Skip to content Hello everyone. This is such a wonderful topic. It reminds me of my business and how I started it. I have received many emails, suggestions and many questions about how to start a business, especially during COVID19. Some people are tired of a paid job and they feel that they deserve to be self-employed, while some people are afraid of what will happen to them after the Corona virus pandemic. Some just don’t know how. Some questions like I have an idea but how can I turn it into a sales product that will give a massive return? How can I start my own business? Some get discouraged by saying that most businesses fail and they don’t want to risk it.
Things you need to know before starting a business:
1) Develop your earning skills first to become an entrepreneur. Remember that the rewards of small business ownership are not immediate, so you need to be patient and willing to make sacrifices.
Questions to ask yourself as an entrepreneur: How much does it cost to rent? What is my population? Who are my providers? Who are my competitors? What is my marketing strategy? How much cash do I have to keep the business going?
2) Don’t start a business if you don’t understand the industry. Ask yourself these questions why you and why now, for example if you want to open a restaurant why don’t you work in a restaurant for a while to understand how the industry works.
If you want more free time, don’t start a business: There is no free time for entrepreneurs only if your company is thriving.
So ask yourself this question if you are really ready to become an entrepreneur.
Good. When we look at the summary of what we will be dealing with. It is important to realize that everything about life is risky. But it pays to take a calculated risk. Even when you travel you take risks. Now let’s get to the point.
How to start a business from scratch.
1) Starting with an idea: The first step is to have an idea. Well someone might ask a question like I don’t know how to get an idea, what should I do? The simple answer is to think and if you can’t take the time to research or study, read books and materials that interest you and don’t be among those who have this, believe that everything that is needed is created by humans, then why bother.
That’s a scary mindset to work on. Ideas come when you change your thinking with successful thinking. Pick up a book about something you’re passionate about and always ask yourself if there’s a problem you can solve for it. Look at yourself and ask what impact I want to have in this world. Challenge yourself all the time. The idea can be in two faces; Creativity and innovation. Creativity deals with something that doesn’t exist, while Innovation develops what already exists but changes it for the better.
Okay. So we start with an idea in this chapter. It’s great to have an idea but not all ideas turn out to be brilliant or worth implementing. So you have to research your ideas, do a feasibility study and see how realistic it is. Play around with your idea, Google your idea to see if anyone is doing it now. Ask yourself if I can turn this idea into a business. Remember when we talk business, we put a lot of emphasis on value. When you start a business you should focus more on value and think about profit, but most importantly focus on Value.
In summary, you should focus on the big 4 when making your idea a reality.
- Research on it?
- Is it successful?
- Is there competition?
- Is the market saturated?
- How will you defeat your competitors?
At this point you should keep two things in mind while brainstorming. If you want your business to succeed, you have to be different or better than others. Maybe you want to start a cookies business, improved means your prices are lower or the cookies taste better. While differentiation means that you are unique, your company may have defined the appearance and size of the cookies, but your company allows your customer to design their own cookies and then buy them.
Another point to note is how much you value your customers?
Are you getting more value than your competitors? The more value your product or service offers the easier it will be down the road. So you have to analyze your idea and the market and also determine how it works.
2) Build your idea into reality. This is where most people get stuck, they just come up with ideas and never act on them. It’s great to have an idea but it means nothing if you never make it a reality. It is very important to start. It is much better to try and fail than to never try. Trust that you will figure it out as you go.
When you work on your ideas, you will face obstacles that you never thought of and you will have to come up with new solutions to overcome those obstacles. As a result, your thoughts will change and change into something very different from when you first started. Always learn new things every day.
People get discouraged because they think their ideas are not good and they will fail. As Thomas Edison said, it’s not failure, it’s just finding different ways to make it not work.
3) Write your thoughts:.
- Get the answer.
- Adapt and change.
- Repeat the process.
Many people make this mistake, they build their business without testing and they think that because they have spent a lot of time on the business, people must like it. Build something quickly, show it to people, get their feedback, modify and change then repeat the process.
4) Building a business with no money: Building a business with no money can be a bit difficult. A simple tip for getting started is to build your idea around your skills and knowledge. If you are good at marketing, you start shipping, affiliate marketing. If you are good at cooking, start a catering business. For me, I am good at making natural soap that brightens the skin, removes scars and pimples. So it was very easy to build my business on that.
I want you to know that every business cannot be started without money. Actually this is not a big deal because there are many opportunities to start your own business including; finding online investors or investors, crowdfunding, getting capital or support from friends and family. However, you need to come up with a solid idea and a solid business proposal.
So after that, build your idea which is within your skills and knowledge online. You can start with YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp. Just use your talent to give value to your audience. After that monetize your audience and keep growing
It is important to note that not all businesses can be started without money. For a business idea that requires a large amount of capital, you need to find investors online or in your neighborhood, a venture capitalist. Support from friends and families. However, you need a solid idea and a solid business proposal that appeals to investors as well as the organization.
It is possible to start a business with no money, the only thing holding you back is your creativity and willingness to start. The business you see around you was created by someone who is in no way smarter than you. If they can do it, you can. Don’t let your mind limit you.
Steps to take to start your business:
- Idea generation: Strategizing and conducting feasibility studies on how realistic your business is.
- Write a business proposal: Write a comprehensive proposal that will include your vision statement, mission statement, goals and objectives, your marketing strategy and more. If you have a problem with a business proposal, you can comment below.
2) Get Startup Capital or build on your skills and knowledge.
3) Establish a legal business environment.
4) Satisfy business license requirements.
5) Establish a web presence.
6) Open a bank account for your business
7) There is a consultant, a lawyer who can get help from them.
8) Follow Government guidelines.
I’m sure you all have an idea of what to do and how to do it. You can comment below to express your opinion on the matter. Stay safe friends.