Tag: Research

Categories
BUSINESS

WHICH BUSINESS SHOULD I CHOOSE?

 

Once you are sure that you want to set up your own business, the next critical question to consider is ‘which business should I choose?’ Several options exist and even makes it difficult to settle on one. Also, some businesses such as the pharmaceuticals, medical laboratory science etc. require large investment capital and or technical knowledge to commence. On the other hand, businesses dealing with food products, imports/exports may not require large investment capital and or technical knowledge.

The old-fashioned approach of choosing a business prescribes the following process:

 -You first select the business area of interest

-Carry out research in that business area including the models available. The research will usually reveal the areas of need which can become potential business areas. Your research should assess the level of competition.

-An initial business plan is then developed, reviewed and finalized.

-The question of “How much fund you will need to commence the business” has to be answered.

-Depending of the amount of funds required, you may seek for external support.

-Commence the business.

This approach is time consuming and you may even regret spending enormous time and money researching into something that had proved to be not worthwhile, however, you would have saved yourself from a big future mess in trying to establish such a business.

The second approach, which is not time consuming, is to start doing what solves the needs of people and love what you do. This approach is a departure from the popular theory of doing what you love and money will follow.  

These two approaches should not be seen as mutually exclusive from each other. These two can be combined in a way that will minimize cost and yield the best result in determining the business area to go into.

All said and done, it is always better to start with an idea and build on it. Business ideas can come from:

-what you are very passionate about and can be a source of solving the needs of society.

-through inspiration. A thought can drop on your mind and may be the source of your future salary.

-you can also get an idea through observation of your environment to identify needs.

-you can also get an idea through already existing business operations. You may replicate this business idea in other locations that have not been covered by the existing business. A business idea is what gives birth to a business.  

Categories
BUSINESS

IDEAS FOR WRITING A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN

Free-Money3

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.

Categories
BUSINESS

HOW DO YOU START A BUSINESS OF YOUR OWN?

canstock4219775

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