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Jan 27, 2015
Make sure you do your research properly in order to plan and design the one unique advantage to target the most marketing channels and customer segments.
Jun 24, 2014
The Do's and Don'ts articles are always a pleasure to read https://www.comidor.com/en/blog/cloud-technology/10-do%E2%80%99s-and-don%E2%80%99ts-for-startups
Especially when the give advice for startups!
Oct 7, 2013
Wow, there's some really great advice on this thread! I'll put my two cents in and advise you to consider some costs that come along with starting a new business. The cost of a start-up varies on location, size, franchising, and so on. Most businesses also require a brand, a logo, and a sign. This is extremely important in creating your business' brand and getting your name out there.
Apr 12, 2013
Definitely think about what to delegate. Although we entrepreneurs like to do it all, we can't. Understand what your strengths are and then farm out the rest! The Founding Kit (www.foundingkit.com) is a great way to help out, too.
Mar 24, 2013
Realise that you need capital for your initial start up AND to catch you when you fall or when cash flow is not there say for a month or three. Your salary will more than likely in the initial years halve what you used to earn while you take the money to invest in what is needed for the business. I suppose its like taking 10 steps back so you can take 20 steps forward in the future. Thanks for the helpful advice..
Feb 23, 2013
1. Make certain you are following your passion in initiating a new business. Too many people start ventures that they think "make sense" but for which there is no deep, personal interest. Passion trumps structure.
2. Engage help. I've witnessed lots of successful start-ups, but never have occurred "solo." Hire people to fill in your skill set "gaps" or use available free resources for advice and mentoring from non-profit groups like SCORE or your local Small Business Development Center or Business Resource Center.
Feb 23, 2013
Identify your most valuable knowledge, capture it as an information product (video, audio, ebook, etc.), sell it online. Become a Knowledge Entrepreneur!
I offer this advice because I assume you're a knowledge worker (professional) with valuable professional knowledge.
I became a Knowledge Entrepreneur at age 31, and it wasn't easy, but today, there are so many tools enabling professionals to capture their knowledge and sell it online.
Good luck!
Feb 23, 2013
Many of the challenges in the start-up process are very predictable. You need a good idea, a market that has at least marginal interest in that idea. You need good partners, lots of money, and the ability to smile in the morning and beat people silly in the afternoon.
Start-ups are a way of life. It's not a job, it's not a career, it's a way of life. You start a business for the sense of accomplishment and the trouble becomes that real accomplishment takes a while to happen. Plus, the lack of accomplishment can steal confidence, breed fear, and cause a paralysis that founders cannot afford.
These are some concerns to entertain -
• Sales will not grow as quickly as founders project.
• Miscalculations are usually made in what it costs to sell.
• You chase too many kinds of customers or too large a geographic territory.
• You introduce too many products with limited resources.
• You need to get and keep experienced people fully involved - incent them.
• Watch that operating costs and overhead do not increase without your notice.
• Selling someone once doesn't make them loyal customers.
Use experts to analyze your opportunity - the price you pay in time, energy, money and assessment is well worth your while. The alternative is a slow painful exercise in failure. Financiers are great analysts or consultants who have had experience in companies comparable to the start-ups they evaluate. They will help you get to the heart of the business you are thinking about starting. These people will not hesitate to say what to them is obvious.
Competitors are not dumb. They have been where you are going. They also have what you do not and that is a real, operating business. The amount of energy and time you will need to create more money than it costs to create it is essential to know. Failure to know these things will make you bleed money.
Finally you must know the responsibilities of being CEO. You will be expected to be chief technologist, strategist, salesperson, interior decorator, human-resource director, and office manager. It is essential to delegate and trust well or you will be buried by the time needed to do all of those responsibilities.
There is a lot more advice that you will get from a true expert but this is a brief highlight and I also offer this list of questions to ask yourself before you take the leap.
1. What is the market potential for your company's product or service? What is the revenue potential for the industry, and what is its growth rate?
2. How did you calculate market potential? How do you determine industry sales and growth rate?
3. What makes your business different or unique?
4. Why would someone be "compelled" to purchase your product or service? What specific needs does it address?
5. How do you know that your business has high-growth potential?
6. What is it about your management team that makes them uniquely capable of executing on this business plan?
7. What are the primary risks facing this opportunity?
8. Who are your competitors?
9. What gives your company a competitive advantage?
10. Does the company have proprietary intellectual property in the form of patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.?
11. When will your company break even in terms of profitability and cash flow?
12. How do you plan to acquire customers?
13. How do you plan to keep customers?
14. What drives customer satisfaction for this industry and for the product? And, how do you know?
15. Who is the end user of the product or service offering?
16. What alliances or partnerships have you entered (e.g. joint ventures, marketing alliances, licensing arrangements, selling/distribution agreements, channel partnerships, software agreements, etc.)?
17. What is the anticipated lifecycle of your product or service offering? What are your current and future plans for R&D investment?
18. How do you plan to expand your labor force?
19. What are the probable exit scenarios?
Good luck!
Feb 21, 2013
There is already so much good advice and resources in other answers. Get a good business coach to help you work out a plan and keep you focussed. You need a god balance between 'planning' and 'doing' and this will depend on your resources, desire, goals and budget
Feb 21, 2013
Tell yourself and listen to your truth! Know that failure is progress and if you don't fail at something at one time or another in the process you aren't aiming high enough. If you never go to the edge how else will you know where it is? Go slow, because explosive growth will kill you. Especially, if you didn't plan for it. Be aware that running your business is a marathon and not a sprint. The goal is to be in business for a long time or at least create something that will stand the test of time.
A great product I am looking into for this is make,market, launch it... You might like it