Starting a new business venture and making sure it reaches its peak potential is a marathon, it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes courage, persistent effort, perseverance, and the ability to bounce back from inevitable setbacks.
This is why only 50% of new business ventures make it to their 5th year and only 4% to their 10th year. However, you don’t have to feel disheartened; success is possible if you are motivated enough and know the right tricks.
When you start off with a new business, stress is unavoidable; you would have a thousand things to oversee and not enough time on your hands. It is as terrifying as it is exhilarating. As mentioned, you can do it right only if you have the right tricks up your sleeve; so here they are.
1. An innovative business idea
Every successful entrepreneur starts off with a tremendous business idea that has great potential in the market. Today, innovation is key because competition is relentless. Unless you present your target audience with something unique, it is difficult to get their attention.
Yet, not everyone can come up with a creative idea right away because there are already a lot of competitors in the market who might already have worked on the idea you are thinking. To modify your approach, think of ways to introduce new elements, something that hasn’t been offered before, and address the consumer’s pain points.
When you come up with the idea, think in practical terms and see whether you will be able to find the needed raw materials from reliable suppliers. For instance, you can get high quality industrial chemical products from Continental Research Corporation without much hassle. But, before you start ordering, remember that your idea should be something you can realistically work on and make a success.
2. Expertise and knowledge
You might not always possess all the necessary knowledge and expertise when you first come up with the idea so you have to work on developing this. Seek training in the relevant industry and make sure you have all the information at your fingertips.
A major step in this process is market research; you must collect information about your target audience and potential customers. Knowing your audience will help make sure that your product or service will meet their needs.
When your approach is clearly customer-centered, it will facilitate your campaign because customers value product or service providers who understand and address their concerns.
In addition to knowing your industry and your target market, you must know your competitors. With this knowledge, you will be able to develop a brand image and marketing strategy that outshines the competition and directs the consumers’ attention toward you.
3. Market demand
Sometimes simply following your gut with a new idea isn’t enough and you end up investing time, effort, and money, in an idea that does not appeal to the target audience. The main cause behind this mishap is the lack of research into market demand.
To ensure your business venture is a viable choice, or to prove to the business funders that your idea is worth the investment, you must first calculate market demand for your service or product.
Market demand refers to the extent to which the consumers want the product or service. It is a combination of how many people want it, how much they are willing to pay for it, and the extent to which it is available to them.
Market demand for different products and services fluctuates so you must consider market demand for your idea at the time you intend to launch it. Market demand is particularly important when you are developing a new product because you don’t want to invest too much into an idea that no one will buy.
4. Sufficient funds
Every ambitious business owner knows that you cannot launch a venture without sufficient initial investment and funds to keep it afloat. How much you would need to invest depends on the type and scope of your company.
Fortunately, business funding doesn’t necessarily have to be from your own pocket. If you have a creative enough idea, you can get investors, business loans, and use business credit cards. Whatever your source, remember to have enough resources to cover all the necessary costs of launching your idea.
A good strategy to go about it is to have a solid financial plan in place before you organize your resources. Clearly outline how you intend to pay for the costs before your business starts generating a good amount of profit.
5. Goals that meet the SMART criteria
The acronym SMART stands for ‘specific’, ‘measurable’, ‘achievable’, ‘relevant’, and ‘time-bound’. When you launch a business, you have certain objectives in mind and in business terms, the best goals are ones that are SMART. With such goals, you can ensure your business has good structure and you know what needs to be done and when.
With being specific, you can focus your resources according to their priority. Measurability is important so that you can track progress. Achievability is of course a must because you need to think in practical terms.
Relevancy means that your short and long-term goals must be aligned with your business goal. Lastly, timeliness helps ensure you have a deadline to meet and keep progressing.
Final words
Not all business ventures end up as successful projects; some end up closing doors because of a bad strategy, planning and lack of research. If you are launching a new business, remember that an innovative idea, expertise, knowledge, market demand, funds, and SMART goals are necessary elements. With a focus on these, you will be a step closer to making your idea come true.
