Starting a new business is a massive leap of faith. There’s always a chance that it can fail and cause you to lose money instead. In fact, figures show that around half of small businesses make it past the 5-year mark. But if it works, it can become an opportunity to expand and provide people with jobs. To improve your chances of success, check out these signs that you’re ready to start your own business:
Financial Stability
Like a lot of things in life, money is the biggest factor when it comes to business. A professional financial planning service can help you determine if you’re ready for a big investment. They evaluate your financial transactions to see how you can best use your money in the long run. It can also help you see if you need a loan and how much you need to borrow for your startup capital.
Besides that, you should also see how long you can afford to fund your shop while it’s still in the red. To ensure your financial stability, it’s best not to quit your day job during the early stages.
When budgeting, it’s important to consider unexpected expenses as well. It can be higher manufacturing costs or an increase in taxes. No matter what, it’s crucial to have money set aside for emergencies.
Demand for Your Service or Product
It would be hard for any business to succeed if there’s no demand for it. No matter how good the quality is or how enticing your marketing is, there’s no use if people have no need for it.
If you’re thinking of a starting a business, you must already have an idea of what you want to sell. You can test if there’s demand for it is by researching. Check online forums and social media posts if there are people who have expressed interest in a product or service similar to yours. You can also see if people have searched for it by using Google Trends. You can filter the hits by country and by date so you can get a more accurate idea of people’s interest. Try using polls to gauge if people are willing to buy your idea. Besides the internet, you can also assess if there’s demand offline. For example, if your idea is to open a restaurant, you should get people’s feedback first. Give out dishes for your friends and family to get their honest opinion. It’s better to fix something early on before selling it to a wider audience.
Selling Point
Once you’ve confirmed that there’s demand for your store, you should identify your unique selling point. There should be something that sets you apart from other businesses. An example for restaurants would be selling vegan, halal, and kosher versions of dishes. This way you can accommodate more people and have a distinguishing feature.
To get ideas of what your selling point should be, you should watch trends. According to figures from Nielsen, consumers have the highest level of awareness for buying local. If you source your materials and products locally, make sure that it’s shown on your ads and posts.
Besides trends, you can also check out what your competitors have been doing. For example, if their prices have been increasing, find a way to maintain yours. You can get an idea of what people have been saying about their products by reading their reviews. Check what issues people have about their service and see if you can do it better.
Marketing Plan
If you already know what to sell, you should also know how to sell it. It’s hard for people to buy something if they don’t know that it’s available. Identify your target market. Are your products geared towards men or women? Is it more useful for Millennials rather than Baby Boomers?
It’s more effective to market any product or service to a specific demographic rather than a broad audience. This is because consumers prefer tailored ads. Think about it: when you receive an email from a company, you probably only open it when it interests you. Once you’ve identified your target audience, you should check out how to reach them best. For example, you’re more likely to reach Gen Z on TikTok rather than radio ads. Not only does it help you sell your product better, but it can also reduce your advertising costs.
Starting any business is a gamble. But if you calculate the risk, you can maximize your chances of making it. Remember to consider outside factors and think of the big picture.
