There are no limits on who can become a great entrepreneur. You don’t necessarily need a college degree, a bunch of money in the bank, or even business experience to start something that could become the next major success. However, you do need a strong plan and the drive to see it through.
If you’re on Entrepreneur, odds are you already have the drive, but you might not know how to start building your empire.
That is why we are here.
Check out this step-by-step guide to help turn your big idea into a successful business.
Let’s start with the most basic question: Why do you want to start a business? Use this question to guide what kind of business you want to start. If you want extra money, maybe you should start a side hustle. If you want more freedom, maybe it’s time to leave your 9-to-5 job and start something new.
Once you have the reason, start asking yourself even more questions to help you figure out the type of business you should start, and if you have what it takes.
Be brutally honest with your answers. This will create a foundation for everything you do moving forward, so it’s better to know the truth now than later.
Do you already have a killer business idea? If so, congratulations! You can proceed to the next section. If not, there are a ton of ways to start brainstorming for a good idea. An article on Entrepreneur, “8 Ways to Come Up With a Business Idea,” helps people break down potential business ideas. Here are a few pointers from the article:
Also, go out and meet people and ask them questions, seek advice from other entrepreneurs, research ideas online, or use whatever method makes the most sense to you.
And, if you’ve exhausted all your options and you’re still stuck, here are 55 great business options you can start.
Is anyone else already doing what you want to start doing? If not, is there a good reason why?
Start researching your potential rivals or partners within the market by using this guide. It breaks down the objectives you need to complete with your research and the methods you can use to do just that. For example, you can conduct interviews by telephone or face to face. You can also offer surveys or questionnaires that ask questions like “What factors do you consider when purchasing this product or service?” and “What areas would you suggest for improvement?”
Just as importantly, it explains three of the most common mistakes people make when starting their market research:
Let people interact with your product or service and see what their take is on it. A fresh set of eyes can help point out a problem you might have missed. Plus, these people will become your first brand advocates, especially if you listen to their input and they like the product.
One of the easiest ways to utilize feedback is to focus on “The Lean Startup” approach (read more about it here), but it involves three basic pillars: prototyping, experimenting, and pivoting. By pushing out a product, getting feedback, and then adapting before you push out the next product, you can constantly improve and make sure you stay relevant.
Just realize that some of that advice, solicited or not, will be good. Some of it won’t be. That’s why you should have a plan on how to receive feedback.
Here are six steps for handling feedback:
Also, one way to help you get through negative feedback is to create a “wall of love,” where you can post all of the positive messages you’ve received. Not only will this wall of love inspire you, but you can use these messages later when you begin selling your product or service. Positive reviews online and word-of-mouth testimonials can help make a big difference.
Get all of the legal aspects out of the way early. That way, you don’t have to worry about someone taking your big idea, screwing you over in a partnership, or suing you for something you never saw coming. A quick checklist of things to shore up might include:
While some things you can do on your own, it’s best to consult with a lawyer when starting out, so you can make sure you’ve covered everything that you need.
Here are some questions you can ask when looking for a small-business lawyer.
A business plan is a written description of how your business will evolve from when it starts to the finished product.
As an investor and tech-company founder, Tim Berry, wrote on Entrepreneur, “You can probably cover everything you need to convey in 20 to 30 pages of text plus another 10 pages of appendices for monthly projections, management resumes and other details. If you’ve got a plan that’s more than 40 pages long, you’re probably not summarizing very well.”
Here’s what we suggest should be in your business plan:
For each question, you can spend between one to three pages. Keep in mind, the business plan is a living, breathing document and as time goes on and your business matures, you will be updating it.
There are a ton of different ways to get the resources you need to start your business. Angel investor Martin Zwilling, whose business Startup Professionals provides services and products for startups and small businesses, recommends 10 of the most reliable ways to fund your business. Take a look and consider your own resources, circumstances and life state to figure out which one works best for you.
After all the work you’ve put into starting your business, it’s going to feel awesome to actually see your idea come to life. But keep in mind that it takes a village to create a product. If you want to make an app and you’re not an engineer, you will need to reach out to a technical person. Or if you need to mass-produce an item, you will have to team up with a manufacturer.
Here is a seven-step checklist—including finding a manufacturer and pricing strategies—you can use for your own product development. A major point the article highlights is that when you’re actually crafting the product, you should focus on two things: simplicity and quality. Your best option isn’t necessarily to make the cheapest product, even if it lowers manufacturing cost. Also, you need to make sure the product can grab someone’s attention quickly.
When you are ready to do product development and outsource some of the tasks, make sure you:
To help you have peace of mind, start learning as much as you can about the production, so you can improve the process and your hiring decisions as time goes along.
This process will be very different for service-focused entrepreneurs, but no less important. You have several skills that people are willing to pay you for right now, but those skills can be hard to quantify. How can you establish yourself and your abilities? You might consider creating a portfolio of your work—building a website to show your artwork if you’re an artist, writing if you’re a writer, or designing if you’re a designer.
Also, make sure you have the necessary certificates or educational requirements, so that when someone inquires about your service, you’re ready to jump at a good opportunity.
To scale your business, you are going to need to hand off responsibilities to other people. You need a team.
Whether you need a partner, employee, or freelancer, these three tips can help you find a good fit:
This could mean an office or a store. Your priorities will differ depending on need, but here are 10 basic things to consider:
Once you know what to look for and it’s time to start searching for a place that fits all of your qualifications, these four tips can help.
After you have a location, you can focus on the aesthetic. You can check out a few design ideas here.
No matter your product or industry, your business’s future is going to depend on revenue and sales. Steve Jobs knew this—it’s why, when he was starting Apple, he spent day after day calling investors from his garage.
There are a ton of different sales strategies and techniques you can employ, but here are four tenets to live by:
But how do you actually make those sales? Start by identifying targets who want your product or service. Find early adopters of your business, grow your customer base or put out ads to find people who fit your business. Then, figure out the right sales funnel or strategy that can convert these leads into revenue.
There are a million different ways to grow. You could acquire another business, start targeting a new market, expand your offerings, and more. But no growth plan will matter if you don’t have the two key attributes that all growing companies have in common.
First, they have a plan to market themselves. They use social media effectively through organic, influencer or paid campaigns. They have an email list and know how to use it. They understand exactly who they need to target—either online or off—with their marketing campaigns.
Then, once they have a new customer, they understand how to retain them. You’ve probably heard many people state that the easiest customer to sell to is the one you already have. Your existing customers have already signed up for your email list, added their credit card information to your website, and tested what you have to offer. In doing so, they’re starting a relationship with you and your brand. Help them feel as good about that relationship as possible.
Start by utilizing these strategies, which include investing in your customer service and getting personal, but realizing your work will never be done. You’ll constantly be competing for these customers in the marketplace, and you can never simply rest on your laurels. Keep researching the market, hiring good people and making a superior product, and you’ll be on your way to building the empire you’ve always dreamed about.
The Epoch Times Copyright © 2022 The views and opinions expressed are only those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.
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