The 7 Basic Rules Business Start-Up Tool Kit
The 7 Basic Rules Business Start-Up Tool Kit
Starting a business? Here is a short list of the kind of questions that you need to ask yourself before setting out on starting up your own business.
Nobody starts out a new business venture with the aim of being unsuccessful. And yet:
It has been statistically proven that four out of five business start-ups will close their doors within five years time. Yet every year hundreds of thousands of individuals venture out to do “their own thing”
The short list of questions below will prepare you for what’s awaiting you around the corner when you set out on your own.
Rule 1: Business owners must chose the right business, right from the start. Otherwise you will spend valuable time and money trying to figure out what business is right for you.
The most important question is “who are you and what can you do?”
A man weighing 300 pounds cannot run a hundred yards faster than a 150 pound man can.
A 150 pound man cannot lift as heavy as a 300 pound man can.
A 60 year old cannot climb a tree as well as a 12 year old, and a 12 year old cannot solve cross word puzzles as well as a 60 year old.
So “who are you and what can you do?”
Please be honest with yourself. The more honest you are with yourself at this stage, the easier it will be to be chose the right kind of business and increase your chances of success.
An accountant might not be as good in changing oil as a former machine tools worker would be.
The former machine tool worker might not be as good with numbers as the accountant would be.
Rule 2: The truth is, we all have certain capabilities and learnt skills. If we concentrate on what we know best, do best, and what we like to do best, we have already come very close to succeeding.
Find out who you are and what you can do. The best way is to start asking people who know you well. They usually will tell you all about your good sides. Next, talk to somebody whom you don’t know, like a business adviser or a management consultant. Tell them about your plans, your background and your business experience. Ask them to do strengths and weakness analysis about you and your planned business to determine a “fit” and possible opportunities and threats to your business.
Clarify the following questions, before starting your formal business planning process
1. Product or Service
• Have you clearly defined your business?
• What differentiates your product or service from your competitors?
2. Your Personal Needs
• How long can you survive financially?
• Are you ready to work long hours and weekends?
• Will your family support your decision?
3. Your Business’s Industry
• Do you know the cyclical/seasonal nature of the economy, the industry and your market and how these things can affect your business?
4. Marketing Issues
• Are there buyers out there who would be willing to part with their money to purchase your product/service?
• What do buyers pay for in your market: price, quality, or convenience levels?
5. The Competition
• Do you know who your competitors are?
• How does your business measure against the competition?
6. Your Finances?
• Where will your start-up funding come from?
• Are you aware of how much time it will take before you start to turn a profit?
• Are you aware of how your business structure is taxed?
7. Employment Issues
• Will you need to hire employees?
• Have you written a clear set of company policy and procedures for your employees?
8. Insurance
• Do you know what kind of property coverage your business will need?
9. Location
• Does your product or service require specific location needs?
• Can the area support a business like the one you propose?
Rule 3: If you can’t answer the questions above, don’t start your business. Find somebody that can help you answer these questions.
Rule 4: Just don’t ask one person. There are lots of people out there who can’t tell right from wrong. Talk to your banker, talk to somebody at the SBA, talk to SCORE advisers.
All of this advice is free.
Rule 5: Do research on the internet. Use search engines like Google and Yahoo to look for free online articles about setting up a business, and how to write business plans.
You might have heard of the term “paralysis by analyses”. Don’t overdo it. There is no need to for you to prepare an overly detailed business plan and over commit on time and money.
But a business plan will be necessary, especially if you will need to bring in outside investors or get financing from a bank.
Rule 6: Unless you really want to, don’t go splurging on expensive business planning software. They are costly; you will need to spend time to learn how to use the software and most of them just do what spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel do.
Rule 7: The final and most important rule! Be realistic. Downsize your business success expectations by at least a half. After you have sold to your family, friends, relatives, colleagues, you will need to sell to total strangers that could care less with whom they do business. Unless you are able to sell and generate repeat sales from total strangers, your business will not make it. That means the following:
Rule 7.5: Your business concept, whether it is selling goods or services has to be sound. You need to do whatever you are doing in the most competitive way that you are capable of. If your capabilities compare to the present market contenders you will be moderately successful. If you can surpass the present market contenders based on how you do things,
and if there is a market for what you are doing, you will be successful. Its that simple.
Rule 7.75: Simple is good. Don’t complicate things. Simple is good.
The 7 Basic Rules Business StartUp Tool Kit - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Kayalar's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
The 7 Basic Rules Business Start-Up Tool Kit
Starting a business? Here is a short list of the kind of questions that you need to ask yourself before setting out on starting up your own business.
Nobody starts out a new business venture with the aim of being unsuccessful. And yet:
It has been statistically proven that four out of five business start-ups will close their doors within five years time. Yet every year hundreds of thousands of individuals venture out to do “their own thing”
The short list of questions below will prepare you for what’s awaiting you around the corner when you set out on your own.
Rule 1: Business owners must chose the right business, right from the start. Otherwise you will spend valuable time and money trying to figure out what business is right for you.
The most important question is “who are you and what can you do?”
A man weighing 300 pounds cannot run a hundred yards faster than a 150 pound man can.
A 150 pound man cannot lift as heavy as a 300 pound man can.
A 60 year old cannot climb a tree as well as a 12 year old, and a 12 year old cannot solve cross word puzzles as well as a 60 year old.
So “who are you and what can you do?”
Please be honest with yourself. The more honest you are with yourself at this stage, the easier it will be to be chose the right kind of business and increase your chances of success.
An accountant might not be as good in changing oil as a former machine tools worker would be.
The former machine tool worker might not be as good with numbers as the accountant would be.
Rule 2: The truth is, we all have certain capabilities and learnt skills. If we concentrate on what we know best, do best, and what we like to do best, we have already come very close to succeeding.
Find out who you are and what you can do. The best way is to start asking people who know you well. They usually will tell you all about your good sides. Next, talk to somebody whom you don’t know, like a business adviser or a management consultant. Tell them about your plans, your background and your business experience. Ask them to do strengths and weakness analysis about you and your planned business to determine a “fit” and possible opportunities and threats to your business.
Clarify the following questions, before starting your formal business planning process
1. Product or Service
• Have you clearly defined your business?
• What differentiates your product or service from your competitors?
2. Your Personal Needs
• How long can you survive financially?
• Are you ready to work long hours and weekends?
• Will your family support your decision?
3. Your Business’s Industry
• Do you know the cyclical/seasonal nature of the economy, the industry and your market and how these things can affect your business?
4. Marketing Issues
• Are there buyers out there who would be willing to part with their money to purchase your product/service?
• What do buyers pay for in your market: price, quality, or convenience levels?
5. The Competition
• Do you know who your competitors are?
• How does your business measure against the competition?
6. Your Finances?
• Where will your start-up funding come from?
• Are you aware of how much time it will take before you start to turn a profit?
• Are you aware of how your business structure is taxed?
7. Employment Issues
• Will you need to hire employees?
• Have you written a clear set of company policy and procedures for your employees?
8. Insurance
• Do you know what kind of property coverage your business will need?
9. Location
• Does your product or service require specific location needs?
• Can the area support a business like the one you propose?
Rule 3: If you can’t answer the questions above, don’t start your business. Find somebody that can help you answer these questions.
Rule 4: Just don’t ask one person. There are lots of people out there who can’t tell right from wrong. Talk to your banker, talk to somebody at the SBA, talk to SCORE advisers.
All of this advice is free.
Rule 5: Do research on the internet. Use search engines like Google and Yahoo to look for free online articles about setting up a business, and how to write business plans.
You might have heard of the term “paralysis by analyses”. Don’t overdo it. There is no need to for you to prepare an overly detailed business plan and over commit on time and money.
But a business plan will be necessary, especially if you will need to bring in outside investors or get financing from a bank.
Rule 6: Unless you really want to, don’t go splurging on expensive business planning software. They are costly; you will need to spend time to learn how to use the software and most of them just do what spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel do.
Rule 7: The final and most important rule! Be realistic. Downsize your business success expectations by at least a half. After you have sold to your family, friends, relatives, colleagues, you will need to sell to total strangers that could care less with whom they do business. Unless you are able to sell and generate repeat sales from total strangers, your business will not make it. That means the following:
Rule 7.5: Your business concept, whether it is selling goods or services has to be sound. You need to do whatever you are doing in the most competitive way that you are capable of. If your capabilities compare to the present market contenders you will be moderately successful. If you can surpass the present market contenders based on how you do things,
and if there is a market for what you are doing, you will be successful. Its that simple.
Rule 7.75: Simple is good. Don’t complicate things. Simple is good.
The 7 Basic Rules Business StartUp Tool Kit - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Kayalar's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
very good.all the best.
Commented on The 7 Basic Rules Business StartUp Tool Kit. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Jim's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Evolution of Networking 10 Ways To Go International Customer Retention / Attraction 3 Deadly Traps Increase Performance Leadership |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
 |
Top 50 Business Plans
Top Business Plan Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||