Before Starting a New Business
By Andrew Oman
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| Credibility is important to customers and clients, and if you haven’t walked the walk, people won’t believe you when you talk the talk. |
As the job market continues to lag behind, inspiring terms in the media like “jobless recovery,” many disenfranchised professionals are thinking of starting their own businesses. While the rewards could be greater than their old salary, so are the risks, begging the question “Am I ready for this?”
Andrew Oman, founder of the Olive Tree Network
(www.olivetreenetwork.com) — an organization devoted to helping entrepreneurs evaluate their risks, find funding and get started in business — believes answering a few simple questions can help new entrepreneurs find their footing.
· What is your product or service, and how it is different than your competition? If your product or service isn’t very different or it’s not delivered in a unique fashion, you may already have the odds stacked against you.
· What is your management background and expertise that allows you to provide your product or service? Your resume should be comparable to that of other senior managers in your field. Credibility is important to customers and clients, and if you haven’t walked the walk, people won’t believe you when you talk the talk.
· Who will be your customers? If your customer base is rich with mass consumer possibilities, or deep pocketed clients, you’re off to a good start.
· How will you market to your customers? Knowing your customers is important, but knowing them is meaningless if you don’t know how you’ll reach them to educate them on your company and sell to them.
· Who are your major competitors? There is a difference between entering a field that is new, with few competitors, and going against big companies with deep pockets. You may need to raise more capital if you are going up against some heavy hitters.
· What are your start-up expenses, the one time expenses that need to be considered prior to beginning business operations? Setting up an office, creating business cards, buying software and other costs need to be considered in order to determine how much funding you’ll need to take your best shot. HBM
