Kolkata: This is the age of entrepreneurship. More and more youths are toying with new ideas and the feasibility of setting up a new business. Be it setting up a food stall, or a food truck, a YouTube channel, a tutoring centre, a small beauty parlour, a real estate agency, a photography unit, a geriatric care centre, or any other tiny business for that matter, there are a few essential processes that one has to go through.
No matter how innovative your idea is, or how immensely promising the market, the following steps are unavoidable if you want to set up your own business. These are required to distill your thought process into tangible goals, objectives, projections and concrete ways of how to go about achieving your objectives. These would also help you to estimate the funds that you might require. Needless to say, the lower your initial capital, the lower the risk and the less the stress to break even.
Unavoidable steps to set up a small business
Zeroing in on an idea: This is the fountainhead decision from which everything else should flow. If you plan to start a tiny venture of your own, scan your passion and skills and whether you can turn any of them into a business. Identify the gaps in supply in the market that you want to cater to. If it’s a new idea that is not available in the market, check what are the customer needs it fulfils. Do a quick informal survey to find out the demand.
Identifying the target audience: Even if a business idea might appear promising, it might suffer in the absence of clearly defined target audience. One has to identify target audience to know potential customers. One should also do an analysis of competitors to see why the target audience will choose you over the existing players in the market.
Developing a business plan: This will form the broad contours of the essence of your idea. Usually it should consist of a summary, description of products/services you want to offer, gleanings from market analysis.
Identifying entity and name: One has to choose the optimum business structure, say for example, whether it will be a proprietorship or LLP. These are essential since these have implications for raising capital in future too. One has to obtain necessary registrations of the company and trade marks if necessary.
Drawing up a financial, marketing plan: These are the two areas, where improper planning can often lead to ruin. One has to draw up a detailed financial plan, which will help you in sourcing capital to set up your venture. The marketing/sales plan will help you sell your product or service. Nowadays social media is one of the important avenues to offer your products and/or services.
The spirit of entrepreneurship is spreading in India with more and more youths exploring the feasibility of tiny business ideas rather than wait endlessly, and often frustratingly, for jobs. However, there are a few steps that are essential to set up one’s business. Personal Finance Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
