by Nayab Naseer

Created on: March 10, 2009

TEN CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE STARTING YOUR BUSINESS

Starting your own business is a momentous step in the life of an individual, and very often denotes a landmark change over from a successful career to an uncertain future. All businesses carry a fair amount of risk. The success of the venture depends on selecting the right type of business and laying down a carefully thought out business plan.

There are several considerations to ponder over before deciding which business to start. Ten of them are:

1. People would come to you only if they have a need and you are in a position to fulfill that need. Your business should be fulfilling a real need, and not an imaginary need, and the people should perceive that you actually fulfill their needs through your products or services. You thinking that you are fulfilling that need to be best of your abilities are not a mantra for success in business. In other words, there should be a market for the product or service that you offer.

2. All businesses have their life cycles. It is profitable to get into a business when it is in the nascent stage, when not many players have got into it and the profit margins are still high. Within a matter of time, the high profit margin would attract many players and competition would force down the profit margins, making it difficult for new entrants to establish a market share and gain sufficient profits. A good example is the Information Technology Industry, which around a decade back was in its boom phase and generated windfall profits for whoever could successfully start a good professionally run business. However, the industry is now in a consolidation and shakeout phase, and new entrants now would find the going tough.

3. When finalizing on your business, consider the external environment. If there is a severe shortage of talented workers and your business is labor intensive, you would be starting with a big disadvantage. Similarly, if there were some regulations that hamper the functioning of your proposed business in your area of operations, you would be better off not starting. Always consider the inputs or the factors required for the business operations to work, and consider the cost, availability, and ease of managing such inputs.

4. The adage that the success of a business depends on three factors "Location, Location, and Location", is especially relevant in case of retail shops and other ventures where customers would have to come to you. Selecting a business should depend on the

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