Starting a business requires more than just a great idea. You need to identify your natural talents, research the market, and prepare financially before you start a business.
Let’s be real, starting a business is exciting. But before you start, there’s something I need to tell you.
I’ve been in the same place as you full of ideas, and want to conquer the world. But there’s a lot of things than starting a business than just having a good idea.
My Short story: When I was first starting out, I thought passion alone was enough to start and run the business. I had this big dream of running my own business, being my boss of my own, making a lot of money and travelling around the world and lot of things. Guess what? I got stuck.
Not because I didn’t try hard enough – it was because of I didn’t have enough knowledge and experience in the field.
I wish someone had told me back then: Don’t start a business until you know this. So, what do you really need to understand before you start?
Why You Shouldn’t Start a Business Now
Look, I know it’s tempting to jump into your business idea. I got it, You’re excited!
But the thing is: Starting a business isn’t just about the idea. You need:
- Right Skill
- Realistic Expectations
- Patience
- Handle Failure
Passion
Being passionate about your idea is great, but that’s not enough you need more than that. Can you manage money? Can you market your product or service? You’ll need these skills and even more skills or there’s a huge chance to fall.
Money
Money doesn’t come fast in business. It more time than you think to get your business off the ground. You might not see the profits for months or even years. Are you ready for that?
Failure
Failure is part of the business, most businesses fail in the first few years. I’m not trying to discourage or scare you. I’m just telling the reality of the business industry. You have to be ready for ups and downs.
Now you know why it’s important to think twice. Don’t worry I’ll show you what are the steps you need to take before you start.
How I Build Skills? Before starting a Business
When I first wanted to start a business, I thought I had every skill and knowledge to start. But reality slap on my face that, I didn’t have.
I wasn’t good at anything in my business needs. So, instead of getting overwhelmed, I slowed down and build up my skills first.
- Find your strengths: What are you good at? What do people come to you for advice? Focus on that and improve more knowledge regarding that. If you still don’t know, ask your close friends and family. They’ll tell you what you’re naturally good at. It could be anything.
- Learn the Rest: If there’s something you’re not good at, Like marketing, sales or finance learn it. There are tons of free courses online. I spent months to learning how to manage finance, Digital marketing, time management, Web development, SEO and a lot more before I feel ready to start.
- Use your Current Job: Even if your job doesn’t match to your business idea, you can still learn. I learned a lot about managing people and time in my day job, which improve my team management skills.
Investing my time to build up my skills made a big difference in my career. And you can do the same.
Skill that Makes Money
Once you figure out what you’re good at, the next step is figuring out if people will pay for it. I don’t want to start a business that no one needs. That’s a waste of time and money.
- What do People need? Simple, Look at your surroundings find the problems that people have and that you can solve or surf the internet and analyse the problems people are stuck and find the solution. It’s not just about what you like to do – it’s about what people will pay for.
- Competition: If other people are doing it and succeeding, that’s a good problem. It shows there’s a demand and you need to stand out in the market by providing unique valuable products or services.
If you don’t take this step, you might ended up with failure by starting a business for an empty room.
Why I Didn’t Quit My Job?
One of the biggest mistakes new entrepreneurs make is quitting their job too soon to build their business. I’m not saying to shouldn’t focus on your business. If you have any backup you can dive into it. But that’s risky – especially if your business isn’t making money yet.
Side Hustle
Start you business as a side project while you keep your job, by this way you still have a sustainable income while working on your business.
Test Waters
Use this time to learn what work and what doesn’t work. I made a ton of mistake in the early days (still making). Because I was doing it on the side, those mistakes doesn’t cost so much.
Bad Days
Having a full time job can save money and reinvest it into your business. It also means that you’re not stressing about your financial commitments like paying rent while trying to grow your business
Once your business starts making money consistently, then you can quit job. You can always go to full-time later – So, No need to rush.
Money Side
The important thing is money. Starting a business isn’t cheap, if you’re not careful, you can lose more than you gain.
- Budget: Sit down and create a plan how much you need to start your business. Be real about the cost – include everything like equipment, marketing, tools and even taxes.
- Start: Don’t buy everything at the beginning. You don’t need a fancy office or expensive software to get started. Use what you have.
- Prepare: Even if your business starts with strong foundation, there will be a slow days or even months. Set aside money for those times, so you don’t need worry and got stress when things aren’t going well.
Being smart with money helped me to avoid lot of stress. Trust me, the more you prepare, the better.
Investment Test
One of the best decisions I made was testing business ideas before involve in it. I didn’t just how people would like it – I’m sure they did.
Sell the product before you build, You don’t need a fully finished product to start selling. Test the idea with a small batch or pre-orders. That way, you know if people are willing to pay.
Get feedback from your early customers because they are like gold. Listen what they say, both good and bad. It helped me fix issues and improve before scaling up.
You can also try social media, it’s the best marketing tool you can use for free. I tested a lot of ideas on Instagram and Facebook before investing any serious money. It gave me a sense of what people liked and what didn’t work.
By testing my business idea first, I saved myself from wasting money on something that wouldn’t sell.
Support System
Running a business can feel lonely sometimes, but it doesn’t have to. One thing I learned from my business is that having a strong network of people to support you makes a huge difference.
How to build:
- Join Group: Find other entrepreneurs, online or in-person, who understand what you’re going through. I’ve gotten so much advice and support from these groups.
- Talk to Experts: If you have any doubts – like taxes or legal things, ask help. Don’t hesitate to ask doubts from the expert it cost you nothing.
- Leverage LinkedIn: Don’t underestimate the power of networking. LinkedIn is a great place to connect with like-minded people and mentors who can help you along the way. (Connect with me)
A strong network is like having a safety net when things get tough, there’s saying “Your Network is Your Networth ”
Keep Going
Here’s the hard and final truth: Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, effort and consistency. I’ve seen so many people give up because things didn’t happen fast enough. But, the one who stick with it are the ones who succeed
- Stick to your Routine
- Adapt to Changes
- Celebrate Small Wins
Are you Ready?
Starting a business is one of the most rewarding things you can do, but it takes planning, patience and hard work.
Don’t start a business until you’re ready, but when you are – Go For It!!
Take your time, learn what you need, and test your ideas.
Trust me, You’ll achieve One Day!!
Now, are you ready to start your business the smart way?
