If You Want Business Success, Make Sure You Follow This List
Many men and women only wish they could own a business. But they never get to live their dreams because they don’t know how to do it.
As fear and lack of knowledge often holds them down. And sad enough there aren't enough people who have done it and are willing to hold their hands.?
For a fact, starting and running a business is one of the easiest ways to make a million. Since many have managed to do it, so can you.
All you need is to believe in yourself when you follow the checklist below.
By the end of this article you’ll be able to understand what it takes to open up your first business.
All you'll need to do is start.
Checklist for starting your business
?????????1. ? ? ? ? ? Enough cash to buy your first batch of goods and pay your first round of expenses.
Birthing an idea and seeing it grow is like raising children.
As you know, in the first eighteen years of their lives they come with all sorts of problems.
The same goes for a first timer who wants to open a business.??
And at the root of these problems is your finances. Your finances are what defines you and your business as a first timer.
You need enough capital to buy your first batch of goods and pay your first round of expenses. For these are the basic activities of your business.?
On the first day, you'll need enough money to pay your suppliers, expenses and employees. This builds the right relationships and trust in your business.
It also helps set the company culture.
Your first budget should include:
When budgeting for your opening day, make sure you make a positive error on your budget. So that you have extra cash in case of emergencies and unforeseen costs.
????2. ? ? ? ? ? ? Licenses, permits and legal documentation.
Licenses and permits are your gate pass to the business world from the authorities.
They are a way for the government to certify that you can conduct your business in compliance within the law. Protecting the public and the environment as you conduct your business activity.
They establish trust and credibility with your customers and other business stakeholders. Hence it eases the friction of conducting business with other parties.
These are the types of licenses that you should be aware of:
The need of the various licenses can vary from one business to another. It depends on the type of business and its location which can involve different government agencies.
Business documentation saves you from troubles such as:
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??3. ? ? ? ? ? Manpower to help you with tasks
Starting on your own may not be possible in some businesses.
As you end up doing marketing, sales, being your own secretary and CEO at the same time. This is overwhelming work which leads to fatigue and inefficiency on your part.
There is too much work needed to push your company from point A to B.
That's why as the owner, it's important to focus on management. And delegate the other tasks to hired help.
Not only does delegation save you time, it also brings different levels of skills to your business.
This helps you grow faster. As everyone will be putting their best efforts to the common goal of your business.?
For instance, if you were to start a consultancy firm, you’ll need:
A better option is to have machines hence automating your processes. As they are accurate, efficient and standardize every output. This makes your items more trusted and valuable in the market.?
??4. ? ? ? ? ? A location and any setup costs
Where to place your business is a key factor in entrepreneurial success.?
This is the site where your idea converts to a useful product that can solve the needs of your consumers.
It provides a location where your consumers can interact with your products and services. It's your home ground of play.
You’ll need to invest in your business location for it to attract more customers. Because quality appearance signals quality of products and services.?
Hence to enhance your looks, you'll need to focus on:
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????5. ? ? ? ? ? A written business plan
This is a necessary have.
For it gives you the view of your business from an outside perspective. And you get to understand its capabilities and limitations.
It gives you an all rounded knowledge of your market. Helping you to make well informed decisions by managing resources and developing winning strategies.
A business plan also helps you sell your business to investors and banks. This enables you to raise money for growth.
It also helps your team and investors get to know the vision of the organization. Making everyone move in the same direction. This helps you cut the time you waste and a faster way to achieve your goals.
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??6. ? ? ? ? ? ? Have a marketing strategy
Your marketing strategy helps you know who your customer is.
It gives you the perspective of what problem you're solving. Making you customer-oriented as you create goods and services that help the customer.
It gets you to develop the right products for them. And helps you to tailor how you communicate to your specific customers.
Without the right strategy in place, you don’t get to connect and understand your niche. Thus, missing the opportunity to develop products that meet their needs.??
This hinders you from developing the right products due to lack of proper aim. Costing you money in blind marketing and promotion.
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7. ? ? ? ? ? ? Time, commitment and discipline
Being consistent and committed to your business is a necessary path to success.?
This involves reporting at the same time every day to your workplace.
The more you become committed and work. The faster your efforts start compounding and the sooner your business pays off.
And as you commit more time and become more disciplined, you develop a thick skin. Thus, you become more resilient which helps you conquer a lot.?
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??7. ? ? ? ? ? Have an exit strategy if things go south.
On rare occasions, uncalled for events may bring you to a grinding halt where you have to shut down your shop.
This occurs when losses become overwhelming. Or when you want to make a shift to a more promising venture with hire returns.
Hence you need to keep in the back of your mind, a plan for when things don't go as you expected.
This includes talking to the landlord about your handing over of your rented space.
Disposal of assets and paying of liabilities. And laying off of employees.
Life is what happens when you're busy making plans.
So, it is always advisable to have a plan in store for anything in life.
For if life doesn't take your well-crafted plan, your backup provides a safer route for exiting business.
To remind you of the necessities of starting your business, I’ll summarize the points below:
1. ? ? ? ? ? Have enough money to buy your first goods and pay for your first expenses.
2. ? ? ? ? ? A list of licenses, permits and business documentation.
3. ? ? ? ? ? Man power which may consist of employees to help in performance of tasks.
4.? ? ? ? ? ? A suitable location and any set up costs.
5.? ? ? ? ? ? A business plan on how to run your business and handle logistics.
6.? ? ? ? ? ? A marketing strategy that will help you generate sales.
7.? ? ? ? ? ? Time commitment that will keep you disciplined and focused.
8.? ? ? ? ? ? An exit strategy if things fail to work out.
Follow the guideline provided above and I guarantee you’ll find success in your entrepreneurial journey.
There you go. You can go ahead and start.