Networking Products: Starting a small business is without a doubt a large undertaking.
But it is fortunately something that can be attained by anybody with a good idea, a strong work ethic, and a good set of resources.
Starting a business involves thinking of a business concept, writing a business plan, understanding the financial side, and finally marketing and launching.
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1. Ensure you have a business plan.
A business plan is critical to the success of a business and can be seen as a plan that describes your business, products/services, market, and describes how your business will go about expanding for the next three to five years.
2. Determine the legal structure of your business.
Before starting your business and filing the necessary papers, it is important to decide on how your business will be legally structured. Generally speaking, you will be establishing either a sole proprietorship; partnership; corporation; or limited liability company (LLC). There are important legal and tax implications for each.
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3. Define your goals.
Do you want financial independence, eventually selling your business to the highest bidder? Do you want something small and sustainable, that you love doing and from which you want to derive a steady income? These are the things that are good to know very early on.
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4. Create a working name.
You could even do this before you have an idea for the business, and if the name is good, you may find it helps you define your business idea. As your plan grows, and things begin to take shape, the perfect name may come to you, but don’t let that hinder you in the early phases. Create a name that you can use while you plan and don’t hesitate to change it later.
- Always check to see if the name is being used by somebody else before selecting it. Try to create a name that is simple and memorable.
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5. Define your team.
Will you do this alone, or will you bring in one or two trusted friends to join you? This brings a lot of synergy to the table, as people bounce ideas off each other. Two people together can often create something that is greater than the sum of the two separate parts.
6. Choose your partners wisely.
When choosing the person or people you’re going to build the business with, be careful. Even if someone is your best friend, it doesn’t mean that you will partner well in a business operation. Start it with a reliable person.
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7. Get the marketing plan.
Your operational plan describes how you will produce your product, and your marketing plan describes how you will sell your product. When you create your marketing plan, try to answer the question of how you will make your product known to potential customers.
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8. Come up with a pricing model.
Start by checking out your competitors. Know how much are they selling a similar product for. Can you add something to it (add value) to make yours different and hence make it a more enticing price?
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9. Cover the financials.
The financial statements translate your marketing and operational plans into numbers — profits and cash flow. They identify how much money you will need and how much you might make. Since this is the most dynamic part of your plan, and perhaps the most important for long-term stability, you should update this monthly for the first year, quarterly for the second year, and then annually after that.
10. Build your product .
Once you have the business all planned, financed, and have your basic level of staffing, get going. Whether that’s sitting down with the engineers and getting the software coded and tested, or getting materials sourced and shipped to your fabrication room (aka “garage”), or purchasing in bulk and marking up the price, the building process is the time during which you prepare for market.
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11. Secure start-up costs.
Most businesses require capital to start. Money is typically required to purchase supplies and equipment, as well as keep the business operational for the period before your business becomes profitable. The first place to look for financing is yourself.
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12. Manage your running costs.
Keep a close eye on your running costs and keep them in line with your projections. Whenever you see something spent wastefully—like electricity, phone plans, stationery, packaging—look around and estimate how much you really need, and minimize or remove the cost in every way possible. Think frugally when you start up, including renting items instead of purchasing them and using pre-paid plans for services your business needs instead of locking yourself into long-term contracts.
13. Pinch those pennies.
Plan to keep purchases of office equipment and overheads to a minimum when starting up. You do not need amazing office premises, the latest in office chairs and pricey artwork on the walls. A broom cupboard in the best address can be sufficient if you can artfully steer clients to the local coffee shop for meetings every time (meet them in the foyer). Many a business start-up has failed by purchasing the expensive gizmos instead of focusing on the business itself.
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14. Decide how to accept payment.
You will need to do something to get payment from your clients or customers. You can get something like a Square, which is great for small businesses since it requires the minimum amount of paperwork and the fees are minimal. However, if you feel uncomfortable with technology, you can inquire about a more traditional merchant account.
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15. Get a website.
If you’re selling online, get your ecommerce in gear and either build a website, or have one built for you. It’s your storefront, so anything and everything you can do to make people want to visit, and want to stay, do it.
16. Hire professional designers.
If you do decide to get a website, make sure it looks professional. Designers may cost more initially, but a well presented and trustworthy site is essential. It needs to look professional and work with ease. If you are including money transactions, invest in security encryption and check that your money transfer companies are sound and reliable.
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17. Discover your inner publicist.
You might truly believe in your product or service, but in order for it to be successful, everyone else must believe in it too. If you’re new to advertising and marketing or you dislike doing the sales pitch, now is the time to overcome such feelings and put on the publicist persona. You need to develop an excellent short pitch to convince people they need your product or service, one that reflects the value, purpose and potential of what your business is offering. Write down this pitch in many ways until you find one that you feel satisfied says it all and is something you can say readily. Then practice it like crazy!
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18. Spend time developing an excellent social media presence.
This can be done well before the business is ready, increasing anticipation. Use Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, and any other social media you participate in to build excitement and spread the word. You want to build a buzz so that people will begin following your progress. (Be sure to choose business accounts for your business and keep your personal accounts separate. The messages you send should be tailored differently, depending on which account you’re sending from.)
19. Implement your marketing and distribution plans.
With your product being built or services developed, and a reasonable expectation on when either is ready for selling, begin marketing.
- If you will be advertising in periodicals, they will need copy or images at least two months in advance of publication.
- If you will be selling in stores, get pre-orders sold, and shelf space allocated. If you will be selling online, get that e-commerce site ready to sell.
- If you’re offering a service, advertise in appropriate trade and professional journals, newspapers and online.
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20. Secure space.
Whether it’s an office, or a warehouse, if you need more space than your garage or your spare bedroom, now’s the time to get that.
- If you don’t generally need an office beyond your home, but may occasionally need meeting space, there are often places that can address those needs. A quick Google search on “business meeting rentals [your city/state]” will deliver plenty of rental options in your area.
- Be sure to contact your local municipality about zoning laws. Some types of small businesses cannot be ran out of a home, and it is important to ensure your business is operating within its proper zone.
21. Launch your product or your service.
When the product is all built, packaged, coded, online, and ready to sell, or when your services are fully worked out and ready to go, hold a special event to launch your business. Send out a press release, announce it to the world. Tweet it, Facebook it, let the word resound to all corners of your market—you have a new business.
22. Networking Products
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Most direct selling companies have low start up capital compared to a traditional brick and mortar business. You can also break even rather quickly compared to the traditional business.
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You can also consider trading on eBay or Overstock.
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It is ok to start small with one or two products and then add more and more great ideas as you go!
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Don’t be afraid to experiment with prices. You should determine the minimum price for your product or service to break even, but experiment with low-price or premium-price variations.
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Always believe in yourself even when financial money is down hill.
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23. Take risks.
Nothing is get without any risk. So, whenever there are chances of risk, do not fear.
Always provide value and service to those who may be your customers, even if they are not currently. When they do need your product, you want them to think of you first.
With the advent of the internet, online businesses are probably the easiest way to start and very much less expensive in terms of start-up cost than a bricks-and-mortar counterpart.
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24. Keep learning, and be adaptable to change.
Find buddies, mentors, local business-related organizations, Internet forums, and businesshab to discuss the daily details of running a small business. It’s much easier for everyone to perform their core businesses well and prosper when they don’t waste time and energy “reinventing the wheel” on housekeeping.
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Be confident and have a good mind about everything you do. Also, be prepared for all the unsuccessful times that may occur.
Conclusion
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Beware of people who ask for money before giving you business. Trade leads to prosperity through mutual gain, so a business should be willing to pay you to work for it. (A franchise store or home-sales business may have legitimate start-up costs, but they should reflect a reasonable cost of getting you started in the business so the managers would make money through your success, rather than just by getting you in.)
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Beware of business propositions that seem to offer “something for nothing.” They probably involve taking something from somebody—usually you. There are innumerable variations, some more polished than others. Examples include pyramid schemes and advance-fee fraud.