15

Ready, Set, Startup! (Maybe…)

Ready, Set, Startup!You’ve got this great idea, and you can’t wait to get going and take off with full force toward business success!  There’s no better feeling for an entrepreneur than the exhilaration that comes with a business startup.  Hold on though.  We’ve all heard the bleak statistics about business failures, and while confidence and a positive outlook are definitely essential entrepreneurial traits, we need to proceed with a certain amount of caution if we’re going to avoid becoming part of those statistics.  Before hurrying blindly into a venture that’s doomed, take some time to think about a few points to increase your chances of success.

1. Is this something you’re prepared to do for as long as it takes? Even if you have a clear exit strategy that involves selling your business or you plan on eventually turning over day-to-day operations to a management team, you’ve got to be sure you’re ready to devote yourself 100% to the business until that time.  Be sure to think about exactly what your day will realistically look like every day once you have your business operational.  Is it the kind of work you’ll enjoy and be able to do for the long hours it will take to make your business a success?  You can have an amazing business concept, but if you fail to break the business down into the actual tasks that will be necessary to perform daily for the business to operate, you might find you’ve created a job for yourself that isn’t at all what you had in mind.

2. Have you thoroughly researched your idea, to include the market need, competition, and other factors that will impact your success? The worst thing a would-be entrepreneur can do is to charge into a venture before taking the time to perform proper due diligence on the idea.  You need to be crystal clear on your concept, how you’ll market it, who your customers will be, who your competitors are, and how the business will operate, just to name a few key factors.  Also think about how you plan to differentiate yourself from others offering similar products or services.  What will you offer that will compel people to choose your company over others?  A lot of these questions will be answered by putting together a business plan, which doesn’t have to be a huge, formal document, but should be detailed enough to address these basic issues.

3. Do you have access to enough capital to make your idea fly? The number one reason startups fail is due to lack of capital.  For a great many business ideas, finding financial backers or taking out small business loans isn’t necessary.  In fact many very successful businesses have been “bootstrapped” – started on very modest budgets.  Still, it’s essential to be realistic about your personal financial needs and those of your new business.  If you’re expecting to make a living right off the bat, you might be in for a letdown, so be prepared to support yourself in some way other than income from your business.  Otherwise you might end up having to shut down to find a job, and few things can be more discouraging than that!

Obviously there are other considerations before starting a business, but these are the most overlooked by eager entrepreneurs.  Again, it’s important to be optimistic, and reviewing these points shouldn’t discourage you.  If it is too daunting to think about these questions, it’s a good sign you might not yet be startup-ready.  That doesn’t mean your concept won’t fly, just that you have some more work to do.  And work is the key.  Of course, the opposite of someone rushing into a business is an entrepreneur planning and contemplating for months or years on end without ever really taking action.  The best thing you can do is somewhere in the middle – smart action.  Smart action ensures you’re taking action, and that taking that action is the right thing to do, at the right time.  So if you’ve thought these questions through, and you are in fact start-up ready, don’t hold back.  Go for it with everything you’ve got!

Comments are closed