So, you decided to start a small business. The next step is choosing a right small business to be started. This is the second critical point that you should take carefully. Why? Once you start it, means you have invested in it; your time, focus, energy, even some monetary may has been spent out already. Of course you have always a choice whether to cancel it or to proceed.
What kind of business should you start?
To you who have a pretty good yet unique small business idea to start, that is great. Some of you may have such general idea only, while others don’t have any idea at all. So lets go further.
We all know millions (if not world) kinds of business out there for anyone who wants to start a small business. How can you possibly break them down to choose the kind of business that's right for you? This guideline may help.
Your desire, courage, strengths, skills and goals should be factors that always are your main consideration on every step you go. Choosing a right small business to meet your strength, skills and goals has two big component; Start from scratch OR buy existing business.
If you have strong desire, enough courage, sufficient strength, and great skills sets, yet in line with your goals, then go start from scratch. Otherwise buy existing one.
Before going to the details of each above possibilities, I would like to show you 3 common mistakes in choosing kind of business to start you should avoid, you may find them useful.
Mistake #1: Resisting the urge to ask for help.
Some people reluctant to ask others for help, somehow, either because of too high self-confident or just simple doesn’t know there are helps out there. As long as you search wisely, it won’t cost you much.
Mistake #2: Converting hobbies to a small business.
If you are going to convert interest or hobbies into a small business without doing enough research and study to know if significant demand is available to the services/product will be provided. Wrong move!
Mistaker #3: Starting the business without adequate planning.
Finding a market opportunity just simply not a guarantee for you to success. There are many other considerations; more deeply market research, Skills and strengh, financial aspect (are you going to be able to rise enough money to get it started?, are you going to be able withstand periods on the little or even no revenue is coming in?), legal aspect, etc. Those all still need to be figured out more closely.
In other hand, here are things better you may do on the preparation periods:
Work for someone else who operate business similar or next to your small business idea for a while:
Get on—the—job training, get paycheck while you have not too busy yet, learn they way they/he/she operate the business. When scouting out potential "employer-trainers," it's best to look for one that is successful and well run. In the worst scenario that they/he/she is not a good trainer, not a good model in term how to operate the business; poorly managed, inefficient, even worst, they don’t even successful business person. Then; “see the mistake they did, don’t repeat the way they’ve been doing”. Learn the “don’t” to get know the “do”.
Go and talk to local small business association:
I know, getting insightful information from others who have been operating similar small business kind of not an easy task. But, you should try, consider that will be your best day for getting nice small business owner who willing to reveal and share his/her/their secret on how to operate the business. But if you are not that lucky, that is more than understandable for you will be their direct competitor potentially (they think, and you could be). Instead, go and talk to local small business association or commerce and trade department. If you don't make any headway by attending such meetings or by directly approaching business owners, you may wish to offer a business owner a consulting fee. If you are able to find out what you need to know about the day-to-day operation of your prospective business, this one-time expense will probably be money well spent.
Further, here is a raw check list. Sorry it looks messy, I wish I could do a screenshot on an excel sheet, unfortunately this blog scheme does not allow such long screenshot. When I pushed it, it became un-readable, that was even worst, so I get this messy check list posted here. Well, I hope it is more than its look.
Choosing Right Small Business - Check List
[1] Consider to make from scratch or buy existed one
(A). Make from scratch
If you make from scratch, then do :
Market Research
a Consider & Study Nice Marketing
b Consider & study Additional Social Trends
(B). Buy Existing One
1) Buy Existed Business
a Consider Why Buy a business
b Find & search Business to buy
c Decide : buy or not
a Why Buy a Franchise
b Compare : Franchise Vs New Business
c Compare : Franchise Vs Existed Business
d Find a Franchise to buy
e Investigate a franchise to buy
f Decide: buy a franchise or not
[2] Choose type of small business you want to start
(a) Retail or Wholesale
(b) Product or services or mixed
(c) With store-front or without or mixed
(d) What Industry
[4] Choose form of ownership
(a). Sole Proprietorships
(b). Partnerships
(c). General Partnership
(d). Joint Venture
(e). Corporations
(f). S Corporations
(g). Limited Liability Company (LLC)
(h). C Corporation (Inc. or Ltd.)
(i). S Corporation (Inc. or Ltd.)
(j). Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
(k). Professional Service Corporation (PS)
(l). Limited Partnership (LP)
(m). Non-Profit Corporations
(a). Sole Proprietor
(b). Partnership
(c). Corporation
Once you've worked your way through these five steps, you will have a much better idea in choosing right small business to start and handsome stand point to start. Going forward, I will keep posting guidelines and tips to go more detail base on the above check list.
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