Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Business

Posted in Entrepreneurship | 16 comments

Is starting a business one of your plans this year? Sure, nothing looks more fulfilling than handling your hours, having your own business, and making things happen.

However, nothing comes easy. Being an entrepreneur is no easy feat. There are several aspects you have to look into and things you need to consider. Then, there’s the challenge of coping with the uncertain lifestyle and handwork, plus balancing your work and personal life.

If you want to establish your own business, you have to invest your time, sweat, persistence, and a lot more to make things happen. You need to know everything it takes before you can call yourself a successful entrepreneur.

Here are some essential questions to ask yourself before taking the plunge:

1. Are you open to changing your lifestyle?

Being a business owner will bring a major impact in your everyday life. It is, in fact, changing the way you used to live. At the beginning, your work time and personal life may cause conflict. You will be challenged whether to use your time for business or spend it for personal purposes. Oftentimes, it can be a roller coaster ride.

2. Is there something different about your business idea?

Will your business offer something unique or is it similar to what other existing businesses offer in the market? Is your target market limited or crowded? Both are important questions to answer and think about. You have to see your place in the market.

Still, it’s not just about coming up with a brand new idea. What you can do is find a void in the market and figure out the best ways to fulfill that need. This will surely give customers a reason to do business with you or choose you over the competition.

3. Do you have a financial foundation to support your business?

Money is, in fact, the major concern when starting a business. You need to be realistic when it comes to the financial aspect of starting and supporting your business financially. Take a look at what your start-up expenses, income flows, loans, etc. will be. In most cases, the best time to launch your business is while you’re still working at another job.

4. Will your business idea give value to customers?

No doubt, having passion to do something is an essential key to success. However, to be able to have a profitable business calls for something more. You need to bring something that would solve a problem for people or provide them with what they are looking for.

Better be sure that your product or services are something that fills a need or desire. People won’t spend their time or money to fulfill your dream, but they would spend it on something that would provide them value.

5. Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

There is no single or key trait to create a successful entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur and business owner needs essentially a personality and variety of small-business character traits. These include having the drive, passion, discipline, commitment, and a lot more.

Start evaluating your skills to know how business-ready you are. Identify all your strengths and work on how you will compensate for weaknesses. Also, it is important that you are willing to take measured risks or face every challenge that comes with running your business. Being an effective leader and communicator also matters.

6. Do you have a support network in place?

Don’t overlook this one, even if you’re planning to establish the business on your own. You will definitely benefit from the external support system as you run your business.

Your support system should include your family, friends, colleagues, mentor or coach, professional network, and anyone else. Some of them will act as your cheerleader, counselor, consultant, etc.  These people can help keep you on track, achieve your goals, or navigate through those roadblocks.

Interested in starting your own business this year, but don’t know where to start? Let Pamela Finnesand, The Business Maximizer, assist you. Schedule your free Business Breakthrough Strategy Session today!