Many years a go my good friend Bennett Kireker and I started our very own business selling agriculture equipment which we had imported from Japan. The business went well for a very long time and after around 20 years I decided that it was time to move on to pastures new. I decided to use the knowledge that I had amassed in business in helping those who were looking to get started in the world of business and I host regular seminars teaching people how to turn their business idea into a success.
I wanted therefore, to write this piece to offer advice for ways in which you can get your business off the ground.
Finances
The biggest reason why so many businesses fail is because they do not have enough funds in the business or because they fail to manage their finances. For this reason it is vitally important that at this early stage in your business career, you do all that you can to secure as much funding as possible. There are many ways in which you can do this fro bank loans to seeking angel investment and you should dedicate much of your time and effort to this end.
Business Plan
Before the launch of your business, you must ensure that you have a strong and solid business plan which indicates how you will make money, who you will sell to and what the future looks like in terms of your growth. In order to get the best business plan together, you will need to invest the time which you have into research of companies that have succeeded and failed, which operate in the same industry that you are about to enter into.
Testing
Whichever product or service it is that you plan on selling, you need to make sure that it has been meticulously tested. Before you launch your business this is one area that you should be spending a great deal of time on and if you wish for your business to become a success, you need to test and tweak your product until it is absolutely perfect. If you take a product to market and there is even the slightest problem with it, you could run the risk of damaging the reputation of your company, before it has even started.
Just Do It
One of the biggest problems that I see with most people who have a business idea and haven’t yet taken it to market is that they are holding off on their plan when they should be taking action. Very often this occurs through fear, lack of confidence or even an element of laziness. The fact of the matter is that if you have a great idea for a business, don’t wait around, if you do, someone else could very well take this idea and turn it into a great success. If you are in any doubt at all, just make sure that you have prepped well and then go ahead and hit the button on your new business.