Every year millions of people answer yes'' to that question, and every year, that answer costs many of them money, time, confidence, and heartbreak. The Small Business Administration estimates 580,900 new small businesses are opening each year, and that number does not include the small one-person entreprenerships that pop up every day.
However, even if you are your business's sole employee, there is still something to be learned from the SBA's numbers. According to the SBA, two-thirds of new businesses survive atleast two years, and forty-four percent survive atleast four years.
Two of the key factors in the business's survival and ability to thrive: the owner's education level and the owner's reason for starting the firm in the first place.
How can you make sure you are among the winners rather than the losers in these high-stakes games? The answer is inside of you. You must ask yourself four key questions to determine whether your own small business will survive or thrive.
1.ARE YOU READY?
Have you mentally prepared yourself to switch from the employee(or student or whatever) to leader? You are going to be the one making decisions now about everything from office products to product lines.
This total control is one of the driving forces behind many people who plunge into starting their own business, but it is also one of the elements that drives new entrepreneurs crazy. There is an endless list of decisions that need to be made; a new question crops up every day.
Even more important, you will need to remember that you will wear many hats in a small business. Even if you manage to start with one or more employees, you will each fullfill more than one role in your new business.
And if you are running a one-person/women show, you serve in every capacity from file clerk to maintenance crew to salesman to CEO. Can you handle switching from task to task and role to role like that? are you willing to make those switches?
Similarly, have you prepared your family and friends for this switch in your attitude? Your life is going to change probably pretty drastically, and that change can have a positive or negative impact on your family and social interaction. It will make things much easier if your friends and family are supportive going into the process.
2.WHERE IS YOUR NICHE?
Have you identified your niche yet? one of the t5he reasons many businesses fail is that they fail to focus on the target audience. Yes, if you are a major discount chain, you can sell everything from peanuts to wallpaper, but this type of business requires vast resources that aren't available to small businesses.
But small businesses dominate the marketplace (creating more than 50% of the private grows domestic products last year) by finding a different approach- a niche.
Knowing your niche means you can better find, target, and maintain your customers and provide the best possible goods and services to that customer base.
That focus is one of your best chances to not only survive but to thrive in a very competitive marketplace.
3.WHAT IS YOUR PLAN OF ACTION?
Another key factor in your business's survival and ultimate success is how much planning you do before you open your electronic or physical doors. You need to decide if your business will be based on the internet or more traditional models.
Are you going to work full-time or part-time at your new business? Have you written(or atleast outlined) your business plan? Dreaming, thinking, and planning can save you much trouble and waste later when things are hectic and problems strike.
Planning can also help keep you focused and to balance your valuable time.
4.WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL?
At some point, no matter how experienced a business person you are, you will need help. You will need support, advice, tools, or information. One of the beautiful and most frightening aspects of growth is that it can lead you to places you never imagined.
No matter how much planning and experience you bring to your new position as CEO, the unexpected will arrive.
How will you cope with this?
It is important to recognize that no business is an island. It is not a failure to seek help. Failure is when your business shuts down because you didn't get the help you needed.
The best way to get kindly help is to work on your support system while building your business. That way, you will already have a ready list of resources available that you can quickly tap into when an emergency strike.
In today's, world there are many marvelous resources available to you no matter what your business model may be. These include:
1-publications(news articles, magazines, books)
2-people(professional advisers, mentors, teachers, consultants)
3-networks(organizations and forums in your niche as well as general business and marketing)
4-education and training(tutorial, courses, and seminars)
Getting confident over these questions, there is a high probability of doing a successful business.
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