Dear Ney Ney,
There is no one right way to start a business, but I wanted to give you a few ideas about how to get started. The more you read and learn about bu, and the more businesses you start, the more you will be able to make your own list.
- Decide on your why.
- Decide if you want to start a standard business or test a new idea as a start up.
- Come up with an idea.
- Do some research.
- Write a business plan.
- Get funding, if you need it.
- Form you business.
- Launch and grow.
Decide on your why.
Why do you want to start a business? Do you want to pay for college? Do you want to help others? Do you just think it will be an adventure? Starting a business can be a lot of work and at times, very difficult. If you have a good reason for starting it you will keep going when things get hard and know when it might be time to try something else, instead.
Decide what kind of business you want to start.
Do you want to create something entirely new, or does an existing type of business interest you? Think about your reason for starting a business, your why.
If you have a strong need or goal, like paying for college, maybe a traditional business is a better choice because you have a better likelihood of success.
If you are starting a business to learn about the process or to do something different, maybe a startup is a good idea.
Come up with an idea or decide on a business.
If you want to start a new type of business, then you need to come up with an idea. The best way to come up with an idea might be to think of a problem you might have and then try to think of something that would fix it. You might also ask your friends, family, and neighbors about what kinds of problems they have and come up with a way to fix their problems.
If you want to start a traditional business you still need to think about what kind of business you want to start. What do you find interesting? What skills do you have? Do you need to work from home or can you get around the neighborhood?
Remember a business solves a problem for its customers, so think about what problems you like to solve and can solve for the people around you.
Do some research.
Now that you have an idea about what kind of business you want to start it’s time to do a little research. Find a way to talk to people who might use your business to learn about what they want or need. If they aren’t happy with the business they are paying now to solve the problem, why not and how can you do it better? If they don’t have a solution to the problem, will they pay you if you come up with a solution? Is it a big pain that they will pay to fix or a little pain not worth spending money to fix?
You might talk to others who are solving the problem. What do they like about their business? What don’t they like about their business? Are there people they are unable to help? Just because you might compete with them for business does not mean you can’t also work together sometimes.
This research is called market research, and is an important part of decided what business to start, where to start it, and how to operate it.
Write a business plan.
A business plan is a plan for how you will operate you business. It includes details about your idea, your customers, your market, how your business will work, how much money your business will make, and who is involved in helping with the business.
If you need money to start your business, for example to pay for supplies, showing your business plan to people might help convince them to give you money for your business, either as an investment or as a loan.
A business plan is also a good way to remind yourself of your goals and plans when things get difficult or you aren’t certain what to do next.
Get funding, if you need it.
Money to start your business is called funding. You can get funding from a bank, which is called a loan, or you can get funding from the government, called a grant, or you can get funding from people, called an investment.
Many people who need a small amount of money ask their family sms friends. If you need a small amount of money the best option for you is to ask your parents or other family members. Your city, town, or state may have grants for young children who want to start businesses.
If you think you need money to start your business, think about extra things you might be able to do to spend less money. Another idea is to get a few customers to pay you first in exchange for a discount.
Form your business
Forming your business means filling out whatever legal forms you might need to start your business. These will be different depending on where you live and what kind of business you are starting.
The best way to decide how to form your business is to talk to a lawyer, an accountant, or a person in your local or state government office that handles business questions.
Launch and grow
Once you have completed all the above tasks it is time to get to work! Of course, you have been doing work the whole time that you have been preparing your launch, but now it’s time to get your business going. This can means different things depending on what type of business you are starting.
A completely new idea will probably need a lot of work to develop. Even a simple new business can mean hiring employees, buying equipment, and letting people know about your new business.
Hopefully, if you followed my advice, you already have a few potential clients from your customers research. Every business starts with their first customer. From there it is a process of determining who you can best help, letting those people know that you exist, and doing a good job solving the problem when they decide to ask for your help.
There are many more details to understand when it come to starting a business, but hopefully this is a good introduction.
I love you.
Dad
