Starting a business should not be an intimidating issue even for a would-be entrepreneur who has to evolve the venture from bare beginnings. The focal point of success is always who and what you are as a person and as a businessman.
When I first dipped myself into running my own company in the development and production of local business reference and directories, I just had a small capital out of my earnings. But this low capital base did not deter me from pursuing my interest. I decided to go on and made some reasonable money from publishing two (2) directories. With these earnings, I migrated to international trading at the height of the demand for telecommunication systems and stayed in the business until 1998. In 1999, I finally went into where my passion was, and where I am presently engaged in - business writing and consulting.
In all modesty, all these businesses that I have mentioned were successful as they had achieved the midterm purposes for which they were established. And the success milestones had a common denominator all businesses germinated from humble roots.
Based on my experience, you need not be a marketing guru, or a management expert, or a financially-loaded entrepreneur to start a small business and sustain it to a level that gives you self-fulfillment. There are just five key considerations to bear in mind, and these are:
1. Know your motivation by knowing exactly your needs.
Before going into business, ask yourself: What do I want to become? Is it my passion? What actually prompted me to consider going into business? What personal needs of mine will the business satisfy? The answers to these questions are very important start-up considerations for a small business owner.
When I went into publishing business, I was regularly employed, an engagement that I could not leave because my expected business earning was much lower than my employment income. But I was bent to set up a company for four compelling reasons: 1) to augment my employment income in anticipation of the expenses related to the simultaneous college education of my three children 2) to take advantage of joint undertaking that would give the business some captive market, 3) to start on something I was interested in and sufficiently competent with business and marketing communication, and 4) to establish a business where my wife can be gainfully employed and operationally involved. In essence, my business rationale was quite clear since it was all in accordance with what motivated me at that time.
2. Learn and know the business you are going into.
You do not invest in something you totally do not know, especially if it is not your passion or interest. Even if the intended investment has attractive potential, the more you should be a master of the business ins and outs. When you miss the opportunity, or it simply slips out of your control, you may not have the chance to recoup whatever you have lost. If you have invested hard-earned lifetime savings, imagine the stress and trauma that you will have to bear. So, make it a point to first study the context of what you are getting into so that you will not get lost the moment you are in it.
3. Set SMART objectives - in markets, revenue, expenses.
You are a small company, lacking in resources and could easily snap out should you be off track even for a short period of time. To minimize threat of this nature, you have to set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bounded (SMART) objectives. If you practice this discipline, you will have the flexibility to pulse how you are performing and what necessary actions to take in case any problem crops up.
In my first business directory, I set a one-time, 6-month project gross revenue goal of $ 30,000 and an operating profit target of $ 6,000.00 (25% of Sales). I clearly identified the markets that would pump in the revenues corporate advertisers and small commercial business accounts. The key point here is that, at the first instance, you have to know and anticipate where your revenues will come from and what items you will have to spend for to realize profits, and you have to shape your objectives within the amount of investment you are prepared to put at stake.
4. Love what you are doing. Be self-driven, and always interconnected with people.
Entrepreneurship, regardless of the size of your business, has many downsides and failures. Never be stunted by any of these psychological threats. Remain motivated by your needs. Exercise patience and flexibility. Be passionate about your rationale for setting up the business even if, at times, you might feel you had enough of the start-up problems. Seek new knowledge and the company of people who can help, enlighten, and power you up especially when the temptation to quit is high or when the odds against you are great.
When my publication business became operational, I was saddled with serious account acquisition, cash flow, and logistics problems. I was about to give up because it was taking a toll in my finances and family life. Lest I totally lose my investment by the wink of an eye, I immediately consulted several industry practitioners to get clear insights as to what the core issues were and what corrective options could be done. I never vacillated to personally seek their advice even for seemingly simple issues, but which I was not too familiar with.
Always consider the thought that there are always people willing to help start-ups e.g. suppliers to your venture that would delight seeing you grow because it would mean additional business for them or business practitioners who are just too happy to share and coach you about their experience. Through the help of people who I did not intimately know, I was able to turnaround initial performance slippage of my publication business surpassing gross revenue target by 15% and operating profit goal by 6%.
5. Exercise contentment and humility, and lead a discreet life.
As an entrepreneur, you must demonstrate credibility, respectability, fairness, and transparency in business deals. You have to build continuing rapport and trust with the business community you move about. You can do this by leading a life of contentment and humility while remaining firm in the exercise of high values. Always find happiness in what you already have than in what you can have. Remember, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. There is a time for everything, and you can set up success milestones if you practice patience in trekking the road to your desired business destination. You can heighten your tenacity and tensile strength against threats and setbacks in the course of conducting business, but only if you can learn the art of ignoring set-up pain while focusing on the strategic potential of your business.
All told, in starting a business from humble roots toward an appreciable accomplishment, you can depend comfortably on the following formula: Small Business Success = Motivation + Knowledge + SMART Objectives + Interconnection + Contentment.