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Starting your own business ?

Discussion in 'General Business' started by shanesmith, Oct 23, 2015.

  1. #1
    With all the success stories around ,many want to start their own business .Yes , its a good idea . But mostly media gives coverage to success stories and they hardly gives coverage to failed business . And in most countries 80% of the business failed in first five years of operation .

    So how can you avoid failure ? In business there is are no right or wrong answers , but let me explain some points from my own experience , some from others experience and some from books.

    1) Why are you starting the business ?
    Well some want to change the world as Steve Jobs did , but some want to make money. Whatever you motive is , be clear about it . If you want a meaningful change in the society , you may have to work really hard and by the time you do the change you may have loss many aspect of life . If your main motive is only money , then you may find enough of ways that you can make money .

    2) What is your passion ?
    What is your passion in deep down of your heart? Are you a lover of traveling or you like sitting in front of the computer and doing coding ? Ask from yourself is what you are doing as the business or you plan to do as business is align with your passion. If you find a business to tally with your passion you will enjoy it . So its not only the destination will bring you the satisfaction but journey itself will bring you satisfaction

    3) Is your business depend on someone else knowledge or expertise ? If so what kind or relationship you have with that person and how deep understanding you have on that person? You cant do everything on your own so its ok to have a partner for the business but when you are partnering you must have deep understating of each others

    4) Are you entering a new market or are you competing on an existing market ?
    Well some time ago I thought being innovative and be the first in a market is the best thing , but after some unsuccessful and some successful venture I feel that if you want to try a new idea have a enough backing for funding . Because educating a market is one of the costliest thing in the world .

    I believe these points will add some value to you and will cover some more topics in the future as time permits.
     
    shanesmith, Oct 23, 2015 IP
  2. kimanierick

    kimanierick Member

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    #2
    wow! i definitely agree with you. some of the best advice is in the failure stories as that is where we get more knowledge.
     
    kimanierick, Nov 3, 2015 IP
  3. wwstewart

    wwstewart Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Good points, but I don't think "failure" can be avoided, at least in some capacity. Nothing will go 100% as planned most of the time, but failure can be a great opportunity to learn how to operate your business better.
     
    wwstewart, Nov 3, 2015 IP
  4. kimanierick

    kimanierick Member

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    #4
    that is very true. if you are entering a new market you have to invest a lot in market education. remember, they have been living without your product. try to research a historical background of the people. why is that product not there? can they afford it? what is their culture? it might restrict them.you must convince them that they need your product and the value it adds to them. find a strategy to penetrate that market and you shall win them. thank you
     
    kimanierick, Nov 3, 2015 IP
  5. PowerfulDigitalSolutions

    PowerfulDigitalSolutions Greenhorn

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    #5
    Very good points shanesmith! When first starting out, I think a lot of people make mistakes. However, it's important that we all learn from our mistakes and modify approach. I would also agree that it's not about the destination; it's also about the journey (having fun getting there).
     
  6. shanesmith

    shanesmith Active Member

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    #6
    wwstewart , I agree with your point that failure is a great opportunity to learn and operate your business better , but I believe failure can be avoided . When I first came to business I used to call my self as a risk taker , but later in the business life I learn that that , best business people are the one who MANAGE THE RISK , not the one who accept it blindly .

    So now I believe if you manage the risk properly you can avoid most the business failures .
     
    shanesmith, Nov 4, 2015 IP
    wwstewart likes this.
  7. wwstewart

    wwstewart Well-Known Member

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    #7
    Risk management...indeed. Just to clarify, I didn't mean "omg your gonna fail if you business"...I meant there are going to be times where something won't work the way it should. There are people that would be upset and give up. Good thoughts. :)
     
    wwstewart, Nov 25, 2015 IP
  8. Sonya M

    Sonya M Member

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    #8
    I agree that being in business has both success and failure, but as most have stated, one can learn from their mistakes. As a business owner I've learned to listen to my customers because they will tell you what works or what doesn't work. Oftentimes when people go into business for themselves they think their idea is the greatest, and it may very well be, but it should be tested to ensure that you have a market for your product or service. Otherwise, you're just spinning your wheels.

    What's more, providing value to the potential customer can turn them into a loyal patronage of your products and/or services.
     
    Sonya M, Nov 26, 2015 IP
  9. Kerie Hinchliffe

    Kerie Hinchliffe Greenhorn

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    #9
    If it's not what the market wants, it can be an uphill struggle to educate them. All businesses fail in some form or other, maybe not the whole business, but sections of it. A good business is one that recognises something isn't working and moves on quickly to the next thing or fixes what is not working.
     
    Kerie Hinchliffe, Nov 28, 2015 IP
  10. linkedfly

    linkedfly Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Exactly, it's not called failing, I call it finding a hundred things that don't work. There could be a particular aspect of your business that doesn't work or is not compatible with other aspects of your business. There could even be sections in your business model that are too advanced for your business at the beginning stage. For example, going for cheaper marketing packages that will have the similar desired effect of a more expensive package.

    Remember, you have already won the game of life by deciding to your self that you are going to be an entrepreneur, because sooner or later you will succeed and in this age of high speed information it's going to happen much sooner than later.
     
    linkedfly, Nov 29, 2015 IP