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BUSINESS

OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS- ADVANTAGES

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Owning a business comes with several advantages. A few of these advantages are discussed in this article. Some challenges also arise with managing your own business but it appears that the advantages outnumber the challenges.

You have the privilege of being in control. You have the power to make your own decisions rather than taking orders from a superior in the case of working for another person. Of course indirectly, you take orders from your cherished customers in order to win their favour. When it comes to running the business, you have the opportunity of planning it to suit your convenience. However, this flexibility should be managed well so as to avoid any challenges that might arise. For instance, a family woman who is also an entrepreneur certainly has some level of flexibility in managing the home and also giving out her best as an entrepreneur.

Owing a business is an opportunity to live and build something meaningful. Everybody has a unique ability to create and this is an opportunity to bring your unique creativity into fruition. As the director of your business, bring out that uniqueness in you rather than being a copycat.

You have the opportunity to serve people (customers). Serving other of God’s children is one of the areas to get fulfilment in life. As you serve and serve properly, money will certainly follow. The amount of income you will make in your own business is a function of the quality of service you provide.

You are likely to have a positive impact on the world. Exhibiting your uniqueness in your business and solving the needs of people results in impact. The discovery of Microsoft has solved several challenges of the world. Your own business is also likely to solve several challenges of the world.

You are likely to make more money relative to being an employee in another company. Managing your own business does not promise a truck load of money within a short period of time but at least, you are guaranteed some level of income. Making more money depends on the level of service that you offer society. Always ensure that your services are distinguished and unique and it will attract the desired amount of money.

With the list of advantages above, consider setting up your own business and reap the benefits that come with it. God is always happy when His children provide services to other children.

Picture credit to ‘fanpop’

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BUSINESS

IDEAS FOR WRITING A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN

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A good business plan should have the ingredients to warrant attention for financial support. Below are some ideas to help interested parties to develop a good business plan.

Know who your audience is. A business plan for the purpose of securing a loan from the bank will dwell more on how you intend to minimize risk and make returns to be able to pay back the loan when it’s approved. Writing a business plan for investors will dwell more on facts and figures about the market and how reasonable returns can be made to repay dividends to the investors.

Once you have determined your audience, the next activity to undertake is to outline your business plan. Several outlines exist for difference audience. Internet resources can assist you to get a suitable outline for the audience you select.

You need to research and collect information. Collect relevant data about your intended business via the internet, library, newspapers etc. Your research should include profile of customers, growth of the market, perspectives of the industry, level of competition, suppliers and customers. Mention can also be made of the industry experts.  

Analyse the data collected and write the business plan to follow the structure or format of a good business proposal. Build a competitive profile; show how you can mitigate risk through your risk analysis. You should have a profit and loss account, balance sheet and do some financial ratios analyses to show the economic health of the proposed business.  Valuable resources exist on the internet on financial ratios analyses.

Develop an executive summary as the last activity. As the phrase suggests, the executive summary, usually one pager, provides a precise and concise brief of the several pages of a business plan. The executive summary forms the introductory part of the business plan.

Ensure that the business plan is proof-read several times to minimize language errors and technical errors. You can consult some colleagues to proof-read your business plan for you and make contributions but be circumspect about which input to include in the final business plan.

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BUSINESS

HOW DO YOU START A BUSINESS OF YOUR OWN?

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Be certain that you want to start your own business not because you are necessarily unemployment and would want to get your hands on just something. Starting your own business is a bit difficult than searching for a new job in other companies. There are several sacrifices that you need to make when starting your own business.

Decide on the area to invest in. You need to do some extensive business prospecting and also consult your inner spirit to be sure on the area to invest in. Will a retail business or wholesale business do the trick? Will you be better off going into consultancy? This task is very important because if you get it wrong here, the business will definitely fail.

Do some research on the chosen area of investment. You must not rush into making a choice so soon and start pumping in capital. Research on the amount of capital you need to inject into the new business from the scratch. Determine the return on investment and how long it will take for the business to payback the investment. Determine the number of competitors and their spread. Determine the market share of your competitors. There are several businesses with many competitors not widely dispersed. As a new entrant into such businesses, you are likely to get into difficulties when it comes to recouping your investments.

The market research will help you to develop a business plan for your future business. The business plan may not be necessarily long but must answer very salient questions such as the type of venture; the number of competitors; pricing; costs; return on investment; payback period, management structure etc. More often than not, the business plan lays out the details of business establishment; business running and returns over a period of time. The business plan must be such that anybody who takes it clearly understand it and is able to implement the plan independent of the person who developed it. The business plan is an important tool to obtain loan from financial institutions.

Several business structures exist and as an aspiring entrepreneur, you got to select a business structure of your choice. Will your business be sole proprietorship,  partnership with others or limited liability etc.? All these have their advantages and disadvantages. 

A business is run by several experts such as an accountant, human resource officer, receptionist etc. You need to get your team in place and this depends mainly on the demands of the business. At the inception of the business, an accountant is usually needed to manage the cash flow. You also need virtual advisors such as an attorney and a business advisor.

Get some other things in place! You may need to register your business officially; get an internet domain for your business and ensure that your business fits with all the national requirement of your country.          

 Photo credit: canstockphoto

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BUSINESS

SOME DO’S AND DON’TS ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS!

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Already reporting to an employer and starting your own business alongside is difficult but is one of the sure ways of making some additional income. In this article, we discuss some do’s and don’ts about starting your own business.

The Do’s:

Consider your new business as a part-time one in the beginning whilst you work for your employer. In doing this, you will be earning some additional income and the impact of the part-time business becoming unsuccessful is minimized.  

Check the requirements in your employment letter. Sometimes, the employment contract states that any innovations that result from the use of company equipment and company time become the property of the employer- this includes even innovations outside of the premises of the company. Be sure you are conversant with the company policy regarding establishing personal businesses.

As you begin making some returns in the new business, keep part of the returns and use this income to run the business at the time when you resign from your job to take full control of the new business. At least you will have something to live on and run your own business after resignation.

If your personal business is not a competitor to that of your current employer, it is worth informing colleagues about your personal business. It is possible your colleagues can become part of your clientele base or may even become co-investors of your personal company.

Plan your time very well because owning a personal business should not compromise your much needed output in your current job. There are some activities you may have to sacrifice for the time being because your time may be much needed in the new job whilst you continue to deliver in your current job.  

You may consider getting some few hands to help out with the new business since you will always not be available to manage it.

 Don’ts

Avoid using company equipment for your new business. Avoid sending e-mails relating your business using your employer’s e-mail system because there can be legal implications.  

When your personal business begins to make some gains in the beginning, don’t think of resigning quickly from your current job because new personal businesses have unstable life cycle. Some reasonable amount of time is required for the new personal business to get established.

Some business ventures do not lend themselves to part-time so be careful which area you want to invest in.  

Don’t promote your business during working hours. It is unethical and you may be penalized for using company time for promotion of your personal business.

At the right time, don’t hesitate to resign from your current employer and take up full employment with your personal business. You can do a lot when you take up full responsibility in your personal business.