Many of us have either experienced it ourselves or know someone who has. To start your own business. It can both be an adventurous career change, and it can be one long series of merciless defeats.
Regardless, the entrepreneurial path is paved with a lot of challenges and valuable moments. The beginning is often the hardest, but you get the best possible starting point for success with thorough preparation.
In this article, we bring 10 steps that guide you through the entrepreneurial process; from the good idea arising to its launch. The steps are a mixture of concrete action areas and important strategic approaches.
Every business starts with an idea. But how do you come up with a particularly good one of its kind?
Put the problem in focus rather than the solution: Instead of starting by thinking "I would like to...", think "Isn't it stupid that you still...". Your excellent solution isn't a good idea at all if it doesn't solve a real problem.
Often good ideas arise from problems you have experienced yourself. Airbnb, Instagram and Google all started with the founders themselves experiencing an inadequacy that they could fix.
Once you find a problem that seems like a great business idea, start researching it right away. The sooner, the better.
Ask yourself and your idea the following questions:
Often it is the answers that come behind you that are the ones that really move. Keep being curious. Every minute counts. Think and work on your business idea whenever you have the opportunity. It can be during the lunch break, between two meetings or at home in the evening.
It may sound trite, but it is important to think carefully about the name of your business idea. It should be simple, easy to remember, easy to pronounce and spell and refer to the content of the idea.
Check if the name is taken. Does the name work well in writing? Does it work well online? Is there an available web domain that suits your idea?
The name is a very small part of your business, but it is also the first point of contact between you and the customers, so it is definitely an important detail.
Get your business registered and get all the paperwork in place. It doesn't take long, and you can do it all online through SKAT and Business Services.
Once this is in place, you can move on to more complex preparations. Do you need to arrange premises? Permissions? Employment? Company bank account? Does your idea require you to protect it with patents and trademarks?
The sooner you get this in place, the sooner you have freed up your time to develop the idea into a successful solution.
Create a business plan, e.g. by using Business Model Canvas. The more you prepare now, in the start-up phase, the easier it will be to run a good business. The business plan is also necessary if you want outside help with financing your business.
Remember to consider yourself and your personal needs in your business. How much capital do you need for privacy to run around? What does the business require in terms of expenses and income?
You can advantageously outsource certain areas that you are not capable of or that require too much. Eg. accounting, law or HR if these things require too much focus that you would rather spend on development.
Finally, don't be afraid to launch. It's easier to tweak on the fly than to spend a lot of time first shaping a complete solution that might end up being outdated or even copied before you launch. Give people something from day one. Use possibly pretotyping to test your idea.
To run a business, you need to have some form of financing in place. The type of financing depends entirely on your business idea and your needs.
If you are going to open a shop, you will of course have far more and greater expenses than if you, for example, work from home with your computer as your only tool. You may be able to finance it all yourself, but often additional capital will be needed.
In addition to loans, there are plenty of financing options. You can e.g. crowdfunding or find an investor whom you can convince with your business plan about your project.
An investor can be useful as he is used to running a business and maybe even used to financing entrepreneurship. They can therefore, in addition to financial support, offer advice and experience. However, investors don't hang on to trees, so it can be a long and tough process to find the right one.
Have a checklist ready of the points described so far, which you have to deal with, so that you always maintain an overview and can see the movement forward. The checklist can give you decisive motivation, an overview and positivity so that your idea succeeds.
The competitors will always be there. In fact, it is a good sign that they are there and a bad sign if they are not. The competitors are working to solve the same problem as you, they are probably just as passionate, and they are a sign that there is actually a market for your ideas.
If there are no competitors, there is probably no market. Neither Google, Amazon nor Facebook were the first with their solution. They were just better than the competition. And you should constantly use the competitors to measure and evaluate your own idea against and thus become better and sharper.
Lots of competition isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as you add something new. Whether you win or lose, it will develop you!
Know them. Know who they are and what they do, how and why. But don't let them distract you. Focus on your own business and how it can offer something that is different or better. Focus on your own why, how and what.
Tell others about your idea. In this way, you get it articulated and validated, so that you are better able to judge whether there is a market for it.
Feedback is important. You don't have to worry about whether someone will subsequently steal your good idea. If they finally try to do it, it means your idea is good. And then you have to work even harder to deliver the best solution!
Always ask for feedback from people outside of your field. They don't have tunnel vision and bring new insights that your industry may not have thought about at all.
Listen especially to your customers and potential customers. Only they can tell you what the real problem and need is. It is their feedback that lets you adapt your idea so that it is able to meet real needs. Without this feedback, you risk that your solution solves the wrong problem that the market does not demand.
The last step is mostly a positive reminder: starting up is hard, but it gets easier and it gets more fun!
There is no one right way to create a business. Your way can easily be different from others without it being wrong. As long as it works for you personally and for your business.
The previous 9 steps develop, clarify and establish your idea and shape it into a solution to a relevant problem. This way you have your business foundation and hopefully a platform for a healthy business. The steps do not guarantee your success, but they create a good foundation for it.
Now it's about using your passion for your business to see challenges as opportunities. Don't take rejections or mistakes personally. Learn from them. They are a necessary part of developing a business.
Change direction when necessary. Trust your gut. Only by persevering will you reach the goal of your idea. Stick to your convictions, even if any partners or sponsors think otherwise. It is your idea and you must act accordingly.
Believe that your idea is a solution not just for you, but also for a lot of other people.
The 10 steps are inspired by a entrepreneurial theme at the contractor magazine Inc. as well as The Entrepreneur's interview with Martin Welker, who is an entrepreneurial expert and founder and CEO of the collaboration platform Zenkit.
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