Category - Start ups

Are you thinking of, or have you recently started your own business?

As you enter into the process, it can be quite overwhelming, trying to remember, let alone know for sure, all the steps you have to take, all the regulatory matters and things to think about.

What you need to do at the outset is to understand what you need to bring to the game, be clear about all the steps you need to take from thinking about the idea of starting your business to business opening, and to actually design how the business will operate and what to do strategically and on a day-to-day basis.

You can, however, follow a pretty standard step-by-step formula.

I have used my 40 years’ experience advising small business owners and distilled it into 5 basic steps.

So, let’s go!

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STOP PRESS: If you have been stood down or lost your job because of CIVID-19 and you are thinking of starting your own business, read to the bottom of this article where I am giving you an offer to help you plan your new business idea. Offer valid until 30 April 2020.

My Mum told me that if I studied hard, I could get whatever I wanted.

Did your mother tell you the same thing?

My Mum told me that I had to study hard to be an expert at something. So I studied to be an expert accountant.

Then when I decided to start my own business, she was very supportive and said that with all my skill, all I had to do was sell.

But you know what, none of that made me the successful small business owner that I am!

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Starting a business can be scary.

But it’s not as scary as you think, especially if you prepare yourself at the start.

Sure, there are lots of things you have to do and understand or learn. But you can learn this!

In fact, I’ve written a report and checklist on all the steps you need to take when you start a new business which you can get here.

But that’s not what I wanted to talk about this week.

I wanted to talk about how you have to get you ready!

What do I mean by that?

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Are you thinking of starting a new small business?

Exciting times!

But there’s plenty to do – you may even be starting to get overwhelmed about all the things you have to do, or even more overwhelming, unsure about what you have to do!

So, like many others, you probably turn to friends or family, those who have their own business and whom you trust.

Only, be warned, your friends and family may love you so much that they won’t tell you everything!

Because that’s what we do isn’t it? We want to protect the people we love so we sugar coat things, and make things seem simple so that they don’t get hurt.

Or, they are afraid for you and tell you all the risks and start to put you off?

And yet, now is the time you need their honest truth!

Well, here it is – my honesty in all its glory!

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If you are thinking of, or about to start a new business, you must be excited!

I know I was when I left the international consulting firm I was working for in 1991 to start my own financial and management consulting company. I was excited and a little terrified!

But at least, I had an advantage over most subject-matter experts who decide to leave employment and start their own business – I was a qualified and experienced Chartered Accountant who knew about starting and building businesses, about tax and registrations and the law and agreements. For some years before I had led a team of 20 people in worldwide consulting assignments. While a little fearful about how I would be my own boss without an internationally established set of systems around me, at least I did not experience the overwhelm of many people where they don’t even know where to start!

That is the most common experience of my clients over the years who have started their own businesses. Whether they were highly qualified doctors or engineers, or very experienced plumbers and electricians, they all expressed to me the sense of overwhelm about what they had to know, almost overnight! They were aware that despite their strong subject-matter knowledge that they lacked knowledge about running a business, they were concerned about if they had enough finance, and they were wondering how to bring those first sales in through the door. They were overwhelmed.

At least they had me to guide them through the steps they needed to take, but what about you?

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