5 Things To Consider Before Starting A Business

Starting a new business is a complex task, with so many unknown factors to consider.

As much as there are exciting moments you will enjoy as a young business owner, you should not be too eager to launch you business without a good plan and strategy.

Having a good business strategy will definitely help navigate the challenges that can arise later your business.

Here are five things you must consider before launching a business.

1. Research Your Business Idea

The first step you should take is researching your business idea. Is your business solving a problem? is the idea feasible? will your product or service add value to the customer’s life? who are the competitors in the industry? how’s your solution different from your competitors? What is your competitive advantage?

You have to go all-out in search of answers to many questions that will likely determine your level of success or failure in the long run.

What does the public love to consume? What mode of payment do they love to explore? Is the location good for what you intend selling? Is there a need to modify your business ideas?

Answering all these questions will not only give you a head-on start, but will help you resume your business as you discover the answers.

2. Research And Validate The Market

Engage in a very intense market survey in order to know the list of well-established companies in your industry and what competitive advantage they already have.

You are advised to consider these perspectives while validating the market;

• Company’s potential
• Customer’s possible reactions or behaviors towards your goods and services.
• Threat posed by competitors to your company’s long-term growth and the number of companies or individuals who will serve as allies or collaborators.

You can equally deploy the SWOT ANALYSIS which includes determining the strength of your company; weakness of your company, and potential threats such as country’s economy and competitors.

3. Work on Your Financial Plan

Having a financial plan before starting a business helps to you set clear long-term financial goals for your business.

It won’t just guide your approach toward spending and saving, but will help you remain on the right path to achieving both short and long term business goals. However, a good financial plan must include the following categories:

Saving For Business Expansion: You must decide a certain amount that will be saved in the bank.

Personal Account: Do not spend the company’s income on personal expenditures as it will spell doom to your business growth.

Therefore, you should decide the amount you would be getting as monthly salary from your business.

As a new business, you should not take more than 15% of the company’s profits as salary if you want to maintain a steady growth.

Risk Management: Business is full of ups and downs, which is why your financial plan must include a certain amount that will take care of unforeseen crises – such as disaster, sickness – that could affect your productivity.

Tax Payment: Obviously, every business needs to pay tax. You should also include it in your plan, the amount of tax to pay.

4. Get Your Online Presence

The greatest mistake to make as a new entrepreneur is to ignore the importance of having an online presence in this digital age. Marketing, marketing, marketing.

Gone are the days when business owners solely depend on person-to-person advertisement for a sustainable business growth.

Some of the many benefits of having an online presence includes;

Help your customers to find you – optimise your website for mobile
Reach more people – develop your content marketing strategy
Build a stronger brand – focus on brand purpose
Increase your credibility – keep your online reviews up to date
Reputation management – you can’t afford not to be online
Cost efficient marketing – measure ROI by setting clear objectives

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are some of the top social media platforms to help grow your business. The nature of your business depends on the social media platform you should dominate.

5. Get Experts Help

Being an entrepreneur is so daunting and challenging and that is why you need all the help you can get to setup your business. Business startup and consulting firms are there to help you navigate through every step of the way. Having expert advice available can significantly improve the chances of success.

LMG Management Consultants will identify the most critical steps necessary to startup your business and help you get started. And use our years in the industry to start making revenue. You will gain access to expertise and knowledge immediately as a business start-up and entrepreneur.