How to prepare for creating your first business

[MB1980]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie with the business arena so hopefully this makes sense!

How would you recommend going about acquiring knowledge before starting up your own business?

Are there a list of books and resources you'd recommend to help with all essential aspects of business such as forming ideas, investigating the market, how to implement your ideas and then running the business (amongst 100 other things)?

My wife and I are seriously considering leaving our careers, but I want to do the homework first to make sure it's what we want and that we're properly prepared as is possible.

In the last week I've read:
Entrepreneur Revolution - Daniel Priestley
4 Hour work week - Timothy Ferris

Both are good (taken with a generous pinch of salt) for making me want to consider starting my own business but neither really explain how to go about it.

Would something like the Financial Times Guide to Business Startup 2014 or Start Your Own Business 2014 be a solid starting point?

In addition we know a few people that run a business so we'll be looking to tap into their knowledge.

Thanks in advance,
Mark

 

[Scalloway]

Have you looked at the uk.gov website? There are lots of pages there with advice on starting a business and if you scroll down the page you will find a link for looking for courses that may help.

https://www.gov.uk/browse/business/setting-up

 

[TODonnell]

Thoroughly research what competitors in your niche are doing; find out who's really successful and who's putting up a front.

The main thing is to sell something people truly want, at a price they can just afford, which you enjoying doing and which you can make a fat net profit on.

This narrows down options considerably.

Here's another idea: Nobody knows anything. Those that have a clue ain't tellin'. Some got lucky once and think that makes them experts. Some worked their guts out and think the same. Many businesses are running on credit i.e. they've already failed. There's a large B2B industry full of people pushing services to businessmen.

Just see what's selling out there.

 

[Andycharger]

You wont learn until you get stuck in - thats what I found out!

 

[ethical PR]

Lots of free and low cost business courses around - British Library, Local Chamber of Commerce, HRMC, business team at your local council should all be able to help.

Key issue as mentioned about is to provide a service or product at a price people will pay, to make sure you clearly understand your target audience their consumer habits and consumer channels, that you know what differeniates you from your competition and you have a business and marketing plan in place that helps you understand your costs, how you will run your business and how you will market it.

 

[Socio South West]

There are lots of sources of information, several listed above, but nothing will prepare you for the roller coaster ride you are almost certain to encounter - and neither does anything adequately prepare you for the potential of failure which you must always be prepared to live with if you are launching your own enterprise.

Preparation is the key - A thorough business plan with products costed, the target market identified and good estimates of the fixed costs in hand: If your budgets constructed from those figures are looking favourable, then move the idea from the drawing board towards reality.

Once you reach reality, monitor your financial figures, and prepare to act quickly and most importantly decisively if parameters are not performing according to budget (and this includes over performing as well)

 

[MIKE-1]

There's lots of websites giving free advice on the internet. I listed some sites for you.
http://www.infosite4business.co.uk/start-business
http://www.startupdonut.co.uk/
http://startups.co.uk/
Good luck with your new business.

 

[peggyprice]

If you're seriously considering both giving up your current careers and you've no experience of being self employed, I seriously urge you to start something part time that you can try while you're still working initially.

As others have said, nothing can adequately prepare you for self employment, and some of us absolutely love it as a way of life, but you have to be brutally honest with yourselves. Can you handle not knowing whether you'll be able to pay the bills at the end of every month? It could be two or three years before you reach financial stability, and that's if you're lucky. Can you handle having no guaranteed time off, no-one to cover for you if you're sick (and no sick pay)? Are you able to cope with working all day in your business and then half the night on your business, doing the marketing, the business planning, the bookkeeping and all the other chores that someone else does when you're employed? Running a business is fantastic when it goes well and gives you a sense of achievement like no other, but most start ups go bust and you have to learn to live without a safety net. Sadly, no-one ever seems to write books about why *not* to start a business ;-)

If you're doing this because you want to leave your careers or change your lifestyle, not because you've got a business idea you're passionate about following, there are other ways to earn a living ...

 

[1st Formations]

Most of your learning will be done on the job once you get started, but it's good to be as prepared as possible. It is a huge step to leave a full time career to go into your own business without any prior experience though, and you would be wiser to do them both part time to get things off the ground and gauge the long term sustainability of your business. You will be amazed at how much you will learn by making mistakes in the first few months - and most will tell you it's better to do that with the safety net of part-time employment there.