It’s been a while since you tried relentlessly to come up with the perfect business idea, but how do you put it into practice? Many entrepreneurs face the same problem on a daily basis so there’s no need to panic. They may even sit on the idea for several months or years before actually doing something. While some people may have to work a full-time schedule and simply can’t find the time to start a business, other entrepreneurs are just too scared to actually take a risk or don’t know where to start from.
1. First of all, write a business plan. Put pen to paper and start writing your business plan. This will not only help you define your business, but also help you attract customers. Establish your goals, plan on ways how you will reach the goals and outline the basic structure of your business. By doing this, you will also notice that your business idea becomes more clear and organized.
If you don’t have a clue where to begin writing the business plan, you can check out our article on How to write a successful business plan or 10 tips for a successful business plan. Also, you can check out our a free mini business plan template. Last but not least, if you consider that you need help, you can always use a software like LivePlan which simplifies business planning, budgeting and forecasting.
2. Assess the situation and determine whether there’s an actual demand for the service or product you will offer. Also, an important step is to know the industry or area you’re about to step into. You should scope out your competition and see why your business is different. Ask yourself if people are willing to pay the price you ask for your product or service. Therefore, you should look into viable prices. One idea is to actually call people you know and ask them if they are interested in buying the product or service you wish to offer.
3. Regardless of what you plan on selling, first you should create a test product. Don’t mass distribute the test product, but rather ask some friends to try it out and give you an honest feedback. This will help you tweak and improve the product or service you will actually launch. You could also work with a local charity for a month or so and see how your business fares.
4. Most entrepreneurs don’t really give much thought to the correct estimation of startup funds. You know you’ll need the initial funds to go forward so make sure you get all the help you can. Once you know the figures, find out where the money will come from. Should you choose a bank loan? Do you have enough savings to get you started? Will you need to approach potential investors or ask your family and friends to become a part of your company? You should have an answer to all these questions before actually opening your doors to do business.
5. Brace yourself for impact. There will be a lot of sleepless nights so make sure you are mentally prepared to face all challenges that may come your way. Given today’s business environment, you should also be ready for setbacks. Rejection is a part of every entrepreneur’s business career and so are unforeseen problems, so make sure you will manage to tackle the issues that will arise if you will not be able to avoid them.
