Keys to a Successful Small Business Start Up

[Rob]

In my blog today I report on survey that indicates the future for UK entrepreneurs continues to look strong and share some tips on starting and running a successful small business.

You can read that entry here (http://www.smallbusinesssuccess.biz/forum/blog.php?b=25).

For you what were the key success factors that got you to where you are today? What could aspiring enterpreneurs learn from your experience?

[Dr.Jose Sebastian]

Hi Rob,

Read the posting. From my experience of interacting with entrepreneurs, i feel that identification of a business opportunity is the key. One should put in lot of hard work at this stage. This is the most important mistake that SME entrepreneurs in countries like India commit. People get carried away by the success of some and many 'mee too' entrepreneurs follow. On all other points i agree.

Jose Sebastian

[Rob]

Yes, you are right on the 'me to' entrepreneurs. It's easy to start a business in an area where the product is well understood, and the market is clearly defined. Those entrepreneurs will make a decent living but spotting a unique opportunity or gap in the market is where the real future success lies.

[cliann13]

Hi Rob
It make sense to startup ion a recession it is probably the only solution to turning the market around. Moaning won't change anything.

Demand is a key factor to any start up. Every idea should be tested against the three demand criteria (Need Motive and Ability) Need, motivation to satisfy need and ability to buy. If your idea meets all three then it is a business idea, if not it is just another idea. Good maybe but not a good business idea.

The next crieria is to know when to be entrepreneurial, intrepreneurial, venturepreneurial and an entrepreneurial leader.

Cheers
Cliff

[Rob]

I agree with Cliff. Starting a business during a recession may seem counter intuitive but if you believe in contarian investment theory (investing in the stock market when everyone else is bailing out), then it follows that it's worth looking at it in relation to the start up market.

Business will tend to close because of the mistakes made during the 'boom' years; owners become lazy in respect of control of overheads and expenses, assets are bought which add very little to the business. All of these mistakes ultimately bring the business down, not overall market conditions.

As a result there will be gaps in the market created not because businesses failed due to the overall market dying but purely due to internal issues. The mistake potential entrepreneurs can make is looking at closures in isolation and making the assumption that the market is not conducive to starting ... on the contrary there are gaps waiting to be filled!

One question Cliff, what's being 'intrepreneurial'? So many versionsof entrepreneur flying around but I have not caught this one!

[ramyam]

Hi Rob,thanks for giving the site about small business.That might be helpful for those who want to do small business.Keep up your good work.
-----------------------
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Home Based Business (http://business.bizoppjunction.com)

[PaulSimister]

I have started a new thread for a little strengths test I found because I thought it would be a shame for it to be buried.

Find A Business That Plays To Your Strengths (http://www.smallbusinesssuccess.biz/forum/showthread.php?p=701#post701)

You can't fight who you really are for long so it is a great way to see what roles suit you best and worst.

Highly recommended and free.

[Julia]

Hello Rob

Excellent post, your tips really make me think about business once again, thanks for sharing your blog post on this forum

[Jenna]

Hello Rob

Can you explain this point a little bit more "Hire the best – surround yourself with a bright enthusiastic team who share your vision, commitment and complement your skills set. "

how to acquire such a team and what one should do to retain them

[Eric MRS]

Never Slash Your Market Research Budget

The current economic climate is having an impact on businesses large and small. Many are suffering while others are discovering new opportunities. Several people who lost their job think about launching their own business. What is clear is that the uncertainty means that researching a business’ market has never been more important.

For SMEs and start-ups which can't pay for famous market research agencies should discover the [B]Online way to research a market.

Online market research offers both large and small research focussed organisations the chance to eliminate the costs involved with face-to-face, postal and telephone data collection. Organisations have begun to realise also the speed and data reliability offered by the internet.

Marketest is a leading online market research company for business start-ups. We have more than 10 years’ experience in helping start-ups by testing their target market.
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[MichealT]

The key to success in any business is the ability to spot and meet the demand. The demand could be for a product or a service. Once the need of the customer is well understood, the process of creating it takes little time.

[Eric MRS]

Hi Rob, hi everyone,

I agree that the current economic climate doesn't mean that we should stop starting new businesses. The thing is it's still having an impact on businesses large and small. Many are suffering while others are discovering new opportunities. Several people who lost their job think about launching their own business.
What is clear is that the uncertainty means that researching a business’ market has never been more important.

Doing you market research online has revolutionised market research, providing both opportunities and challenges to researchers and users of research.
Online market research has grown rapidly in recent years as a key form of data collection for primary research activities. Online market research offers both large and small research focussed organisations the chance to eliminate the costs involved with face-to-face, postal and telephone data collection. Organisations have begun to realise also the speed and data reliability offered by the internet. Moreover, it can play a vital role in obtaining financial support for your company.

Have a look, it's free to ask for a quotation...
www.marketest.co.uk
Good luck
;o)

[MHVishal]

Really like your thread wil, great info. That's the exact problem we had early on with our startup...trying to do many off the bat. Focus is key indeed. Thanks for the read.

[Garrett7]

There are great business professionals who can help you to start on a new venture and make your plans and ideas possible. They will infuse their expertise and experience into your proposal and help you in buying, starting or owning a business in a safe and secure way. Please contact: www.businessforsmarties.com for all the information you may need.

[MichealT]

Hi,

Starting a business without a plan is like going on a journey without a map. If you have a map, you are sure to get into your destination faster because you will know what to ride and what way you should be trudging on. Business plan will also help you reflect on what else you must do to improve your business. If you have trouble in making business plan, you can browse the internet and find a site that will help you create the best business plan for your home business.

[giftshop]

The best solution is to find a mentor and business coach who can provide objective guidance based upon their past experiences and who has your best interests in mind. The lessons learned can be quite valuable saving you time and valuable financial resources in the process too. They will act as your guide as you hike the mountain of success.
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[great]

Get clients or customers first. Don’t wait until you’ve offically started your business to line these up, because your business can’t survive without them. Do the networking. Make the contacts. Sell or even give away your products or services. You can’t start marketing too soon.

[Shivi]

hello.
Thank you for sharing

ost startup companies fail because they try to be too many things to too many people right from the onset. They think of every possible option they could load into their product offer. While this may give them the feeling of being one of the â??big boys,â?? the grim reality is they are not. In fact by trying to be too many things from the start, these companies often end up delivering no real value at all.

Instead of trying to be all things to all people, try being one thing to all people. Think of PayPal, the highly successful startup that allowed users to e-mail money over the Internet to each other. PayPal could have chosen a million options for their offer. They could have become an on-line credit card company, an auction site, a loan provider and so on. But what made the company successful was their focus on only one offer â?" e-mailing money from one person to the other.

PayPal did one simple thing so well that the industry giant eBay purchased them for $1.5 billion in 2002, even after eBay had already built the same service themselves. PayPal is a great example of a company keeping a sharp focus one doing on thing right even when so many great opportunities could have easily distracted them.

Bite off less than you can chew

Delivering your product to market is an amazing feat to begin with. Even still, a common problem among small companies is their inability to predict what it will take to actually support a product once it has gone to market. Itâ??s easy to conceive complex products with lots of features. But actually bringing that product to market and supporting its use with customers is a whole different story.

[KADY19]

hello.

Thank you for sharing these oppurtunities.
REALLY YOU HAVE GIVEN HERE SO MUCH INFORMATIVE INFORMATION.

[bookluve]

I am new to this forum and want to say thank you for the great comments... I am learning so much!

[bookluve]

I am new to this forum and so want to say that by reading through everyone's comments, I have learned so much. I hope to be able to contribute some good advice of my own in the future.

[KateB]

This is one of the most perfect articles that I've come across for the key to success as an entrepreneur.....

[Danette]

Hello,

It is an excellent article. I enjoyed it.

If you guy want to read more about how to start the first steps and be succesful; you can surf on www.entreper.com a site for Entrepreneurs - common people and experts -

Rregards,

Danettte

[martin]

Interesting thread, it's really useful if you are going to start your own business I think in order to reduce the fear of starting a new business, you will need to expend the time and effort it takes to carefully research your potential business.

[slindsay]

Hi,

When starting a new business venture as a business entrepreneur you need to adjust ways of working and maintain schedules that work best for your business future. To be successful in business requires a high level of drive and commitment.

Thanks

[Aaron]

Your profitability hinges on your understanding of the true costs of your business. By knowing what it actually takes to run your kind of business, you will be able to identify the right pricing strategy that will cover all the costs of doing business.

[Tisha09]

Financial planning is very essential for business. Therefore, it is very essential to make financial budget otherwise so many difficulties comes in business. It also helps to determine where the extra money has been going.