In this article you will know 7 Questions to ask yourself before starting a business.
Creating a company will push you to have many positions at the same time; but it will also encourage you to learn from all of them.
Initially you will be in planning, marketing, sales, finance and human resources; All at the same time. Most likely, you will be a boss without employees, that is, you will be your own boss. You must be willing to take risks and be willing to work for very little pay or worse, no pay.
Do you have any idea what this means?
At first glance, this is not an easy task for the vast majority. For this reason we have created 7 questions that you should ask yourself before starting a business and find out if you are really prepared to take the path of the entrepreneur.
Answer them for yourself and read carefully the explanation of each one of them, you will realize why they are so important.
7 questions you should ask yourself before starting a business.
1. Are you able to explain your business idea in one sentence?
This question seems simple, but when answering it we realize that it is not.
Has it happened to you that you prefer not to talk about the business idea you have in mind because you don’t know how to explain it?
You think you have a clear idea to yourself but you can’t organize your words to make it explicit to others. Maybe you feel sure about your idea but when you explain it, people don’t understand what it is about.
This is something very common and the only thing it indicates is that you are not prepared to present your idea. Analyze carefully what problem you intend to solve or how you want to help your customers; remember that this should be your purpose.
You must be prepared to answer this question quickly and accurately, in such a way that you demonstrate confidence and knowledge about the market you want to serve.
It is vitally important that you have the ability to easily answer this question. If you have the opportunity to present your idea to a potential investor, they will see the potential of your company and not the lack of clarity of who explains it.
If you need help with this, click here.
2. Have you researched your competition?
The worst answer you can give to this question is that your idea has no competition. Answering this way will only show that you haven’t done the research. All companies have competition, either direct or indirect; but they have it.
You may not find similar products or services in your city. However, the world is too big for at least 1 in 7 billion people not to have had an idea like yours.
Investigating your competition will give you the possibility to analyze what possibilities you have of entering the market and what have been the problems in the industry.
Additionally, you will learn about the prices of their products, the characteristics of their brand and in general all the aspects that can give you a starting point to be better than them.
This is one of the questions you should ask yourself before starting a business. Do not forget.
3. Have you done the calculations of how much you should invest in your business?
Before making any decision about your business idea, you have to know how much money you need to start.
You may have an approximate number, but this will not be enough to get you started firmly; Well, you need detailed figures that show you a real picture of the viability of your idea.
Never underestimate the needs of a business idea. If you do, you will run out of cash before you see your first earnings.
Remember, when you calculate the investment, multiply it by 2 and that is the amount that will allow you to start your company without trouble.
Four. Have you received any advice or feedback from friends or family?
If you haven’t received them, it’s because you haven’t talked about your business idea yet.
Surely you think that it is not good to talk about your ideas until they are fulfilled. However, it is necessary that you choose certain people within your social circle who can contribute something to your idea.
The first opinions about your business idea are vital to start developing it. Take this as a practice to train yourself and be able to explain what the purpose of your company is clearly.
Also use these comments to make changes that improve the initial concept. Be careful, do not be discouraged by negative comments; Just because someone doesn’t see a future in your idea, doesn’t mean they don’t have it.
5. Are you willing to work nights, weekends, and even forgo a vacation?
Undertaking involves making sacrifices to get your project off the ground. So if you think your life will continue the same way, you better think things through.
Remember that you are practically alone and you must be aware of all areas of your company.
It is very possible that you are not financially insured to focus exclusively on the development of your idea, so you must continue working. This only leaves your precious free time to invest in your company.
If you are really committed you will spend many nights working and maybe your friends will start to miss you; but it will be worth it. If you want to be an entrepreneur and have your own company, you will gladly make these sacrifices.
Also read: 19 realities that you will face when creating a company.
6. Do you know who your customers are?
This is one of the questions you should ask yourself before starting a business, since to know who your customers are you must be able to describe them in detail. If you think that your products or services are for everyone, you better investigate further.
First determine what problem you are solving, or what need you are supplying. You must create a photo of your client, is it a man or a woman? Where does he live? How old is he? What is your average income? Is married? He has children? What sport do you like?
Finding these answers will save you a lot of work and improve your company’s communication with your customers.
7. Are you prepared to fail?
Apparently failure is a step in the path of most entrepreneurs. The important thing is to know if you are willing to get up and continue; and that is why this is one of the questions you should ask yourself before creating a company
Creating a company implies that you design a business model, and to do so you must carry out continuous tests to refine said model.
This process is fraught with disappointment. It can last for years without you finding the model that will launch your company to success and what is worse, you may not see any economic fruit for your effort.
Remember the words of Thomas Alba Edison: “I didn’t fail, I only discovered 999 of how not to make a light bulb.”
Conclusion.
At the beginning the motivation is incredibly high and this can make us lose sight of some important things.
That’s why we made this list of questions to ask yourself before creating business, so that you use all that positive energy, but with your feet on the ground. Many successes!
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
