Start to Business
So you’ve decided to start a business. Maybe you have a brilliant idea, and you’re trying to figure out if it’s viable or not. Or maybe you’re out of work, or just fed up with your current job, and looking for an alternative. Whatever the circumstances that have brought you to this point, the first question you need to ask yourself is, “Is owning a business right for me?” Are you cut out for entrepreneurship? Not everybody is. The rewards can be great, but so are the risks. And it will change your lifestyle in ways that you may not be prepared for. If you haven’t explored this question yet, take a few minutes to review some of the resources in the Becoming an Entrepreneur section. Once you’ve decided to walk the entrepreneurial path, the next question to ask yourself is, “What type of business do I want to start?” There are, of course, thousands of choices. Even things you might think are out of your reach may not be. Short of something like pharmaceuticals that requires enormous research & development budgets, there are virtually no limits: automobile manufacturing, food products, import/export, and many others are open to even the individual entrepreneur. With an infinity of choices, how are you going to decide? The Traditional Approach The traditional approach to entrepreneurship is a methodical, scientific process. Generally speaking, the approach consists of researching the market, identifying a need, and creating a business to fill it. More specifically, the steps of the process are: Select the industry you’re interested in working in. Research the kinds of businesses and various business models within that industry. Perform market research to see where there is an unmet need — geographically, pricewise, complementary products and services, etc. Analyze the competition. Develop a preliminary business plan for a business to meet that need. Do some more market research to assess the realistic market potential for your business. Will people buy it? Revise the business plan and determine your funding requirements. If needed, seek out lenders or investors. Start the business. Needless to say, this is not something you just knock out in a weekend. The most obvious problem to this approach is that it’s extremely labor-intensive and potentially expensive to even decide whether or not to go into business. Of course, that time spent on the front end reduces the risk of failure down the road. The other problem is that you may very well end up realizing far too late that you’re doing something you really don’t want to be doing, just because you figured you could make some decent money at it. Even when you’re the boss, you can still end up feeling stuck and unfulfilled.
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