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HOW TO START YOUR DREAM BUSINESS - STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL

START THAT DREAM BUSINESS NOW



Becoming your own boss is one of the best things that can happen to any individual, while it is great and in fact desirable that you should launch your own business, it is appropriate that you know that reaching the decision to get started is not easy. In other words, you could end up starting your own business in your mind, always putting it off until tomorrow, until when conditions are right, until you get all the capital you want and until everything is in place.



Dear reader, such time never exists. There is no right time to get started.



There is no such thing as the appropriate capital. You just have to decide to take off and DO IT! As Larry Winget said “Start today Not Tomorrow”. A good idea implemented today is better than a perfect idea implemented tomorrow.



Let me tell you my own story, so you can get an idea of what I’m talking about. When I finished NYSC, I had some  money of which I could have used to start a business, but I didn’t, though I had a “premature” plan of a business I intended to do, I didn’t start it. All I did was to procrastinate. I kept telling myself “this one is not in place”, this one is not there”, “when it comes I will do this, I will do that”, that was how I kept procrastinating  till I used up my money traveling from one state to another for interviews and making photocopies for jobs that never came.    



I guess you may have had a similar experience. And you want to know what you really need to do to start up today.



You may have become frustrated, and as a result you kept your idea on a shelve, but somewhere in your mind you still want to do that project (business) but you do not know how to go about it.



Worry no more as I will be taking you through various steps you need to know and do in starting that business. This principle was the principles I used in starting my business, and many others have used this proven principle too. As I take you through these steps, have a great trip!



STEP 1:  GET AN IDEA



Your first step is to find out what service you can render to others which they will feel so happy and satisfied with that they would play whatever price you ask for it. That product or service should, if possible, anchored on your skills, you interest and your experience.



For example, what I really knew how to do was writing articles about people’s protein needs. Therefore, you must start by first assessing your skills, interests and experience. What is missing in your town? Go ahead and think up one of such ideas.



STEP2: ASSESS YOUR NEEDS



How much money do you want to make? What type of work do you want to do? What type of lifestyle do you want? You must set these things as goals, i.e. something you are going to work towards. For example, if you want to make one million naira turnover (that is the total amount your business will bring in, not the profit) in a year, and start a business of selling groundnut by the road side at only one location, that goal will be hard to achieve.



STEP 3: CARRY OUT RESEARCH



Seek assistance from informed sources. Get all the necessary information on your subject area. Look for a mentor, attend seminars, read books, go for anything that will enlighten you more about what you want to do. Carry out exhaustive research and seek verified information.       



STEP 4: PICK PART TIME OR FULL TIME



Do you have enough money to start the business full time? Can your business work part time or would it require your full time presence? This is important because it will help you in sourcing fund to run your business; most especially when it is a part time business.



STEP 5: DEFINE YOUR NICHE



Who will use your product or service? Where are they to be found? What is their income? Get to know who your customers will be, the more narrowly you define your niche the better.



STEP 6: NAME YOUR BUSINESS



Transform idea to a name that is easy to spell and pronounce, memorable and conveys information about what you do. Send the names chosen to friends, family and potential customers, choose four or five possibilities, do a trademark search to see if anyone else is using the name.



STEP 7: WRITE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN



Writing it reveals flaws in your ideas so you can fix them before starting. Get books that will guide you through. If you want fast track business plan please contact experts or your chosen mentor. We shall post a detailed step by step way of writing a business plan for beginners on this website in coming weeks. So watch out for it.



STEP 8: LEARN ABOUT BOOK-KEEPING



Even if you are not an accountant or a store officer, you need understand the basics. So learn more about book-keeping as it will show whether you are making progress or not. It is critical for a start up business owner to keep meticulous track of the profit and loss issues. You must record purchases, sales, calculate gross income and then profit before tax etc.



A common error for beginners is to assume that the gross earning is the same as profit! I shall do a full article on book keeping for start up businesses in subsequent posts.  



STEP 9: GO “BACK TO SCHOOL” – ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE



Since small-business owners wear a lot of hats, you may not be proficient in all aspects of your business, so if you have deficiency in knowledge in any aspect -from marketing to writing a business plan, take a class or get books that will strengthen/improve your skills in these areas.



STEP 10: FIND A LOCATION



The location is another important step to take in starting that dream business. Even if you will be doing your business from your home or a rented shop, the location should be accessible especially if your business involves tangible products. There are however certain businesses that may not require a location that is necessarily “frontline”. For example, internet based businesses may not require a location beyond your bedroom!



STEP 11: SET PRICES



Figure out the cost to make your product or provide your service, including materials, overhead and labour; add enough to make a profit and be consistent will industry (general) prices.  When setting prices for your product/service do not forget that beyond the purchase price there are other costs such as “cost of purchase” as well as “cost of sale”. These costs must be factored into the final price of the product/service. Please read up our article on how to set prices for your product/services.



STEP 12: FURNISH YOUR OFFICE



As I pointed out in step I0 about finding a location, if your business requires you having an office, then you must furnish it. Because you are just starting out, you should shop for used office furniture as it will help in saving capital to be used for the core business.



STEP 13: DEVELOP A MARKETING PLAN



You need to define how your product or service differs from those of  your competitors, describe your target customers (age, sex, location, income, lifestyle); and draw how you place to communicate to your customers.



A marketing plan is critical to the success of your product/service in the market place. There is a marketing adage that says that “ the best product that is unknown to the target market is the worst product, while the worst product that is known and publicized to the target audience is the best product.



The message here is simple and clear: your product must be made known to the target audience otherwise your business “dead on arrival”.



Start by identifying your target market, then segment your market and draw up a prospecting medium and schedule. Follow your schedule diligently.



You should prospect, present, and follow up. Note that the latter (follow up) is crucial, most clients will not buy your product on first contact, you may require as much as 7 reminders to make the sale. But the good news is that once the initial sale is made, that client is likely going to buy again from you provided he was satisfied with the previous purchase.



STEP 14: GET ONLINE



Take advantage of the information age we are in now. Put your business on the internet. Setup a basic website with information about your products and services. It is free to get a facebook page for your business. You should also get on Twitter, Google+, Youtube, Blogspot etc. Also use mobile social media platforms such as Whatsapp, BBM, Viber, Facebook messenger etc.



Studies consistently show that most people do an internet search for products and services before they take a buying decision. It is the businesses they come across on the internet that they contact first before living their homes.



So, you should leverage on this by getting on line and popping up each time they do those searches.



STEP 15: PRACTICE FOR SALES PRESENTATIONS



Prepare what you will be talking about, questions and answers, role-play with you family or friends and ask for criticisms. If possible, do a video recording of yourself.  Learn how to network, join social clubs, church groups and ensure that you are quite noticeable. Remember, your network greatly influences your net worth  



STEP 16: PRAY CEASELESSLY



Although I have put this last, it is not the least of the things you have to do. If you have managed to come this far without developing the habit of prayer, this is the time to go to school for it. The benefit of prayer cannot be over emphasized. Remember, God blesses hard work, he multiplies what you have. If you have nothing, he multiples it by zero which equals zero!



If you have 1000, he will multiply it by same factor and you will end up eventually with a million.



Wishing you Goodluck and God’s blessings as you embark on this courageous journey into the business world.  



 



This article was Originally contributed by Idugboe Osasumwen . It was re-written and edited for the Cash4naija site by the editorial team.



    




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