8 answers
Rauliz
Student
Lynn, Massachusetts
1
Question
Asked
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What are good steps on starting up/maintaining a business?
#business #entrepreneur #business-management #finance #management
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8 answers
Kelly Kee
Sales
2
Answers
Newton, Massachusetts
Updated
Kelly’s Answer
I sought the advice of my sister who has successfully started two different businesses:
Some tips on how to start a business. The answers provided already are very good I would consider all of their ideas in addition to this:
1. Spend some time thinking about the reasons you want to start a business, what motivates you, the ideas you have, and start organizing this information. Think about what your objectives are, and collect this as data that will be instrumental in writing a business plan. Identify your unique strengths, weaknesses and resources. Do not underestimate the importance of assembling a business plan!!! It should cover a complete spectrum of all aspects of a business that need to be addressed for success. Look for a template and go through the steps to pull it together. (look into a way to tap a “Business 101 for dummies” in book form, workshop or website)
2. Research and Reconnaissance are really important. Learn as much as you can about the industry/market you are interested in. Take every opportunity to look more deeply into the businesses and brands you admire, for inspiration.
3. Do your homework, by learning about the mechanics of starting a business- your state regulations, business filings, tax implications, funding options.
4. Find a way to test out your idea, like through surveys, interviews, product/service trials with people fitting your potential customer base.
5. Recruit a coach or mentor with experience who can advise you, provide feedback, help you network for resources.
6. Be prepared to be passionate about your new venture, and to work hard at making it a reality even when things get tough. Know that you will need to be resilient and keep a strong positive attitude.
7. Enjoy the process and the exciting learning experience you are launching by starting your own business!
Some tips on how to start a business. The answers provided already are very good I would consider all of their ideas in addition to this:
1. Spend some time thinking about the reasons you want to start a business, what motivates you, the ideas you have, and start organizing this information. Think about what your objectives are, and collect this as data that will be instrumental in writing a business plan. Identify your unique strengths, weaknesses and resources. Do not underestimate the importance of assembling a business plan!!! It should cover a complete spectrum of all aspects of a business that need to be addressed for success. Look for a template and go through the steps to pull it together. (look into a way to tap a “Business 101 for dummies” in book form, workshop or website)
2. Research and Reconnaissance are really important. Learn as much as you can about the industry/market you are interested in. Take every opportunity to look more deeply into the businesses and brands you admire, for inspiration.
3. Do your homework, by learning about the mechanics of starting a business- your state regulations, business filings, tax implications, funding options.
4. Find a way to test out your idea, like through surveys, interviews, product/service trials with people fitting your potential customer base.
5. Recruit a coach or mentor with experience who can advise you, provide feedback, help you network for resources.
6. Be prepared to be passionate about your new venture, and to work hard at making it a reality even when things get tough. Know that you will need to be resilient and keep a strong positive attitude.
7. Enjoy the process and the exciting learning experience you are launching by starting your own business!
Sandesh Ballikar
Enterprise Architect
13
Answers
Ashburn, Virginia
Updated
Sandesh’s Answer
1. Strategy
a. Identify your niche: What is it that you have to offer different than what's being already offered by your competitors
b. Assess your competition. Assess your target market. Create a business plan
2. Finance
a. Pitch the plan and attract investors. If capital requirements are small, self sponsor but remember to keep your losses minimal.
b. Close the deal, make the capital draws
3. Capability
a. Develop your product/Service
b. Identify the target customer. Promote your product/service via website, social media etc. (Some times your need to give out your product/service for free limited trial)
c. Execute on production, marketing, accounting, human resource, business management
a. Identify your niche: What is it that you have to offer different than what's being already offered by your competitors
b. Assess your competition. Assess your target market. Create a business plan
2. Finance
a. Pitch the plan and attract investors. If capital requirements are small, self sponsor but remember to keep your losses minimal.
b. Close the deal, make the capital draws
3. Capability
a. Develop your product/Service
b. Identify the target customer. Promote your product/service via website, social media etc. (Some times your need to give out your product/service for free limited trial)
c. Execute on production, marketing, accounting, human resource, business management
Jessica Piikkila
Implementation Consulting
2
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Jessica’s Answer
In addition to what Ryan said above, talk about your idea out loud as much as possible before you invest any money. Have information interviews with your potential customers. Find out if they would find value in what you are offering, get an idea of how much they would be willing to pay for the said product or service. Then you know you have something the market wants, otherwise you might have an idea that is forward thinking that the market is not yet ready for but can be taught. If your idea can be implemented without a lot of capital, you might want to conduct a proof of concept. If you need capital, there are lots of ways to find investors, google crowd funding, kickstarter, etc. I just completed an MBA course and the book was really good 'Patterns of Entrepreneurship Management' by Jack Kaplan and Anthony Warren. It takes you from A to Z when it comes to concept to cash. Including the energy and mindset it takes to start your own business. Good luck!
zach gordon
Credit Underwriting
6
Answers
Bethesda, Maryland
Updated
zach’s Answer
There are some great answers included in here. I created a small business with a friend to invest in condo / townhouse rentals. Before we got started with out first deal, we spent months talking/strategizing how to accomplish this. We read through a lot of blogs, industry websites to learn about what went wrong for other people and hopefully how we can avoid that mistake. We knew about the rental industry, but never went out on our own.
I think when you start a business, it is important to not stray from a industry that you are familiar with as this will help reduce your risk. Research! Research! Research! You will be devoting a lot of your time and once you open yourself up for business, you want to have as many of the answers, so you are not wasting money.
If you are going to be in a service type of industry vs selling a good, create a network of individuals that can help mentor you or for you to bounce idea's off of. While the idea could sound great in your head, they might be able to help you fully think out the idea and see if it is plausible. In addition, maybe someone in your network is in a similar industry that you could work together on. There are multiple networking groups out there, but they are only as successful as the work that you put in.
Running a business takes a lot of time and dedication, but it is important to create boundaries. You will need to be responsive and make sure to manage your customer's expectation. For instance, a client might be upset with the service and they could be reaching out to you late at night. While you could try to resolve the issue then, it is also acceptable to let them know you are looking into the issue and will speak with them the next day. For the most part, customers want to be heard, but are hopefully reasonable that you can get back to them within a short while vs giving them an instantaneous answer.
I think when you start a business, it is important to not stray from a industry that you are familiar with as this will help reduce your risk. Research! Research! Research! You will be devoting a lot of your time and once you open yourself up for business, you want to have as many of the answers, so you are not wasting money.
If you are going to be in a service type of industry vs selling a good, create a network of individuals that can help mentor you or for you to bounce idea's off of. While the idea could sound great in your head, they might be able to help you fully think out the idea and see if it is plausible. In addition, maybe someone in your network is in a similar industry that you could work together on. There are multiple networking groups out there, but they are only as successful as the work that you put in.
Running a business takes a lot of time and dedication, but it is important to create boundaries. You will need to be responsive and make sure to manage your customer's expectation. For instance, a client might be upset with the service and they could be reaching out to you late at night. While you could try to resolve the issue then, it is also acceptable to let them know you are looking into the issue and will speak with them the next day. For the most part, customers want to be heard, but are hopefully reasonable that you can get back to them within a short while vs giving them an instantaneous answer.
GABRIEL ESPOSITO
Director of Corporate Security & Loss Prevention
31
Answers
Delray Beach, Florida
Updated
GABRIEL’s Answer
The most important thing, from my perspective, is to develop a business plan. I suspect the small business administration has sample plans or guidance in that regard. Also know that if one venture does not work, others may and in a big way.
Ryan Pfeiffer, MA
Firefighter Training Officer / EMT
83
Answers
Fort Collins, Colorado
Updated
Ryan’s Answer
Running your own business is a complicated and difficult undertaking, but has the potential to be very rewarding. I just started one myself about a year ago; it is not as successful yet as I imagined, but, in all honesty, I haven't put the the work into it that it needs to be successful.
First thing is first, you need an idea for a business. This takes creativity, and patience. One does not simply sit down on the couch for 20 minutes brainstorming and come up with an idea for a legitimate business. You need to examine yourself, your environment, your community, and find something that you think people need and either aren't getting, are getting enough of, or aren't getting it in a good enough quality.
Once you know what goods or services you want to deliver to people, you need a basic business model. Which is a fancy way of saying, how will you make money? This takes A LOT of research. What goes into making your product/service? What are your competitors doing? What do you need to do to differentiate yourself? How, and how long will it take to find customers? It also takes a lot of work determining your expenses. Do you need training? Office supplies? Computers? A vehicle for transportation? What does advertising cost? Do you need workspace? Storage space? Employees or partners? Etc. etc.
The first two steps alone took me months. You may be able to just that timeline one way or another, slightly, but at this point you're not making a profit yet - so you're probably working another job to pay the bills, or going to school to educate yourself.
Once your confident that you have a sustainable idea, and that your idea has the potential to earn more money that it will cost to sustain it, then it is time to move forward. For me, that meant registering my business with the state, trademarking the company/product name, obtaining a Tax ID from the IRS, and then using my state business license and Tax ID to open a banking account in my business' name. I then loan my business some money, and used that money to buy a website, social media pages on all the big platforms, and buy the basic hardware I would need to do conduct my business (in my case, cameras, microphones, computers, video editing software, etc.).
Once you have what you need, you launch, which is to say you start advertising and acquiring customers (and retaining customers). There are many tips and tricks here, from soliciting reviews, offering return customer discounts, offering incentives to customers who recruit other customers, creating mailing lists, etc etc. Its difficult to get into specifics without knowing exactly what your business is. But, like I said, this step is months away. I would focus on the business idea and the business plan first. Cross the customer acquisition and retention bridge when you come to it.
First thing is first, you need an idea for a business. This takes creativity, and patience. One does not simply sit down on the couch for 20 minutes brainstorming and come up with an idea for a legitimate business. You need to examine yourself, your environment, your community, and find something that you think people need and either aren't getting, are getting enough of, or aren't getting it in a good enough quality.
Once you know what goods or services you want to deliver to people, you need a basic business model. Which is a fancy way of saying, how will you make money? This takes A LOT of research. What goes into making your product/service? What are your competitors doing? What do you need to do to differentiate yourself? How, and how long will it take to find customers? It also takes a lot of work determining your expenses. Do you need training? Office supplies? Computers? A vehicle for transportation? What does advertising cost? Do you need workspace? Storage space? Employees or partners? Etc. etc.
The first two steps alone took me months. You may be able to just that timeline one way or another, slightly, but at this point you're not making a profit yet - so you're probably working another job to pay the bills, or going to school to educate yourself.
Once your confident that you have a sustainable idea, and that your idea has the potential to earn more money that it will cost to sustain it, then it is time to move forward. For me, that meant registering my business with the state, trademarking the company/product name, obtaining a Tax ID from the IRS, and then using my state business license and Tax ID to open a banking account in my business' name. I then loan my business some money, and used that money to buy a website, social media pages on all the big platforms, and buy the basic hardware I would need to do conduct my business (in my case, cameras, microphones, computers, video editing software, etc.).
Once you have what you need, you launch, which is to say you start advertising and acquiring customers (and retaining customers). There are many tips and tricks here, from soliciting reviews, offering return customer discounts, offering incentives to customers who recruit other customers, creating mailing lists, etc etc. Its difficult to get into specifics without knowing exactly what your business is. But, like I said, this step is months away. I would focus on the business idea and the business plan first. Cross the customer acquisition and retention bridge when you come to it.
Debra Andrews
Post-Market Quality
7
Answers
Lake Elsinore, California
Updated
Debra’s Answer
I would be really careful about any partners you take on or those you trust to give you advice on the business.
Debbie Pickert
Business Manager
8
Answers
North Bergen, New Jersey
Updated
Debbie’s Answer
I've read some of the answers. You have received very good advice. I have never started a business of my own. I always thought it would be fun. That said, I would be prepared to fail. Not that you will, but there will be many setbacks that you will have to fight through. My biggest tip is be persistent and flexible. Talk to as many people as you can. Be open to changing your strategy during the process.