“A small business is an amazing way to serve and leave an impact on the world you live in.” -- Nicole Snow
For a potential entrepreneur, starting a business is always about one special moment. Till he or she kicks it off, things remain uncertain. Getting that right idea about starting a business is such a crucial part of the story which many people often struggle to find. An endless number of questions crowd the mind of a businessperson before he or she begins the journey: Is this the right time to start a business? How much monetary support should I need to keep the journey going till it makes a profit? How much time do I have to struggle before the business sees profit? Who should I listen to before starting a business and who should I trust?
The question of the perfect time to start a business is the one that keeps people preoccupied the most. If there is a worldwide recession going on at the time when you are thinking of launching your business, does it still make it a good move to make? It is good to clear this point at the very beginning. If you have the confidence and the capital ready to invest in a business, then there is no bad time to do it. Not many people feel to launch something new in trying economic times and therein, lies an opportunity for you. In fact, when the economy is doing badly overall, there might be better opportunities for a particular business to thrive. Hence, it is all the better to get a business idea to start with when the chips are down!
While the number of people who actually launch a new business in the US every year is quite high, those who backtrack after thinking about starting a business are even more in number. The reason? They don’t feel confident enough after seeing the initial roadblocks and feel worried about a probable failure. There are also others who feel that it is too much of an ask to start a business in reality even if they aspire to launch one. It is almost like discovering the fire again or inventing the wheel again for them. But these are actually problems that have more to do with the mind. The real issue while starting a business should be to think about improving something existing instead of bringing on a revolution. It is all about starting with a small idea and executing it successfully.
Self-assessment to get the business idea:
There could be a well-organized procedure to reach an idea about starting a business. You can assess yourself by writing things about yourself-- the good and the not so good and your likings and dislikings. You can also ask yourself to list things that would make your personal life better and also the same things about your business life. You will definitely find a pattern coming out of your own personality analysis and this can go a long way to help you understand what business you want to start -- the product or service that you feel could make things easier for you and several other people like you and how your own personality traits can suit that business -- through personal dealings or team approaches. Knowing the entrepreneur in you and his/her personal preferences in doing business makes it easier to come up with a business idea.
Getting the idea through experience:
Sometimes, a business idea can emerge out of the experience. There were two men who once joined an office located in a remote area in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The area was so distant that there were not many eateries available nearby and it was a really tough situation for them to manage the mid-day food. Finding no other option, they decided to take up the problem themselves. The duo, with the help of their wives, started a food delivery business that served several other office-goers in the area and as the business turned into a profit-making venture, the two made it their main source of living. It was just their need that made them successful businessmen and their wives also became equal partners in the satisfying mission.
Turning life experiences into opportunities:
Here is the story of how Netflix started. When Reed Hastings got charged $40 for returning a video late, he had an idea. He thought why movie rentals do not work like any other club membership where irrespective of the time spent, one gets charged the same. This idea eventually led to the birth of the Netflix online DVD rental service and in just over two decades, it has established itself as a major name in the entertainment business. Similarly, there are entrepreneurs who try to borrow the business model of big businesses. It is not that all of them succeed but even the effort is praiseworthy. You get a start and can always build on that.
Speak more with people, you never know where that golden connection lies:
Again, there is an example to give. In Bangalore, the I-T hub of India, two local friends were getting frustrated with their 9-5 job. The daily churning was leaving them exhausted. One fine morning, they met over a cup of tea and decided enough was enough. Since both love spices for cooking and spice businesses are widespread in the neighboring state of Kerala where they had some friends, they contacted them and got into the business of buying and selling spices. This vertical movement in their career was surprising for many but the duo knew this gave just what they were looking for: Self-dependence.
Make use of the Internet, it’s a massive resource but free:
If you are not getting any idea about the procedure to start a business, make use of the key resource called the Internet. If you are keen to start a business, do not give a second thought to the fact that you can start it easily online. You will need less or little money and can yet reach a wider audience in almost no time. You can also take more ideas about your business from the online source and train yourself to do better. But always remember that your potential competitors are also using the same Internet for reference and you have your task cut out to meet the challenges, no matter what business you prefer.
