Despite the economy, this is actually a good time to start your own business. Whether you have been laid off, have taken early retirement (but are not ready for knitting or golf yet) or whether you are still employed and have been dreaming of the freedom and benefits of self employment for a long time, this article will give you vital tips on how to get started.
The first thing you have to remember is that four out of every five new businesses go OUT OF BUSINESS by the end of the first year. Be encouraged, though: those four-out-of-five fail for avoidable reasons. Many choose a business based on their own strong preferences for a product or service and expect that others will want it as much as they do. They don’t think about having to learn how to market and sell. They don’t think about learning how to run a business successfully. If you learn how to “think and act like a business owner” you can avoid the mistakes the majority of people make. Here are a few tips:
DOES ANYONE WANT YOUR POTENTIAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE? Make sure your business idea is a viable one. Are there actually people looking for your product or service? You can find out by doing a Google Adword/Keyword Search. Check to see how many people have used keywords describing your product or service to look for companies like yours last month and the average search numbers per month. If lots of people are looking for your product or service, this is a good sign!
HOW MUCH COMPETITION WILL YOU HAVE? Do another google search, especially a ‘Google Local’ search, and find out how many competitors you have in your area. From there consider what will it take for you to become the best known in your area. No competition is not necessarily a good thing. It may mean that you will have to spend an awful lot of time educating your potential clients on the benefits your product/service will offer them.
NETWORK MARKETING: If you are thinking about becoming a representative of a parent company, find out how much business skills training they will give you. Is it “overview training” or really ‘detailed training?’ Find out if you have a beginner or an experienced “upline” person above you. Ask to interview others in his or her downline and find out if the upline person is a good mentor and will really help you get your business up and running. Even if there is company support, consider going beyond what they have to offer by hiring your own business skills trainer or marketing coach.
BUSINESS SKILLS: Actually, you are going to be a business owner FIRST and a provider of an excellent product or service SECOND. No matter how wonderful you think your product is or how long and well you trained to provide your service what you sell is not going to sell itself. Sorry! Absolutely, invest in business skills training for yourself – take classes, read books, hire a consultant who can drastically shorten the time it takes you to get up and running. The more you have mastered effective business communication skills and the better you are at marketing and sales the more quickly you will have a financially viable business.
If you do your due diligence before you open your business doors you will spend less time in start-up and move more quickly into having a viable and consistent income. Remember! Your product/service will NOT sell itself. The most important part of start-up is acquiring effective business skills.
John Demartini from The Great Work DVD
