Step : Thinking
Becoming self-employed is a big step for anyone. Having decided that you do want to change your work pattern, and that you do have the determination to succeed, think some more! Start by asking yourself some simple questions:
What?
What do you want to make or do? Is it a product or a service? Be clear in your mind what you are offering and don't feel tempted when friends suggest that you should also provide x, y and z. Stay with your original idea and keep it simple. Come up with a pithy statement of what you are trying to produce or the service you would like to provide. This, in business jargon, is a mission statement.
What are your skills? Why are you qualified to start the business? What are you good at doing? What areas of expertise and experience can you use to make the idea work?
What new skills do you need? Obviously running your own business demands different skills from working for an organization. You have to honestly identify areas where you need to improve your skills. It may be you need to go on a computer course or that you need to learn business French - or both -but you have to identify any gaps in your knowledge and then attempt to fill them.
What skills? The following are just a small number of the skills you might already have, will need or would like to have. Some or all might be beneficial to your business. Use these as a starting point to answer the questions which follow.
- Man-management
- Basic accounting
- Computing
- Typing Languages
- Communication skills
- HGV license
- Leadership skills
- Motivating others
- Self-motivation
- Selling skills
- Telephone skills
- Marketing skills
- Team working skills
- Working alone
- Written communication
How will you make the product or provide the service?
Think of the basic process of making the product - will it need a lot of space or a lot of people? If it is a service, think of how you will provide it quickly, on time and to a high quality.
How do you know it is something which people want?
Can you put it down to:
- Experience. While your experience may have convinced you of a business idea, tread carefully. Is your experience recent or appropriate? Was it formed in a different context? You still have to check that your conclusions are valid.
- Intuition. Many business people profess to having an innate understanding of what it is that people want. Politicians are also prone to speaking on behalf of the British people, without consulting more than a handful of like-minded individuals on a particular issue. If you are starting a business, you must back your beliefs with hard evidence.
- Advice and opinions of others. You should take the protestations of other people that something is a great idea with a pinch of salt. If something is a sure winner, you have to ask why aren't they doing it themselves? Invariably they will retort with an implausible excuse - too little time, too little money, etc.
- Research. To find out what people really think and the likelihood of them buying your product or service requires research.
Why do you think the business is a good idea? Write down another short explanation of why you think you and your business idea are viable. Think of why people will buy your particular product or service? Is it a truly new concept? Is it cheaper than the competition, easier to use or simply better quality?
Where?
It is early in the process, but still worth thinking about where you are going to do the work. If you want to open a greengrocer's shop the 'where' seems obvious enough - but you have to carefully consider the precise location which will best suit the business. This applies to all businesses. If you want to open a small manufacturing unit, you need to think of the optimal size and location - you will have to consider things like the size of the machines, the space taken by raw materials and stock, and the room needed for deliveries to be made.
Who?
Who will buy it? This is the basic question which every business has to focus on - whether it is a giant multinational conglomerate or a corner shop. Without customers there will be no business. Anyone starting a business must have a clear idea of who the potential customers are and where they are.
Do you already know potential customers? If you are confident that there are customers out there, you may already know some. This can be vital as you develop your ideas.
Who will be involved in the business? Think of how many people will have to be involved in the business from the outset. These might include family, friends, your bank manager, your accountant, full-time and part-time workers, as well as yourself.
When?
When do you plan to start? Timescales vary from business to business. It might be feasible to start within a few weeks or it might take months, perhaps years, to get the business off the ground. At the moment, what do you consider to be a realistic timescale?
There is no need to provide instant or comprehensive answers to all of these questions. There are bound to be blind spots or areas which remain very vague - at this stage at least. These questions are not easy, but they need to be answered before you start your business. If you ignore them you increase the risk of missing the mark entirely.
