Making a Start to set up a New Business

Identify the product lines/materials that you wish to trade

Notes and lists

Try not to overstretch yourself in the initial start up stage. If you have several commodities/services to consider, make a list and then identify which will be the best items/services to start with, and which ideas to ‘put on the shelf’ for the time being. Be quite clear in your mind that the goods or services you identify are things that you can create yourself and that will meet stringent quality control aspects that the marketplace will automatically administer. People will only buy things that reflect the quality and service for which they are looking.

Identify production methods and costs.

Are you planning to produce items or is your business merely to market and distribute them? Whichever, check the ways that this business can be carried out, and work out the logistics. Do you need premises/machinery/equipment and where can you get these? Do you need vehicles to get around to potential customers/clients, to attend meetings, or vans to deliver goods? Can you manage the production yourself or are you going to need to employ staff? That is a whole new ball game, which we will discuss later. Again, do your homework thoroughly. This planning stage is crucial to the successful commencement of your business. Make notes about everything.

Establish Supplier links

business ideas

Identify all the supplies you will need to purchase in order to produce the goods or to generate the service you are offering. Do your research by checking online and see what suppliers are out there. Check all their websites and see which ones are in close proximity to your own location. If you can access goods nearby, you are also reducing your business’s ‘carbon footprint’ which is beneficial. Make a list and contact them all for price lists, delivery schedules and availability of the items you will need them to supply. Then choose the most cost effective options. Never go with the first company you contact, always look for comparisons. Many suppliers are also prepared to provide a few ‘free samples’ of items to allow a choice to be made – and in the hope it will generate business (or not as may be).

Identify an appropriate marketing/advertising/ promotional development programme.

Planning

You will doubtless have your own ideas of how you want to promote your business commodities. But the primary things you have to do is to check your potential market place very carefully. What you need to know is – are there any other companies out there producing the same things that you are planning to do? Be very careful with this research. You need to know, not only what competition is out there, but what prices are they charging for their products/services? Are they prices that you can compete with ? If they are not, then you need to make drastic revisions to your development plan at this point. It is no good trying to put the same goods into a marketplace that may already be saturated with such items. But if you can offer a new and unique range of products/services, then this is the time to approach the marketplace with new concepts. So now is the time to brainstorm your marketing techniques. If you can produce the marketing literature yourself then do so, because the internet has a huge volume of materials that can aid you with this. But if you cannot do this sufficiently then get quotes from professional marketing people as to how best promote your new business. Remember advertising yourself is essential, otherwise, how do potential customers know you are there? But you must also be realistic and set yourself a realistic budget for this purpose. You cannot spend money that you have not yet generated.

Establish a Marketing Profile

Do not go mad and advertise in expensive newspapers, journals, magazines or telephone books. Such advertising will run away with thousands of pounds, in the early stages of your business, which will put you into negative figures before you begin. Decide where your products/services will sell best. Who is your target market? Where would such potential clients look for availability of the kind of things you are providing? Access any business journals that exist in that marketplace. From all this information you can begin to put your ideas into operation.

In the next part we will look at the financial and legal requirements that a new business will require . . .