Small Business Saturday Blog

It’s the dream. Every aspiring entrepreneur wants to launch their own business. It’s the reason why shows like Dragons Den still get such amazing viewing figures, despite being on something crazy like series seventy-three. Everyone dreams of running their own business, and if you believe all the literature out there, it’s as easy as one-two-three.It’s not easy. It takes trial and error. Success can be fleeting or worse, limited. However, that all being said, it is straightforward. There’s a clear path laid out. Once you reject the commonly spouted ideas of the easily created successful business and the near-prophetic business hero, you can view it for what it is. A difficult path that relies heavily on luck and hard work, as well as insight and intelligence. You can always get by with ambition and hard work; it’s just a little harder.Coming Up With the Perfect Idea Here’s a hint, it doesn’t exist. When it comes to thinking up your business idea, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Humans seem to live their lives waiting for the bolt of inspiration, the passion, the calling that’ll usher them into success. The great unspoken truth is that that just doesn’t happen. Success always looks easy and random to those on the outside. If you sit around waiting for success to find you, you will end up unremarkable and mediocre. No idea is perfect.So how do you come up with a killer idea then? Here’s two clear ways. Brainstorming, and paying attention. You can brainstorm the industries and businesses you’ve got clear knowledge, experience or interest in, and keep having deeper and more focused brainstorms on elements of those businesses, till you find an existing part of those industries lacking an integral part. A part your business could provide. This could work within product or service based business models.Paying attention is what it sounds like. It’s the reason people start businesses within industries that they already work. They’ve generated the idea through being intimately aware of the industry. In order to do this yourself you need time, and the ability to keep a sharp eye on opportunities and ideas.Market and Industry Research Now you’ve got an idea, you need to do your research. Endless research. There should be nothing you don’t know – you need to know your industry inside and out. Limitations as well as potential successes. Go all scouting, and be prepared. Getting caught unaware by rival products, limitations in the industry and other problems that are well documented is well and truly rookie league nonsense. Cut it out at this stage.Facts, Figures and Projections As a part of your market and industry research, you should be generating a powerful roster of facts and figures. Only through this kind of precise research can you hope to create a compelling case for investment later on. Projections allow you to both optimistically and realistically predict the future of the business’s earnings and growth and they can only be generated through facts and figures, as well as through the business plan and timeline.Business Model, Plan and Timeline Once you’re secure in your idea and you know everything there is to know about the industries and markets involved, then you need to come up with a business model, plan and timeline. A business model basically outlines the potential structure of how your business is going to run, function and grow. The plan is what it sounds like. A plan of how you’re going to get what you need to get done, done.A key part of the plan is the timeline. Knowing what needs to be done when and sticking to it is key for maintaining accurate projections for everything related to the business. Without this, you won’t know whether you’re on track or not. It all needs to be quantifiable and the only way to achieve that is through figure and fact based goals.Getting Investment Provided you get all that lot done to a decent standard, there’s no real reason why you’ll struggle to get investment. Investment is absolutely crucial to a new start-up and without it you could find yourself struggling. However, just show off your explicit and thorough business plans, figures, stats and projections to a variety of banks and investment firms and you’ll be on your way in no time.About the author: Huw Moxon is a marketing manager at Informi. Informi is a free online resource for small businesses and sole-traders. Informi provides guidance and technical support on everything you need to know about starting a business - from finance and legal advice to profit-boosting tips on marketing and technology. Whatever stage you’re at, Informi will help your business grow and flourish.