
   What kind of space do you need? You may need equipment and storage as well as safe vehicle parking.
3. Choose your products/services
   What kinds of products and services are you going to supply? Each product/service has its own features which may affect your method of operation and will have its own particular problems to deal with. Your knowledge of the product is crucial to your success – you need to be the expert.
4. Decide on your hours of operation
   Your hours of operation could give you a competitive advantage. This is especially important when starting. If your shop is open when others are closed it could mean business for you.
5. Define your market
   What are your targets? What kinds of clients are you catering for – the clearer you are the more focused can your marketing be. If you have organisations as clients you also need to be clear who they are. You also need to define the geographical area that you are operating in.
   
   You need to research the market for your product or service in some shape or form - you may know your market if you have been working in the field; often however you have to test market a product or even do some custmer surveys to determine how customers will react to what you have to offer.
6. Sass out the competition
   Who are the other businesses that are providing the same services/similar products to your market? What do they charge? This info may be hard to come by but you need to have an idea to compete.
7. Organise your sales
   You need to decide if you are going to have a sales staff and whether or you are going to do the sales yourself.
8. Organise the management
   Do you hire someone or do you take care of the day to day operations yourself? If you run the office, who gets the business?
9. Select clear business goals
   What are your business goals? Don't expect to be a large player in the business unless you have financial backing and access to experienced help. Often, you need to start small and build your business.
10. Sort out your financial needs
    You need to cover the startup costs and operational costs. Be sure to include your salary
11. Do your earnings projections
    How much income will you need per month to survive (and prosper)? Have “fall-back” money available! Before you even begin to operate, you should have a few months' operating expense reserves on hand without collecting ANY revenue. Don't expect to make a profit for a period – some businesses need at least a year to get off the ground.
12. Do the work - running a business of your own is hard work, but the satisfaction of being your own boss cannot be bought with any amount of money.

Tips & Warnings

• Business is about making money. Making money is about serving people – serving people fulfilling their needs, by solving their problems, by providing them with goods ands services that they want. Doing this in a way that costs you less that what others are willing to pay – in other words – at a profit. If you do someone’s ironing – it may cost you R 20 for transport and you may need R 20 for food to sustain you that day. The person pays you R 100. So you make R 60 profit. Your cost was R 40, the value that the other person attached to your time skills and labour was R 100. You made money by providing a service valued at a higher rate than it cost you.. There really isn’t any other way – apart from robbing a bank or winning the lottery. Adding value by providing goods and services is what business is all about. Costing includes all the skills to making sure that you know what you have to pay to provide a product or service..
• Be focused.
• Put in the hours
• Go the extra mile
• Read a lot about other's experiences
• Talk to people that have stated and run businesses.