5 Things to Do Before You Start Your Business

“Therefore, we Fish”
(2023) Creative Emphasis Art by Linda Dawkins

You’re planning on starting your own company and you’re excited to jump in.

However, it’s important not to rush in before you’re fully prepared. Building your own company is great, and today it’s easier than ever, thanks to the rise of the internet.

However, just like any other worthwhile endeavor, a great business demands a good strategy.

As exciting as it might be to start your business, there’s still a lot to do if you want to ensure your success. From getting the right funding in place to knowing how you’re going to reach your audience, here are a few things you might need to do before starting your company.

Step 1: Research

What kind of industry are you planning on getting involved with? How competitive is your niche, and what can your competitors already offer your prospective customers?

The more research you do, the easier it will be to determine whether you really have a good idea for a profitable company, or whether you still have some planning to do.

As you do your research, try to answer some important questions like:

• Who will your main competitors be? What can you do better than them,and what do they do better than you?
• How are you going to differentiate yourself? What’s your uniqueselling proposition? How are you going to convince your audience that they should choose you over your competition?
• Who is your target audience? What kind of people are you going to beselling to? Are your customers located in a specific country? Are they usually in a certain age range? What are their pain points and demands?

Step 2: Understand the Legal Parts

In the early stages of starting a business, it’s easy to get carried away by things like product development and marketing campaigns. But before you can start working on the fun stuff, it’s important to ensure that the other vital details are taken care of.

Do you know what [kind of structure]{.underline} you want for your company? Are you going to be a sole trader or a Limited Partnership? Knowing your structure will also give you some ideas on the kind of tax and VAT issues that you’re going to need to handle.

If you’re worried about dealing with your legal stuff and finances alone, it might be a good idea to talk to a professional. Even if you’re planning on doing most things by yourself when you first start your business, outsourcing things like accounting and legal support is often a good idea.

Step 3: Write a Business Plan

Writing a business plan is another part of starting a business that probably doesn’t seem exciting at first. However, having this plan is like having a compass towards your professional goals.

Your business plan will show you how much money you need to make to break even and what you’ll need to focus on to strengthen your chances of profits.

Business plans are also helpful because they can help you to sell your company idea to banks when you’re applying for a loan or potential investors.

In your business plan, cover things like:

• What your business is going to do and sell
• What your mission is (such as to deliver low-fat cake alternativesto bakeries)
• An analysis of the current market and your biggest competitors
• An insight into your target audience and opportunities
• A list of any decision-makers in your company
• Your financial plan and how you’re going to make a profit

Your business plan shows investors that you know what you need to do to run a successful company.

As an extra bonus, it can also be a document that helps you to make decisions as your company grows. You can turn to your mission and your vision of the future when you need guidance.

Step 4: Understand the Risk

Launching your own company is an excellent way to build a career doing something that you’re passionate about. However, that doesn’t mean that the process is always going to be easy. There’s always going to be some amount of risk involved with launching a new venture.

Before you jump in, ask yourself what you can do if things don’t go according to plan:

• Do you have a plan B to fall back on?
• What about savings to help you get out of any tight situations?
• Who will you turn to when you need help?
• Can you trust yourself to remain positive and motivated when thingsare tough?

Ensuring that you have the financial support, mental grit, and social circle you need to survive in this new stage of your life will help you to avoid starting a business before you’re ready.

Step 5: Get the Timing Right

Finally, you’ll need to pick a time when it’s right to bring your business to life.

Although you might want to start your company at a time when the economy is healthy, it’s also worth making sure that you don’t wait too long to strike. If you have a little emergency fund to protect you, a plan B, and the right support, then you might want to bite the bullet and jump in.

While you should never rush into starting a business, holding off for too long could mean that you miss your opportunity. Someone else could fill the gap in the market you found.

Take the leap when the circumstances are right.