From a young age you wanted to build your own empire and be your own boss. You knew you wanted to essentially set your own hours, do work you were genuinely passionate about and play by your own set of rules. Have you made the big leap yet? If not, take some time to think about a business concept that focuses on your interests, knowledge, skills and abilities. The first step to building your own empire is coming up with an idea and then laying the groundwork to get started.
Instructions
1. Consider your passions and interests. Jot down a couple of business ideas that you're not only passionate about, but which represent your skills and knowledge. For example, if you love boats, love sales and have been restoring boats as a hobby, consider starting a business doing boat sales and restoration.
2. Pick three and four of the business ideas you jotted down and brainstorm; consider things like market, the financial responsibilities and your skill set for each idea. Take a couple of days to explore how and why you'd start each of these businesses. Give yourself at least a week or two and then decide which business would best suit your passions, finances, resources and lifestyle.
3. Once you're settled on a business idea, consider your target market and the types of services and/or products you'd offer and create a list.
4. Consider why you'd start your business. How would your business make the life of an average consumer better or easier? What types of solutions are you providing? Consider how your business differs from your competitors. Figure out how and why you're better than the other people who provide the same products and/or services as you.
5. What do you expect to gain from your business? Consider your business goals beyond profit. Does your business aim to better the community, are you hoping to expose more children to art, are you looking to provide an outlet for work-at-home moms?
6. Think about a time line. When do you plan to launch and when do you plan to assess your business to see if its meeting your goals?
7. Consider any potential risks in starting your business. Are legal issues a big concern? Are there political factors that may affect your business and its growth? Think about concerns with competitors. Is your business concept different enough that potential customers will select your business over the next? Is the market for your product or service slowly diminishing? Assessing risks will help you determine how viable your business concept is.
8. Think about the human resources you need to make your business concept come to life. In some instances, a start-up may include just the owner; but many times the owner needs the help of others such a website designer, administrative assistant and even a financial officer.
9. Think about your personal financial standing and what it means for your business. Calculate your first year's start-up expenses and then determine how much of your money you can contribute and how much you will need to borrow.
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