Main Page
How to start a business from scratch - a step-by-step guide
Do you want to start a new business without investment? Every day, thousands of offers appear on the market and it is becoming increasingly difficult to surprise consumers. What is the basis for successful entrepreneurship? Why do you need a business plan? Why are mistakes good? We will answer these questions in the article. These ten tips from famous business people will motivate you.
What do you need to know before you start your business? Proper preparation is a mandatory phase before you start your own business. Both psychological mindset and careful information gathering are important. Do not worry if this process takes several months. Proceed as follows.
Prepare yourself psychologically. If you previously worked in recruitment and were responsible for a specific area of work, you will have to change because now you are responsible for the whole company: finances, advertising, products and the team.
Define the goals. What do you want to achieve in a month? What in a year? The creation of any business starts with setting goals. Through them you will determine if you are moving in the right direction.
Explore the market. Are there many competitors? What is the threshold for starting the business? Is there a demand for the product you want to sell? Answer these questions before you start your own business.
How to start your business from scratch: 6 Simple Steps What is the best way to start a business from scratch? Take action step by step: define the idea, create a business plan and then start the business. You can see how to do this step by step below.
1. Define the idea An original and sought-after idea, is the basis of the business. Analyse what you are good at and what product is missing in the market. The most important thing at this stage is to actively search and analyse information. Make a list of several options and gradually choose the most promising ones: Ask your friends and your followers in social networks and analyse popular search queries in search engines.
2 Create a business plan The business plan contains all the information you gathered in the previous step. It is virtually a guide to your business, which is necessary for a clear understanding of what you are doing. It contains the following information:
- What product you are launching.
- Who your target group is.
- What the sales markets are.
- How much start-up capital you need.
- Who your competitors are.
- What the value of a unique selling proposition is.
- What profit you expect and when.
- What promotional tools you will use.
3. get started After creating the plan, it's time for implementation:
- Start advertising (internet, attending thematic events).
- Rent a space to work in if needed and equip it.
- Buy everything you need: Raw materials, tools, supplies.
4. hire staff Consider whether you need a team or can manage everything on your own in the first phase. When you start hiring staff, clearly define what professional and personal qualities you expect.
5 Start selling Look for customers and start selling. The first customers should ideally be close people who will give you honest feedback and tell you what needs to be improved. Don't be afraid to change tactics at this stage.
Stay active: Meet people for profitable cooperation. These can be customers, suppliers or organisers of thematic events. Create a database of loyal customers and ask them to recommend your business if they were satisfied with everything.
6. make a profit Think about how you can make the most of the income: Start advertising, buy new equipment or expand the team. Review the business plan and consider whether you can scale the business.
How to start your own business from scratch: 10 useful tips. Learn from other people's experiences. We've collected ten tips from prominent business people who talk about their mistakes, building relationships with customers and managing funds.
1. Be careful with other people's money. If you receive money from investors, listen to Oracle founder Larry Ellison's advice: "Treat the money you receive from an investor as if you earned it yourself and spend it as carefully as you would your own."
2. Create a strong brand. Define what philosophy and values you will spread and what feelings and associations you want to evoke to emotionally engage customers. "A brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room," said Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The elements of a company's identity, such as a tagline and logo, will help you express the essence of the brand. You can create them yourself, contact a designer or use a service like Logaster.
3. Win the loyalty of customers. Give feedback, offer loyalty programmes and show that you really love what you do. "If you don't win people's sympathy, you won't be able to sell them anything," said Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA.
4. Be prepared to make mistakes. No business is complete without failures. Learn from it and don't give up and listen to Sumall founder Dane Atkinson: "Failure is a great mirror, it will give you an improved version of yourself."
5. Don't miss the opportunity. "Stop pretending you have 500 years to live," says Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Follow trends, try new things, set goals and strive for excellence.
6. do what you love. This way you will be more motivated and less likely to burn out. Google co-founder Larry Page says: "Work should be a test, but the test should be fun."
7. Be patient. Be prepared for a long process and don't panic if something doesn't go to plan immediately. "No matter how talented and hardworking you are, some things just take time," says investor Warren Buffett.
8. Keep developing yourself. Keep track of what's new in your niche because the competition is constantly growing. This is confirmed by Brian Chesky, one of the founders of Airbnb: "You have to live and think like a child, with curiosity and surprise. I'm still young, but I always try to look at what people are doing who are much younger than me ".
9. Surround yourself with professionals. Delegate tasks, advises Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: "You need a team. It doesn't matter how talented you are, there are areas where you won't be a specialist. "
10. Don't be lazy. "If other people work 40 hours a week and you work 100 hours a week, then even if you do the same, you will achieve in four months what it will take others a whole year to achieve," confirms Tesla, PayPal and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
The 15 best ideas to start a business from scratch How do you start a business with no investment? It is possible to start a business like this, but it depends on your knowledge and the business sector. Service businesses and businesses that operate in the info industry require the least investment. This section contains 15 ideas for starting a business.
Services. For this type of business, you do not need to invest much if you already have the necessary knowledge or equipment:
- Designer
- Internet marketer
- "Husband for an hour"
- Photographer
- Event organiser
- Beautician, hairdresser or make-up artist
- Crypto businessman
Sales. Investment depends on whether it is an online or offline business:
- Opening a clothing shop, a shoe shop or a household goods shop.
- Dropshipping (intermediation in online purchases).
Info industry. Starting a business in this industry is a good idea for professionals, with extensive, practical experience in their field:
- Creating and selling online training courses and conducting training or paid webinars.
- Opening your own dance school, yoga studio, cooking school and so on.
- Tutoring.
Production. Good handmade products are excellent to sell online or offline:
- Handmade: felting, knitting, sewing.
- Handmade soap.
- Sellable sweets.
How to avoid typical mistakes made by budding entrepreneurs It's impossible not to make mistakes, but you can prepare yourself for the most common ones. Here are some of the most common mistakes new entrepreneurs make and how to avoid them.
Starting without preparation. Analysing the market and creating a business plan is the foundation of your business in any field.
Not taking responsibility for quality. Are you in the info business? Then make sure you have enough knowledge and experience to share. Do you want to sell homemade cakes? Then improve your skills first and get feedback from your family and friends. Poor quality will damage your reputation.
Expect immediate results. You will not make millions in profits or gain worldwide recognition in the first month. Be prepared to grow gradually and overcome obstacles.
Conclusion In this article we have explained how to start a business from scratch without investment and what ideas can be used to do so. It is quite realistic to start a business without a large amount of start-up capital. The most important thing is the right choice of a niche, thorough preparation, an original idea and the willingness to work hard to achieve results.
About the author: Dmytro Leiba is a marketing expert at Logaster, an online brand identity generator that has helped millions of small businesses with their branding. He has hands-on experience writing about technologies, marketing trends and branding strategies.