6 Things Entrepreneurs Should Consider Before Starting a New Business

For aspiring entrepreneurs with a strong new vision, starting a new business venture can be an exhilarating proposition full of dreams and excitement. On the other hand, getting started for the first time can be a monumental task.

Many articles and books and have been written on business plans and guides for entrepreneurial success. However, many of these references do not provide a clear and simple outline of the most important starting points. Whether you are starting a small business for the first time, or pursuing a large amount of private capital for an existing business venture, there are some important facts to consider before beginning your business.

1. Focus. The overarching vision of your business is the most important factor to determine before starting your business. Your new business or divisional expansion must have a razor-like focus of what you are trying to accomplish, and how you intend to accomplish it. You must have a product or service that has a demand in the marketplace, with a clearly defined customer base. You will need to know how to reach your customers, how it will become profitable, and determine if you have the experience to be one of the best professionals available to provide this product or service. You will need to understand what your investors will look for, and how to bring together the financing that will be needed to launch your business.

2. Mission Statement. Most successful companies have a strong and useful mission statement that has been created and written down. As the literary theorist Walter Ong once said, "Writing is a way of organizing the mind." The mission statement should be a reflection of what you intend to embody every day in your new business, and a guidepost for the value structure that will become the company's bedrock of integrity during each and every day of operation.

3. Competitive Analysis. A successful company will need to understand the current and future environment in which they will be selling their product or service. Once the company mission statement has been created, it is important to assess a situational analysis of the capabilities, opportunities and threats that you may encounter once the business is launched. Many scholars refer to this exercise as a SWOT analysis, which is a way to identify your company's potential Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Get together with a group of people or business partners to brainstorm aspects and begin addressing strategies to market, promote, and mitigate any possible disadvantages that may be caused by internal weaknesses, competitors, or other external factors.

4. Target Your Investor Profile. Determine who will be the investor type to be involved in the new business, how the targeted investor will be accessed, and what will be provided for their review. Investors will want to know the anticipated investment returns and the potential exit strategies, as well as the capability and experience of your business to complete transactions and become profitable in your industry of products or services. Investor profiles can range from Venture Capitalists, to your local Banker, to SBA Loans, or Friends and Family. Each of these financing avenues will have different personalities, motivations, requirements and expectations that will come with investing in your company, but even family and friends will want to see a clear business vision that has been well written and is documented in a clearly defined business plan.

5. Write the Business Plan. Investors need to be assured that their investment will be secure and their money will be returned. A business plan is a written document that allow you to summarize the focus of this targeted business enterprise. Except for first defining the overall vision of your business, financing will be the greatest concern to all potential investors. The way to receive financing is to write a business plan that details all of the important elements of the business, including company overview, opportunity, marketing, financials, competition, personnel and operations. If your financials are solid and placed within a well written business plan, you will have given yourself the best possible platform for success. Make the business plan a positive and thorough representation of the company's ability to be profitable and successful. There are many books in the marketplace that can assist with organization of a business plan. If you want financing and business success, the most important thing is to write it!

6. Don't Look Back. Once you have envisioned, analyzed, and discussed each of the above steps in a thorough manner, you will be well on your way to putting in place investment for your business and launching it into the market place. The process described above will provide for you the confidence that your business can be profitable and successful, and leaves the only remaining step of pushing forward and never looking back. Therefore, the final question remains, "Will you be capable of launching the new business and not looking back?"

Tony DeAngelo is an entrepreneur, real estate developer, architect and writer based in Orange County, California. Tony can be reached by email at [email protected]