BusinessNews

Business Start-up 101

Business Start-up can be easy. Have you thought about starting your own business? Every Urhobo should think about starting a business today.  Many people think about starting a business but don’t know where to begin; we are going to share some of the basic ideas here and hopefully this is the start of an exciting new venture in your life, starting a business that you’ll look back on years from now as the best decision you ever made. 

Urhobo Nation is full of opportunity and the entrepreneurial spirit is deeply entrenched in Urhobo people. Our young people, in particular are some of the most enterprising in Nigeria.   We can help to take their ambitions to the next level and pave the way for many new businesses to start-up in our communities.  In this article we will provide basic information you need to help make that happen – information to help make your business a success. 

First things first – The right mindset

To have your own business is different from being a student or working for someone else, you need an entirely different mindset to start, grow and get your business to succeed.

When you are on your own, you are the boss and all the responsibilities falls on you; but at the same time, you call the shots and you can determine the pace of developments.

Don’t Let Your Fear Rule You!

Many complain about lack of support and access to finance.  Yes, these are real challenges; but Rome was never built in a day.  Growing a business can take many steps but it starts with the first step.

You will have to conquer this fear and all the many challenging questions at the beginning, if you want to make your dream a reality.

Start-up 101: It all starts with an idea

Urhobo is full of business opportunities that can get off the ground with little money or no money at all.

Finding that key idea is something you have to spend a bit of time thinking about.  You can start with the problems people around you face on a day to day basis; can you find the solution?   What is your interest, can it become a profitable business?

There are many places to look for business ideas, in particular, you can look at the strengths in our community, the abundance of land and potential of agriculture to the many our rivers – fishing opportunities; to what is needed in the broader Nigerian economy.  Think of basic needs including food and beverages, education, sanitation, etc.  If you dare to dream, you can even think about modern technology, the development of new technology, internet services, and many more areas to explore

Once you have an idea, you need to do some serious thinking about what you actually want to do and how you want to live. Most small business people are people who want to be their own boss and/or do something they’ve always wanted to do or people who want the challenge of turning their business idea into a reality. 

Everyone can start a business today

Business Plans

All right – you’ve got your idea, you’ve decided what kind of business you want to start – now what? It’s time to put your ideas on paper.  We know that many people will start informal business and may think they don’t require a business plan but it always helps to think through your ideas. 

You may or may not have to write the full-scale in-depth formal business plan such as a bank or other financier will require; there are different business plans for different purposes. 

If all you want to do, for instance, is test whether your new business idea is any good, take the quick and easy route and just ask these 5 Questions to Discover If Your Business Idea is Worthwhile:

1. Is there a market for it?

2. What’s the profit potential of this business?

3. Are there too many other players servicing this market?

4. What are the obstacles to my business plan and are they surmountable?

5. Do I have what I need to see this through?

If you’re looking for investors, you’ll want to use an Investor Ready Business Plan.

No matter what kind of business plan you prepare, you’re going to want to know what your vision is, what steps you need to take to bring it to life and how you will make money from it.

Getting your new business to make money

Anybody who wants to start a business that tells you “It’s not about the money” is lying – or already rich enough that other people’s money doesn’t matter to them anymore.

How to get your new business to make money is the main problem you face when you’re in startup. Then there’s the whole problem of how to keep the money coming in when you’re starting out. No matter what kind of business you start, it’s going to cost money to get it started and keep it operating until it starts making money.

Many people need to find some other source of financing when they start their own businesses.  Finding the business start-up money you need to get your new business up and running – from small business loans and grants through how to attract angel investors are topics we will cover in future articles.

REMEMBER: The #1 rule about starting a successful business? Start the right business in the right place at the right time.  Get started.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *