Setting Up Your Business In Seven Steps.
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Majority of newbies in business make two “deadly” mistakes:
1. They jump to Implementation Phase (see below) without building the Foundation of their Business (Steps 1-7 below)
2. They underestimate how many Resources (finances, time and energy) are needed to get to the point when their business becomes sustainable and the “new born baby” is able to walk by himself without permanent help and support.
YOUR BUSINESS FOUNDATION
Step 1: Allocate Your Resources
“Okay, you have decided to cross the desert so how much water do you have for your journey?”
Finances in business are like water for our bodies – nothing is going to function without it. It’s essential for life and growth. That is why I put “Allocation of Resources” as Step 1 if you are considering setting up your own business. You will need to invest significant resources in your business before you will see results. Even though by “Resources” I mean not just finances but also time and energy I still consider finances as the most essential in relation to business start ups. If you do not have time for certain things but you do have finances you can outsource, you can hire people and still make things happen. It you do not have the finances to support your life, family and your business activity – it is over. It’s that simple.
Because I believe that good finances are so essential for people to be successful in business I would warn you to think twice before quitting your job and stable income. No matter what you’ve been told by other people it is an illusion that “being free from employment” will necessarily help you succeed. At a certain point – yes it will help, but not when you are just building the foundation for your business. We have all heard many business start up success stories and of course are inspired by these examples but please do not forget the harsh statistics about the failure rate as well. The first 3-4 years for “young” businesses are crucially important and work almost as a barrier. If you manage to get through this period the odds of having a sustainable business will increase dramatically. When you quit your job – even if you have enough savings to live for a year or two – it can create a very damaging pressure on your spirit and overall energy level when things with your business development don’t go smoothly. And they most probably will … many times. It is practically never a straight line but more a question of ups and downs.
Step 2: Clarify your “Whys”
Business is not a short distance journey, it’s more like a marathon. Make sure you are able to sustain your motivation throughout all the distance.
What drives you? Why have you decided to build your own business in the first place? How strong is your motivation? How can you make sure that your motivation is strong enough to get you to your business success? The only way to guarantee you will not be drained and discouraged somewhere mid-distance on the “I am building my business” road is to connect yourself to the greatest energy source available to you – your life values. It sounds obvious but when neglected (or overlooked) this step in founding your business is often the reason why people give up long before they reach the destination. Lack of motivation and drive will manifest itself in an inability to deal with disappointments, low creativity, low self-discipline, inability to maintain your focus on the long run, lost orientation and clarity, lack of a big picture vision etc. etc.
Step 3: “Nosce te ipsum” or Know Thyself.
You must be absolutely clear about what you have got before you craft your offer.
What have you really got on which you can base your offer? What are your skills, your expertise and experiences, your knowledge, your areas of excellence? These questions are not as simple as they look. Whatever business direction. you decide to pursue there are already thousands of competitors out there in the market.
How you are going to succeed if you are just one amongst so many? What makes you special and unique? Often it takes time to figure the answers all these questions out and to identify the specific combination of your qualities which will make sure nobody can beat you in your chosen direction.
Step 4: “Know Them” or Know Your Customer
Decide who is your Client. The one whom you would be really happy to work with and serve.
Every client is different. Some will match with your personality perfectly, they empower you and it doesn’t feel like ‘work’. Others will drain you and make you feel miserable. What are your preferences? Who is your Ideal Client? If you do not know that how will you be able to design your offer? How will you know where you can find your clients? What language (motivation, values etc) will you use to communicate with them and attract their attention? It is one thing to know what you are capable of offering (see step 3) and another to define with whom you would you like to work and offer you products and services to. These are two essential elements you must define before you can proceed to step 5 – crafting your offer.
Step 5: Identify your “entry point” before going ahead.
It’s Time to craft Your Unique Proposition.
There are many ways to ensure that you stand out from the crowd. It is not just about a unique solution for a certain type of problem but also unique ways to deliver your product and/or services, package them, price them, unique ways to market them and build relationships with your potential clients. It requires thorough investigation and analysis to make progress throughout this step. You need to spend as much time as is necessary to do this step thoroughly. Believe me it is worth the time. When it is done properly you will save years of struggle trying to compete – using your ‘mediocre’ offer – against similar offers from other market participants.
Step 6: Your customer’s “Why?”
What are your marketing preferences and how will you make sure your customer will trust you and buy from you. (Design your strategy to build your Brand awareness and credibility)
Lots of business start ups fail at this step. They have a product or service which they have spent years developing. They believe their product is so good that customers are going to love it and there will be no problem selling it. Well, the reality is often very different. Before your potential client even considers trying your product lots of conditions need to be in place. Credibility is one of them and usually this takes a while to build. Why should clients buy FROM YOU? This is a crucial question and if you do not have a clear answer then you can be absolutely sure – your customers won’t have one either!
Step 7: Put it all together in one integrated business strategy.
You have multiple essential elements (Steps 1-7 above). Will they all work together-as one living entity called – “my business”?
This is the step where it is time to design the whole Process. Time to check the big picture. What is Business after all? It is a process of developing and delivering value to your potential Clients – value which they are looking for and are willing to pay you for. Will the process you design at this step be final? Not necessarily. Will it work immediately? Not necessarily. It does not matter at this stage. What is really important is that you have an integrated business strategy. The real market will be the ultimate judge and it is extremely likely that adjustments and amendments will be necessary later. Adaptation of your business strategy to the actual market conditions is a totally natural phase of business development. The big mistake is to jump to market without a plan and strategy because then there is nothing to adjust or check. Step 7 should result in you having a clear vision regarding your online representation (your website is ready). After completing this step you will be ready for the Implementation phase.
The next phase – Implementation.
IMPLEMENTATION is not a topic for this report. We discussed above the sequence of steps for building the Foundation of your Business. Implementation actually means “to be” in business. I’ll cover some essential aspects of the Implementation stage in my following reports. As for now let’s get to:
CONCLUSIONS
Conclusion 1.
There is no sense in starting your own business (Implementation – The next phase) if you have not already created your Business Foundation. If you have not completed ALL seven Steps – your Business Foundation is not sound and you are not ready for the Implementation stage.
Conclusion 2.
Setting up your business foundation (Steps 1-7 above) does not require you quitting your current job. Even though it will require quite an amount of time and commitment to do a really thorough job it is better if the whole process is spread over a long period of time and done in small chunks
Your Three Major Challenges
Although it is possible to do your own research and find material covering all 7 Steps it’s proved to be difficult to complete it “on your own”. There are three major reasons for that:
1. There are numerous sources of information available to address each or some of the 7 Steps. It is very easy to get overwhelmed and eventually discouraged trying to combine everything you learned from multiple sources into one simple, actionable plan.
2. There are many nuances hidden inside each Step. Without qualified guidance and permanent support you can get yourself stuck or just take a wrong direction without even realizing what is happening.
3. It is almost inevitable that other commitments and life/work circumstances will distract you from keeping your focus and completing all 7 Steps. Without a defined structure and regular focus it could take years to be ready for implementation.
SOLUTION
Warning: Link “SOLUTION” contains commercial and time sensitive material. Click if you are interested in knowing the easiest way to set up your Business Foundation even if you are still being employed.
