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Five Steps to Successful Entrepreneurship
Quill Wordsmith
wordsmith@excapethematrix.com
With the summer months now in play, there are several options for youth, teens, and even adults to start their own businesses and pursue their dreams as entrepreneurs and business owners. However before quitting from your part time job or resigning from your 9-5 to take that one week vacation, there are a few steps that may assist in taking that leap into your business endeavor. Here are five steps to starting your own business that can be of great benefit…
1. Identify the need: Ask yourself what it is that your customers need the most. If you’re looking to babysit or go into landscaping, look around your community or your city/town to see what exactly is the need. Is there a need for babysitters in a town where there’s several Daycare Providers located on every corner? Is there a need for a grass cutting or landscaping business if most of the homes in your neighborhood are urban developments with little room for lawn care? These are just a few things to take into consideration. However, if you are in an area where July tends to hit hard and your community appreciates your homemade ice cream skills – definitely look into mass prod
uction and meeting their needs! Be sure to identify the needs of your clientele, figuring out a way to meet the need, and moving on with conquering that goal.
2. Identify your customers: With parents heading out on cruises and unable to take their kids with them, your ideal customer for a babysitting job would be those in need of a “night watch” person while they enjoy the night on the town. Be sure to match up your need to identify your customers. For example, if the need is for event planning or better party organizers – check out the age, area, and other demographics of those persons who look to throw parties regularly or need assistance in gathering ideal party planning ideas to make their summertime event a success.
3. Identify your competition.: For every Walmart there’s a Target, for every Exxon there’s a Chevron, and for every one of your ideas, there’s someone else out there guaranteed to try to out do your idea. The best way to identify your competition is to research your competition. Before you deface their posters or downplay their name, simply take time to see what it is they have to offer. Make a point to bargain and offer some of the same services and products, however, don’t allow your strategy to cause you to slide into a pit. If your competition offers a two for one deal – don’t jump out on a limb to do the same, as you’re a new business with little to no revenue coming in. Take things easy, but be sure to take things wisely as well.
4. Sell Yourself. There’s nothing like a little networking to get your business off the ground. Find other business minded – like minded individuals in your community who can possibly link you up with the right parties and networks that could get the word out about your Lemonade Stand or your Home Cleaning Service. Check out various ways to advertise. You have Word of Mouth, Flyers posted on community boards in your nearby grocery stores, weekly publications or free classifieds in your area. With that said, one of the most ideal locations to get started that’s free of charge is Craigslist. Make your ad catchy, attractive, reasonable, that will be a direct plug into the audience that you may have identified earlier.
5. Have Fun with your passion. Don’t get out there trying to do these four steps for your bike repairing business just because you know how to do it. There’s nothing worst than trying to be a t-shirt design artist just because you know how to do it, while your passion is clearly in a Lasagna Baking service. Go with where your heart is. The more passionate you are about something the more you’ll enjoy making money off of it. Why? Because it’ll seem more like something you enjoy rather than another “thing” to call work.
These are just a few of the steps to get your passion and business off the ground. There are several other steps that you’d need to take if you are in fact serious about starting a full fledged business, but in the meantime take these few steps and apply them to your plan. Ah yes, and while I’m mentioning the plan, be sure to write down your goals. Until next time, check out the resources below.
And He Writes. . .
Quill Wordsmith