Once you’ve made the decision to start your own business,
the natural instinct for many is to charge headlong into getting it off the
ground right away.
Starting your own business might have been something that’s
been at the back of your mind for years, and now that you’ve finally decided to
take the plunge, you don’t want to waste any more time.
Well, despite the urgency you probably feel, it would be sensible
to spend some time examining the true viability of your business. Many people
rush into their first business and live to regret it down the line. Important
decisions made in haste tend to have implications. And while you shouldn’t use
that as an excuse not to get on and make your dream happen, there are five
things you must do before you start your business.
1. Research the market
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean people will
buy it. Or, just because you can do something doesn’t mean people will pay
enough or buy enough of it to make you a profit. There’s nothing smart about
working flat out running your business for no profit. You won’t be an
entrepreneur, instead just a busy fool.
Sometimes the gap in the market that you’ve spotted is there
for a good reason. Maybe it’s difficult to make money from it. That doesn’t
mean impossible – there are opportunities everywhere – but if the gap seems
obvious, ask yourself why no-one else is capitalising on it. When you go
looking, you may find a graveyard full of businesses that did what you intend
to do, and failed.
Research can be as simple as talking to potential customers,
spending a few hours on the internet, or acting as a potential customer and
checking out the competition.
