Osayi Emokpae Lasisi: 10 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Business

One of my friends once said that they didn’t want to start a business because they felt that it would be too hard. Instead they wanted to keep working for someone else.

I could understand her plight; it is so much easier to work for someone else. But there is something awesome about creating something and people being so happy about it that they are willing to pay you for it.

Often times we get stuck on two extremes – the ideal perfect life with the perfect business, or the stressful business life of an entrepreneur. Neither extreme is 100% accurate.

What we must always realize is that starting a business is a journey – a marathon, not a sprint. You have to create opportunities to grow and learn and rest, and do your best not to expect instant success.

And if we really want to be successful so that we don’t have to go back to apply for a job then there are a few things we should pay attention to.

Make sure you have a transition plan
You need a plan for transition. You don’t want to just wake up one day in anger and decide that you quit. What about all your responsibilities? You need to have a plan that says I will save this amount of money, or I won’t save this amount of money, but this is what I will do to cushion the transition period.

Create a business plan
You need to create at least a one-page business plan t hat explains what exactly it is that you want to do, so that it makes sense to you and the people you want to pay you.

Who is your ideal client?
You need to really get clear about who your ideal client is, because this is how you can specifically speak the language that attracts them. You wouldn’t be talking to older women about diapers and such (although there are some exceptions). So get clear and you will be able to do the next step.

Where will you find your ideal client?
Now that you are clear about your ideal client you need to think about where you can find them? Where are they usually congregated? What are they usually doing? Where do you need to be so that they can see you?

Why will they pick you?
So now they’ve seen you, but why should they pick you? Regardless of what you’re doing, there’s nothing new in this world, so if there’s nothing new it means you will have competition, andyour competition may not be doing exactly what you’re doing. A book store’s competitor is not just the guy on the street peddling his books, but also the digital devices where we can now download many open domain free books.

How much will you need to make?
It’s essential you figure out how much you need to make to live the life you want to live, then you can go on to how much you want to make. Once you are clear about what you need to pay all your bills etc, then you can have a bit of peace of mind knowing that it doesn’t have to be as stressful as you once thought

Is your family on the same page?
You need to do your best to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Yes they may not agree with your choices, but at least they understand the choices you’ve made. If they don’t understand your choices, then they most likely won’t support you.

How will you keep yourself motivated?
Like I said earlier, starting a business is a journey so you will need to figure out what gives you energy and how you can stay strong and motivated. Once you’ve done that, create reminders in your life to do those things, so that you are not easily discouraged.

What will you do to relax? And how often?
Relaxation is important, because in the end, being in business is about the exchange of energy. If you’re always tired, or always ill, then you will not be able to succeed in winning people over to you, neither will you succeed in convincing people to spend money with you.

How will you remind yourself to celebrate?
One thing you must always do is to celebrate your wins. Always, always, always celebrate – because the more you celebrate, the more things you will have to celebrate.

How about you? What amazing things are you doing today to prepare for starting your new business?

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