Are You Ready To Start Your Own Business?

Many of us dream of starting our own business. We go online for potential ventures, daydream about earning more money than we can spend and becoming a prominent figure in the industry. But beyond the dreams and aspirations, before your imagined happy ending, have you ever thought of how ready you really are to take on your own business? For those planning to start building their own empire, here’s how you can be an effective entrepreneur:

Develop a sense of innovation. The best entrepreneurs are the ones able to differentiate themselves effectively in the market. Having a sense of innovation means their company’s identity is different by the way it does things or how it presents its products.

Complete environmental scanning. Examine the external factors affecting your planned business—from economic policies to the psychosocial behavior of the market. What are the current lifestyle trends? How will people react to your innovation? Do an environment scan to understand the feasibility of your proposed business and to reduce possible risks of loss.

Gain technical knowledge. Learning how to register your business, knowing the required legal documents, among others, are the very basic procedures that any business-starters must know. It’s fairly easy as government websites list them already. Some even provide online registrations and company name reservations. Learning the laws governing your planned business is a must for you to avoid legal troubles; it also lets you take advantage of the perks offered by the law. Online marketing tools and techniques is a staple of every business nowadays. This includes building your own website, posting ads, and taking advantage of SEO techniques to up your rank in the search results over the Internet. Other technical know-how will depend on what kind of business you plan to make. These include necessary equipment, standard care and procedure, and statistical quality control.

Have adequate capital resources. Every business will require capital, be it money, property or industry (skills and profession). While it is easy to imagine our “perfect business”, take stock if your money is enough to cover business registration fees, furniture and fixtures, equipment, and starting inventory.

Acquire effective management skills. Finally, once you start your own business, your management skills will either be your saving grace or your poison. Do you possess the management skills fit for your planned business? How do you plan to manage your people? How will you go about with the operation procedures? As early as your planning stage, you must already determine 1) what the necessary management skills are for your planned business, and 2) possess the necessary management skills or, if not, plan to address this lacking skill immediately.

BusinessCoach, Inc. conducts a seminar entitled “How to Plan and Start a Business”. Contact (02) 727- 5628 / (02) 727-8860, (0915) 205-0133 or visit www.businesscoachphil.com for details.

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*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-6, Sunday, October 26, 2014. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.