So many of us dream about being our own boss but as we get older, we start to think it’s not realistic so we end up settling. We want to move forward in our lives and often employment seems the easiest way to do so. However, it’s never too late.
You can start a business at any point in your life, whether you have experience or not, it just needs an idea. Before you start your business or invest any money, you need to be clear on your idea and that usually involves a business plan. This plan will outline your idea in more detail as well as the financial implications of your business. If you need a bank loan or investors, then you will need a detailed business plan but if it is for your own use, it just needs to be clear to you. Obviously it’s better to have a detailed business plan either way but at the starting point, it may not be worth investing that much time into creating an in-depth business plan if it is only to be used by you.
When looking into your idea, you need to have it clear exactly what you plan to offer and how, meaning the logistical elements. Drop-shipping is a very popular way of selling products as it takes away the responsibility of storage and shipping. The customer places their order with you, you send the order to your supplier and they deliver direct to the customer.
You will also need to research competition to see what exists and how they do it. You want to have a competitive price and if you want to have a more expensive price, you need to be clear on your unique selling point. There is nothing wrong with having a similar business or business-model. Think about how many different clothes shops there are or how many hairdressers exist. There is no reason you shouldn’t pursue your dream and go with your idea.
Once you have the principals of your business, you then need to look at the financial side. There are many business ideas that don’t involve a large initial investment. The founders of UPS only started with $100. There are many opportunities available in this day and age thanks to the advances of technology so it is worth spending some time looking into options. For example, if you want to launch your own fashion brand, you can use a platform like TeeSpring where you can set up a store for free and you get paid once you sell; until then, there is no charge. In order to sell though, you will need to use your own promotional strategies, like online advertising, social media marketing, creating an email marketing campaign etc.
Speaking of TeeSpring: head on over to our store to see the various products we have to offer! https://teespring.com/stores/zortexltd-store
The amount of your own money that you invest should be an amount that you aren’t afraid to lose. When there is less pressure on you, you are likely to make better decisions. Think about video games. You can make a lot of money (within the game) as you aren’t losing real money and you are not stressed about potential consequences. That’s not to say you should be reckless with real money, but you need to be able to focus on decision making without focusing too much on the potential of losing it.
Starting a business takes a lot of work to get it off the ground so the best way to view it is as a hobby to start with and then a part time job. If you have another source of income for the time being, that should remain your focus until there is some security in your business. It may also be worth investing in your skill set before investing money into the business. For example, if you want to build an app, you should spend some time learning coding skills to work on your app for free (i.e. using Android Studio).
A lot of businesses are built on trial and error; there is no way of knowing what will be successful before you try. Perseverance is key when starting a business as you will need to adapt and try new things but if it is something you are passionate about, other people will be passionate about it too.