Author: David Carpenter / Source: Lifehack
Being your own boss, working from home, financial freedom, these all the things that motivate people to become entrepreneurs.
But the fact is, while a lot of people dream about having all of these things, most will never take even the first steps to become an entrepreneur, why not?
For a lot of us, coming up with a “million dollar idea” is easy, implementing it is not.Knowing how to get your business started is the hardest part. There are a lot of things to think about. Is my idea even good enough? How do I get financing? How am I going to market the business. Do I even have the time to start a business? And it seems like a million more questions come flooding through your mind.
Because all of these things are legitimate concerns and many don’t have a clear cut “right” answer, many people end up doing nothing.
Today, we are going to talk about the most common issues new entrepreneurs face and how to overcome them. Let’s take a look at the 23 tips for new entrepreneurs:
1. Evaluate Your Idea
In any list of tips for entrepreneurs, this should always rank as number one. Do you have a business idea that will work? Good business ideas will do at least one of the following.
A. Make a person’s life easier/better – The home computer has made communication much easier, especially over long distances.
B. Save people time or money – The advent of the washing machine saved countless hours of hand washing clothes item by item.
C. Adds value to an existing product – The value of home computers really increased with the development of software. Word processors, accounting and tax software, spreadsheets etc.
2. Evaluate Yourself
This can be difficult, especially because it requires you to be completely honest. The up side is that if you are honest it’s invaluable knowledge to have.
What type of a person are you? Are you a “big picture” person or a “detail orientated” person. Are you good with accounting and numbers or would you rather be out meeting customers and selling products?
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses will tell you how you need to allocate resources.
3. Do Market Research
You not only need to know your product or service inside and out, but you also need to know your customer inside and out.
Who are you marketing to? What is the benefit that you or your product is giving them? What is there biggest complaint about their current product or service? Does yours fix that problem? Just how big is the market for your product or service?
Through market research, you should be able to answer all of these questions.
4. Have a Business Plan
A lot of new entrepreneurs get stuck with this one because they don’t know how to do it. The important thing here is to not get to bogged down in the details.
When you are first starting out, your funding sources are probably going to be friends, family and maybe a bank that does SBA loans. They are not expecting anything to elaborate, but you must have a well thought-out business plan to show them. Here’s a great article on how to write a business plan.
5. Think About Branding
Don’t just think about branding as a logo or catch-phrase. Branding is the way you will differentiate yourself from your competition. Branding is what makes you or your product unique. Ultimately, branding is why customers will choose your products over the competition.
No matter how you decide to brand yourself, it’s going to take time and consistency, so get started right away!
6. Secure a Domain for Your Website
In today’s world, having a website is a must. It really doesn’t matter what type of business you have, you need a good website.
Securing your domain name, while it’s a simple process, it’s not uncommon to find that your first choices are taken.
For example, “Donny’s Lawn Service” is probably already taken. Don’t get discouraged, just get creative. You might try “Lawn Maintenance by Donny” or “Donny’s Executive Lawn Service”, “Landscaping by Donny”, “Donny’s California Lawn Service”.
Whatever you choose, think of your website as an extension of your branding efforts.
7. Get Your Social Media Set Up
Much like a website, having a social media presence is a must in today’s world. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest are all valuable places for you to market your business and engage with customers.
Securing your social media presence now to get a jump start on your launch.
8. Decide on a Legal Structure
Is your business a Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Partnership, Corporation? What’s the difference? All of these entities have their own strengths and weaknesses as well as tax consequences. This is where professional advice is a must.
Consult your lawyer and tax adviser as to the best option for your situation.
9. Register with the Government
Exactly what you need to do will depend on what type of business you have. If you have a retail store, you will normally need a business license and…
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