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Will your business be successful? Shouldn’t you be the first to know?

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Article Overview: So you have a great idea, you are ready to be your own boss so how do you get started? Well sit down with a pen and paper – a few trusted friends also help and see if you have answers to the following:

Will your business be successful? Shouldn’t you be the first to know?

Yourself
1. Do you think that you have the skills necessary to make a success of running a business? These include the ability to work alone for often long periods and a great deal of perseverance.
2. Do you get on well with people and do they think that you are great to talk to?
3. Can you step back if need be and let someone else contribute to your business?
4. Do you have good time management and are you able to prioritize your work?
5. Are you able to see “the big picture” but still be able to see each individual item and action that makes up each individual stage?
6. Do you have some financial stability?
7. If your business is craft based or an off shoot of your business, are you also able to handle managing the business?


Your Ideas
1. How is what you are offering different from what is already being offered by others? – This is your Unique Selling Point.
2. Are there any legal, ethical or moral reasons working against your success?
3. What kind of company do you want to run?
4. How much of your time do you want to devote to your business?
5. Do you have the skills and attitude to make the business a success?
6. How will you make money from your business?
7. Will you make more money than it costs to run the business?
8. Have you made sure that you are not copying someone else or you are copying them?
9. Is someone else doing the same thing but better?

Your Market
1. Will it meet a real need or solve a problem?
2. Who are you selling to? Who do you think will be interested in your offerings?
3. Will they want what your are offering, at the price you are asking?
4. How much do you think they can afford to pay?
5. How big is the market?
6. What share of the market do you want?
7. Can you establish a niche in this market?
8. Who are your main competitors?
9. How is the market changing? Is it shrinking, growing or changing?
10. How will you tell people about your business?

Your Financing
1. How much will your company cost to start and run for the first year?
2. How will you raise the capital required and how much will you being contributing?
3. Where will you raise it from?
4. If you have investors or partners, how do you think they will get their money back and how long will it take to give it back to them?
5. What risk is there that you will not get your investment in time and money back?
6. Will you raise enough money to run the company through the first difficult year?
7. Do you plan to sell your company or go public (list the company on the stock markets) one day? – This is your exit strategy.
8. Anyone is capable of making a product, process, or technology better. Isn’t it time for you to become your own boss?

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Article Tags: attitude, big picture, financial stability, good time management, long periods, market 1, money, moral reasons, niche, offerings, perseverance, running a business, stage 6, unique selling point



Related Forum Posts
Re: What exactly do you need to start a business - Starting a business takes many things. Like guts and brains. But what I find pays off the most in online busines is HARD WORK. There is no better alternative. The more energy you use to make your business successful, the better your chances of it being successful
Re: Success - I think success is 2% luck and 98% persistence. While it's true that SOME people are successful due to luck, but the majority of the population has to work very hard to attain their goals. Opening a business require a ton of footwork. This means a lot of travel, a lot of networking, a lot of bank transactions -- just a lot of everything. If you're willing to put up with the monotonous aspects of business and you're willing to push forward, you're more than likely be successful. Also, make sure to cater to your audience/customer.
Re: Success? When does an inventor feel successful? - I agree with Jude. Success is different to different people, and it is different for one person in is different aspects of life. You can have personal success, business success. For me finishing a very challenging picture puzzle is success. You are only successful if you feel successful.
Generalist vs. Expert - Hi Kevin - great topic! I think to start a business you need to have enough of the general skills to get going. You end up having to do so many things that you need to wear many hats in your business. Even if you have partners there will always be more tasks to get done than time and people available. That being said, you need to have a vision, lead your company forward and be an expert in your field. If you're not one of the best at what you do then it will be hard to stand out and build a successful company. I think the most successful entrepreneurs are experts in a particular field but also have enough skills to be generalists when need be.
Re: Business Failure Rate – What is the Real Business Failure Ra - [quote="Kevin":3v711nok][quote="ZekeLL":3v711nok]Hi Kevin, The answer is actually a little sad. The sources that I found define a successful business as one that doesn't go broke and remains operating! Zeke Camusio[/quote:3v711nok] Hi ZekeLL, That is disappointing to hear as that could mean those businesses could still be in serious debt.[/quote:3v711nok] I call that scraping by not being successful. If you determine success as only being open for business - that should increase the odds of "being successful". Add the current economic crisis i the US and around the world and the questionable companies won't survive. I read an article about how tough economic times reveal the weak business owners and "leaders". I guess we're also seeing that with US auto makers and financial institutions. Chris


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