By Neil Buckland, Special for USDR
There are now more Americans than ever becoming entrepreneurs. Thanks to pioneers like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, the idea of dropping out of college or foregoing higher education altogether is no longer an alien concept in the business world. However, it’s important to remember that for every millionaire dropout, there’s another thousand failed entrepreneurs whose ideas didn’t make the cut.
Getting Started
When any start- up is in its development stage, the first thing it needs is a mission statement. This is a short description that defines your company’s purpose, future goals, and overall philosophy. For instance, Google’s mission statement is to “organize the world’s data,” while Apple recently updated its own modus operandi to “leaving the world better than we found it.” Being able to relate back to this piece will enable you to make better decisions when it comes to deciding which paths make the most sense for your business.
You next need to formulate your business strategy. Not only do you need to take into account what kind of products or services you’re going to provide, but you also need to know if there’s a sustainable market for your company. Whether you’re a local business or an online-based company, take a look at the results of similar enterprises to find out if this new venture could realistically support your expected lifestyle.
Trialing a Location
Choosing a location to base your business in is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in the formative years of your company. The average household income, employment rate, and demand for your products or services should all be taken into account. Rather than commit to a long-term property lease, trialling the area with a temporary solution is an ideal way to limit the effects of a potentially ill-informed decision. Because buildings are constructed using a variety of modular and flexible designs, it’s possible to create a wide-range of structure types suitable for offices, retail stores, or even supermarkets.
You will need to invest in the proper amenities to ensure that, during this temporary stay, your company is able to handle business as expected. Renting a card machine from lenders like Card Cutters means you’ll be able to take payments from debit and credit cards as well as cash. Recent statistics show that card payments have now overtaken cash as the most popular form of payment, so it’s crucial that your business can appease the majority of potential customers.
Running your own business isn’t easy. More than half of new companies cease to operate within the first few years of operation. By cutting out the common mistakes small businesses typically run into, though, you can drastically increase your company’s chance of survival.
Neil Buckland is a BA Marketing with Content graduate and has worked within the digital marketing industry for 3 years. In his spare time he enjoys playing badminton, football, going for runs and reading with a strong interest in a variety of business topics.