To start your own business or a startup you don’t need to have a degree in business specialization or business experience. All you need is to know how business works and do proper business planning.
Here I will tell you key points that you should know before starting a business.
Know your business nature and industry
Obviously, your business will come under the tech industry, but that isn’t sufficient. There are a plethora of sub-domains in tech and you should under which domain your business will serve better.
The prime thing to know before starting a startup is – What product/service(s) are you going to sell? It can be anything like something that is highly demanded in the market or you are expert at some services. Choose wisely.
Once you have chosen the products/services that you want to cater to. Know the industry to which that products/services belong. Even if you have chosen something of your expertise it is important to understand its belonging industry because on ground-level every industry’s working process is slightly different compared to its outlook.
Nowadays, the tech industry has an abundance of similar businesses. It is crucial to study and analyze your competitors. Analyzing will give you a frame of reference. And knowing your operating industry will help you in further decision making.
Have business plan
A business plan acts as a road map for your business idea. While making a business plan it is important to minutely cover all the components as it is a blueprint of your long term goals. If you don’t know what components to include while making a business plan use the business model canvas. It will give you the structure of a business plan, also you will not miss any important component.
If you are thinking of making a business plan after opening a startup then you are making the biggest mistake. Every investor first looks for a business plan before investing in any business idea. Thus, you will restrict yourself from getting promising investors.
In case you are not taking funding at an early-stage and thinking a business plan is unnecessary right now, then you are still wrong. You will not have clarity about many things one of them is- To design a product or service according to needs it is necessary to have a buyer’s persona and if you don’t have a business plan you will simply not have an accurate buyer’s persona.
After knowing your operating industry it is recommended to make a structured business plan. Apart from this, there are other benefits of having a business plan, some of which are discussed further.
Understand the risk
Always there is a high degree of risk with a new business. Every startup founder should calculate and comprehend risk before starting to work on the business. This means before going ahead with a business plan you should assess your industry’s risk.
Some founders may find funding, economic, or legislative and policy as risk while others can find maintenance, operation, procurement, etc. as a risk. It depends upon the availability of the resources you have. As a founder, you know your resources very well. Thus, you can identify which factor is most daunting and can reduce business growth.
Good entrepreneur always tries to mitigate and find solutions for problems that are threatening for their business. Learn how to downsize risks.
Hire a viable employees
A viable team is a crucial part of any startup, it plays a vital role in the development of it. Even if you are an expert in all you will need a team. Hiring people, in the beginning, will benefit you. If you take a people on board later on you will have to explain to them the work. Whereas if they are working with you from the beginning they will learn it on the go.
A reliable and serious hire for accounting and someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to product sales or professional legal advice will surely help drive your tech business to more anticipated and profitable growth. A viable and well build team is a treasure to any company.
Specialize in one thing at time
Putting your best foot forward every-time is suggested. But trying to excel in all simultaneously can result in poor productivity. At early-stage, every model is under development. Prioritize what is most important and focus on achieving it with the vision of increment. You can refer to your business plan to see what is much needed and make a decision accordingly.
Build a network
"Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time and when done correctly can yield great results for years to come." -- Diane Helbig. A quality network can help you scale your business and shape your business vision aspects. Attend events like Founder’s meet, AMA, etc. in which you can connect with people and find networks. Collaborate with your business connections. It can bring leads to your business and impact in a big way.
Deploy your product/ service
Every technology can be upgraded. Don’t wait for the time when you think your product or service is ready for market, deploy it as early as possible. As I mentioned, the starting tech industry has an abundance of similar products, so if you wait for the right time then someone else will serve your customers to solve their problems. Also, there are high chances that your products will lose its uniqueness.
The advantage of deploying early is you can validate your startup idea and get customers feedback. This will enable you to make customer adaptable products/services.