Top 5 Needs to Start a Small Business

Every small business has to have a start.

The route each small business owner takes is very different. Sometimes the planning is years in the works and each and every nuance is considered before launch. And sometimes it happens instantly, with no forethought or consideration to the potential pratfalls that lay ahead.

And only time tells which route ultimately works. There's certainly no guarantee the business owner who plans thoroughly and vigorously will fare any better than the one who starts a business after having an epiphany on a random given day.

Having interviewed and spoken to many small business owners who have had various levels of success and failure through the years has led me to uncover a list of what is truly needed to become successful in starting a new business. And it's really not as complicated as one may surmise.

The recurring themes I hear from business owners starting out is that the majority have a tough time determining the prioritization framework. What should they focus on out the outset and how should they prioritize the steps in order to vie for success? The short answer would logically seem to be it can be somewhat different for each person depending on the type of business they have undertaken. However, after scouring the underlying critical mass of the various business owners I interviewed, the overwhelming elements are quite similar when truly vetted through. As I will explain, it makes little difference if you are opening up a new coffee shop or trying to illuminate the world via a new legal software platform. The core of what is "needed" has an amazing redundancy.

The Top 5 Needs to Start a Small Business

1) Foundation - I know this sounds cliche, but it truly is the most critical need a new small business must address. To me, foundation means what your business is based on - what have you created and how will you show it to the market place. Get centered on what your overriding business is and make sure it is defined - both internally and externally.

2) Strategic Plan - It matters not if you spent years working on this new business or you had your epiphany last night, setting up the strategic plan is an absolute need. It allows one to scope out the how, when, where, and why of your business. How do you plan to make money? When is the right time to invest in a new technology that will enhance your business? Where should our headquarters be located? And on and on. This need is a time-consuming one that must be thoughtfully assessed from an assortment of angles. It could start with a business plan or with a schematic of what the vision is for the business.

3) Capital - OK, this is generally the top need, but honestly, if one doesn't have the idea and construct of what the business is, the capital component really doesn't even materialize. Having said that, the capital need is absolutely necessary for the immense majority of those starting a new business. And many times, not in ways that you may think. Sure, you would need capital if you need property, plant, equipment, etc... However, capital is also needed to pay workers out of the gate, or spend on advertising or marketing campaigns as you work on exposure for your products or services. What I've discovered is that many new owners are finding very savvy ways of staving off or delaying their capital needs by employing personnel very selectively at the start (perhaps only commission based employees, with big incentive packages) and by aggressively marketing in the social media world. There are myriad ways of accomplishing the objectives when they are clearly defined from the start. Creativity is often becoming the key and integral part of the entrepreneurs arsenal.

4) Perseverance - The mere fact one embarks on starting a new business is testimony to their desire to truck down a different path from the average Joe. Here's the fun fact that I love sharing time and time again. Failure is unavoidable. Get used to it. Even if your business succeeds, ultimately, you will fail at some point during the journey. The truly successful ones are the ones that embrace and nurture this inescapable certainty and stay with it - i.e. persevere. The great thing is, everyone can persevere! You don't need an Ivy League education or a rich parent, or have 10,000 friends on Facebook. Everyone is capable. The notion you can succeed if you work harder than everyone is generally true. What generally isn't spoken about is that very person who is the hardest worker is the one who has persevered the most.

5) Positivity - I'll be honest, I threw this one in there because it wasn't said as often as I thought it would during my interviews. However, the ones that ended up stressing the benefits of positivity were the ones who I felt have separated themselves from the others. There's something about being around a positive person that buoys my soul. It's that intrinsic ability to enlighten and lighten the world simultaneously that intrigues me. And there's a difference to being "positive" all the time versus being "positive" when it's needed. There is a delicate balance needed when traversing these two tightropes. Eliciting positivity in the correct manner can heap a massive surge within the makeup of your workers, co-owners, partners, etc. The fascinating dynamic provided by someone highly skilled in wielding positivity is that it manages to break down fears, barriers, and insecurities, while concurrently uplifting those most in need.

These Top 5 Needs to Start a Small Business are merely the mainframe of what can be implemented for your eventual pursuit. There are unquestionably a plethora of other items that can be interspersed within your creation to help build its success.

I hope these 5 elements help you to find the necessary momentum to get started down the path to start your own small business. Best of luck in your adventures!

Cheers,

Tom Gerhardt