Starting your own business is like putting pieces together in a production line. So what do you need to start your own business? Below is guide on how to start a business step by step:
Step 1
You will need to first of all program your mindset to a positive setting. This will be better achieved by clearly noting down your goals and how you are going to achieve your targets to fulfil those goals. Having clearly defined goals helps to keep you focused on making your business a success. If you encounter any temporary hiccups, try to keep focusing on the end results to keep you motivated.
To help me keep focused I set myself weekly goals to fulfil and try to avoid any minor distractions that will take my attention away from achieving my targets.
Step 2
The next part of the process is deciding what product or service you are going to be selling as this, in effect, will determine whether you need premises and staff or not. Without a doubt, bricks and mortar business are more costly to set up and maintain as they involve premises, wages, insurances and often large reserves of stock. One way of reducing business start up costs is by running a business from home but this will largely be determined by the business that you are going to start as some businesses need a business premise and staff.
I am fortunate enough to be able to run both my current businesses from home whereas when I started my first business, namely a chain of convenience stores, I obviously needed business premises.
Step 3
Once you have decided what business that you are going to start, you will then need to decide on a name for your business. Creating a good name for your business is important. When choosing a name for a business, it is important to make sure that the name is not already in use, otherwise you could be sued.
I personally used to think that the name that you choose for your company should reflect what your business is about. However many successful companies have had huge success from unrelated trade names for their business... Apple is a great example of this! It is still unclear why Steve Jobs chose this name but some believe that it may have been thought of whilst he was working on a community farm or due to his love of Apple records.
Once you have chosen your name you will need to register it with Companies House if you are going to be a limited company.
Step 4
Regardless of whether you are starting an online business or a bricks and mortar one, it is important to create a website and domain name for your business. It is possible to create a website quite cheaply (often less than £70 if you use word press).
You will then need to buy a domain name to use for your website. You will need to renew this domain name periodically, depending on what arrangement you make with the hosting company.
Step 5
The next step in the process, when starting out in business, is marketing your products or services as cheaply and effectively as possible. After all there is no point in owning your own business, if you do not attract any customers to purchase from you.
If your budget allows for paid advertising like banner advertising, then it is important to make sure that you choose the most appropriate place to advertise e.g. If you are running a business from home make sure that you select a site that targets people wanting to work from home e.g. entrepreneur magazines and make sure that your banner is positioned on the best page, namely an interesting page that people will take enough time to browse over, to notice your advertisement.
If you do not have any budget available for marketing your new business, then social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest offer a great free means of marketing your business.
Other free ways that you can market your new business include video marketing, blogging and writing articles. You could also publish a press release to make people aware of your new business.
Step 6
Finally you will need to employ an accountant who will be able to offer you valuable advice including any ways that you may be able to offset any of your business start up costs. They will also be able to process your annual accounts and returns for you.
These six points are what I regard as being main things that you need to start your own business.
It is important to realise that all corporations and businesses have the same system, what sets them apart is how they manage to succeed in standing out above their competitors. When owning your own business, that is how you too will succeed, namely by choosing an in demand product or service and by branding and marketing your product to stand out above the rest.
My name is Roy Derrick and I have over 20 years experience in running my own business. Over the years I have set up and sold several successful businesses including a chain of retail stores and a construction company.
My wife Julie and I currently run a home based business that specialises in finding and sourcing the best ways to start a small, sustainable business working from home.
Business is our passion and that is why we set up Perfect Prosperity so that we could share our vast business knowledge with others to help them enjoy a better work/life balance.