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Top 5 Tips For Any New Business
Having started, ran, and sold several businesses already, I have noticed that there are certain common things which must always be done when you begin.
I'm not saying that you will necessarily fail if you do not do these ten things, but they will certainly help, and put you on the right track.
I have tried to put the ten tips in a kind of chronological order, but in all honesty, read them all and put them all into practise if you can.
Tip No 1 - Is the business idea a good one?
This can be the biggest hurdle sometimes. If you are at the stage of going into business, its because you believe the idea is good. However, it is always worth getting some feedback from some external people. All to often friends and family will agree with you because they want you to succeed. What you really want is some straight talking feedback. Even if the feedback is slightly negative, at least you can take it on board.
I have had 3 idea's that I thought were great. All 3 times I was told by people I respected and trusted that the idea would not work. I did not listen, and guess what? They did not work. Now I always listen, and if their feedback makes logical sense, I take sometime out to decide whether I should just park that idea for the time being and move onto the next one.
Tip No 2 - The Business Plan
Taking your time and making a business plan is essential. Its all too easy to have the idea in your head, and a plan of action roughly scribbled down and do everything on the fly. However, if you want to be successful ( and who doesn't! ), a solid business plan will keep you focused and steer you straight when things are going haywire.
A good business plan is also a good barometer of how well you are doing. Did you launch on schedule? Did you do the first quarter targets? Are you where you said you would be?
One point I would make on this is that a business plan is a fluid document. By this, I mean it can evolve as you learn new things. If part of the plan was to launch into Europe, but then you learn that Australia is screaming for your product, then change it.
Tip No 3 - Crawl, Walk, Run
Of all the small business owners I speak too, the ones who unfortunately do not succeed, I would estimate 80% of the time the reason they gve is they over expanded too quickly. Maybe they got a big contract, moved to the new offices, took on the extra staff - and then the contract did not get renewed, and the overheads took the business down.
So whilst I am behind growing aggressively, do it in a controlled manner, and always keep a grip on cash flow.
Tip No 4 - Get a good accountant.
Okay, so it sounds boring, but you need to concentrate 100% on making your business work. An accountant will keep all your books and forecasts upto date. Try and get one recommended from someone else you know, and schedule regular updates with them.
In my experience, accountants have a lot more knowledge and expertise then people give them credit for. After all, they have seen more businesses succeed and fail than anyone else.
Tip No 5 - Belief.
Sounds a bit woolly, but you must always have belief. the moment your belief goes, your business will shortly follow. There will be tough times on your route to success, there will be lean times, but never, ever stop believing. Its your business, you can make it work.
Good luck.
About the Author Shaun Measday has run several small businesses, he uses this site as a resource register a company
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