by Seamus O'Prey, CEO at the Ortus group
Starting a new business can be a worthwhile experience but there are a few things you should do to ensure that your business survives that critical first twelve months.
Seek help and advice
There are many organisations that offer assistance including Invest NI and Enterprise NI so don’t go it alone. Ortus also offer free training and mentoring on starting a business.
Do the research
It’s vital to research your idea thoroughly. Ensure you ask and, more importantly, listen to what your potential customers are saying. Also research and analyse your competition. Remember research is a continuous process for survival.
Think about location, location, location
Location is very important. Consider things like footfall of customers, parking, public transport routes and accessibility. These need to be addressed in order to get the customers through the door.
Understand the figures
Make sure that you only take on necessary debts and keep accurate records of monies in and out of the businesses. Avoid spending unnecessary money before there’s positive cash flow. Make sure that you have properly researched costs such as insurances; business rates; rent etc and ensure that you are adequately financed (talk nicely to the bank manager about free overdraft facilities in case the business doesn’t meet its targets in the first year).
Get help with a proper business plan
Talk to experienced professionals and rely on their years of experience to guide and mentor you through the process. Your local enterprise agency can help with this. Most importantly understand your plan and set realistic SMART business objectives.
Get the marketing and PR right
This is a vital element to business success and it is worthwhile engaging PR people to do your initial work and learn from them, this is more cost effective in the longer term. There are many small reputable PR companies out there who will understand your needs and get you results a lot more quickly.
Don’t forget to manage!
Lots of small businesses owners are so busy ‘doing the business’ that they forget to manage it. Remember to manage your staff well; keep a close watch on the finances and ensure that when you need to, you have a pool of advisors that you can talk to and rely on.
Remember to be flexible and have the ability to react to change:
Being flexible is crucial. If customers are telling you that something isn’t right then change it, or lose the customer – and the business!
Plan for the future:
Market trends, government policy, legislation and competition can all have a major bearing on the future success of the business. It’s important to think about these and look at probable scenarios. ‘Best guess’ the most likely scenario, be proactive and help create your own future.
Ortus offer free training on starting up your own business, visit our website for more information
First of all, in my opinion, start the business if it is really in your interest and you have passion for it.
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I just want to add one thing, you must have to make a comparative analysis of all opportunities you are considering.
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For starting a business, it is very important to have proper planning and strategies as these are the main key factors to achieve success in business. One should be very passionate about his or her business. Thanks for sharing this great article.
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Market research is essential for an effective business strategy and plan. Knowing your target market like the back of your hand and being aware of what they need is a way for your business to succeed and survive. Also, learn how to adapt. In our world today, our environment is constantly changing so our business should learn how to be flexible and cater to our target market and their needs.
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