How to Start a Business

Hey, before I get started, let me tell you what this article is not. It is not a how-to guide to register your business at Companies House, set up a domain, register for VAT or find an accountant. I'm sure you'll agree at the very least Google will do a better job than me. I'd like to offer an article on having the courage to take a business idea and put it into action.

I suspect many reading this will have a business idea they have never acted on, or are still in the planning stages and have been for some time, or see that now isn't the right time. It may be you're employed right now and want to go it alone, or a business owner with a new idea. Whatever your circumstance the first thing is to get really clear on your idea and its validity. Is it worth pursuing, or is it a whim and a fancy?

Now I'm not being flippant here, but rather asking just how serious you are about the idea. One litmus test that I find a great indicator in the first instant is to score how excited you get when you think about it. Then score yourself on how apprehensive it makes you feel. If your scores are similar and over a 5 then in all likelihood, you are onto something. If it's all excitement, then it may be cavalier to pursue and if it's all fear then something isn't right.

So where to start? In a word; PLAN. Putting a plan together is by far the most sensible first step, it allows you to determine the validity of your business idea, to see if it has potential. The challenge here is not all plans are equal. So what do you actually have to plan?

Initially, I would always seek to start with the end in mind. If everything went well, and your business idea took off what would the future look like? No holds barred, everything stacked up in your favour what is the potential of this idea? Where could it take you? The point here is to really determine the art of the possible. Write it out in as much detail as possible, and make visual representations go deep.

This sets the scene for the next planning activity, market research. The point here is the size of the marketing opportunity. This is less about marketing and more about the size of the opportunity. Put simply if you wanted to sell shoes, there is a massive opportunity because we all have feet. Then as you narrow the focus you'll see the size of the opportunity change, which likely leads towards a niche opportunity. So what does your opportunity look like?

The final piece of the plan is to do the numbers. This is where you look to determine how much this business will cost and what the potential returns are, as a start the best way would probably be to complete a cash flow forecast. Start with the predicted income and revenue streams, then look to the direct costs. How much is it going to cost to provide the product or services? This will give you insight into the potential gross profits.

From here you can then look at the expenses of the idea. What is it going to cost you to run the business? These are the costs associated with just opening the doors and before you do any business. This will give you a fuller picture. Of course, you can also add the predicted taxes to look at your profits after taxes.

Following these steps is by far the most sensible way to set out the validity of any business idea. Before you even look to start trading you can establish the potential of the idea working. Probably the most significant outcome will be in regard to your confidence to step across the threshold and get started. A simple way to look at this is through this definition of money; being an idea backed by confidence.

If after these steps you have a high level of confidence to invest your money then go and make it happen.

If you'd like to start your own business plan then here's a useful template you can use.

About the Author

Steve Gaskell the 'Challenge Coach' is a High-Performance Business Coach who unlocks the high-performance potential in those he coaches. The author of 'Business Shouldn't be this Tough' is also a keynote speaker with a focus on high-performance outcomes through coaching and also creating extreme ownership within the boardroom. A former Army Officer Steve understands the challenge and interFEARence faced by business owners, directors and executives in leadership and confronts them head-on to focus on unleashing true potential.

If you would like to unlock the potential within your organisation, board, leadership, team or yourself just ask. For more information on the topic of this newsletter, you can message Steve via his profile, call on 01392 927997 or [email protected]

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