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| Image Credited to Teslariu Mihal |
Are you a beginner? You want to start a business from scratch but have no ideas how to go about it? Then in this blog post, we will get you covered with:
- What is ‘Starting a Business from Scratch’ Meaning?
- How to Start a Business From Scratch for Beginners
- How to Grow Your Business from Scratch
But however, it is generally agreed by financial experts all over the world that one easy way to say “Bye, Bye to financial scarcity forever is to start one’s own (home) business from scratch”. This is because amongst other things, business can afford one the freedom to make as much income as one could possibly do. And as the business grows and expands in profit, one would then be able to possess and enjoy those things that make life pleasurable.
With such enticement, it is not strange that not a few people usually desire to own their businesses. Thousands of ideas are given birth to everyday, strategies are evolved and business plans written, but most of these only end up on paper, tucked away somewhere on a shelf or in a bag to accumulate dust and never to be implemented, with the culprit mostly pointed at for the cause of the abandonment being ‘lack of financial support’.
But I want you to understand that to survive and keep your young family above water, there is only one way and that is to multiply your small beginnings or small money daily.
A real man who lost his paid job started small and multiply his 9k pay-off he got from his former employer. Let me start with these outlines above there.
What is “Starting a Business From Scratch” Meaning?
It means that you have to start a business from home, from garage, from dinning stool, from wheelbarrow and from kiosk, etc. It means you have to start a business from where you are today.
To grow and expand your business is to start with what you have from where you are today. You have no options than start with what you have to grow your business. That is what starting a business from scratch has meant.
That man I mentioned to you early started a business from his dinning stool in the front of his house that he used to eat with his family at home. Then he bought a few provisions to put it on the stool to attract customers as they passed by. That is how he grew business and expanded into a supermarket from the stool.
How to Start a Business From Scratch
The beginning of a business is so challenging, but with good sense, courage, determination, perseverance, cash management and sales skills with low start-up capital to drive, you will be able to grow into a flourishing business from small beginnings. Let me start with these steps to achieve a business from scratch:
Step 1: Look Within
To safeguard your future financially from bad time is to look within you. Think on what you can do to achieve your business from scratch. What did you learn when you help your parents to do something with trading while young? What talent/or resources do you have? What thing do you often enjoy most? Then start with it.
Step 2: Do Your Marketing Research
The first step to start business is to research your market. Take time to do your research. Just because you start selling something doesn't necessarily mean any person can or will buy it. Find who people are and what they want to buy daily. Think of a product or service people want to spend money on daily.
Step 3: Find Start-up Capital
Money is essential because starting a business requires an investment, whether small or great, depending on what you have. You can’t start a business with zero or no cash. Capital is the bane of business.
Decide what you have, how much you have to start a business, what you will need to start and how you will go get money to fund it. And if you want an angel investor or capitalist to put the money into your business ideas, then you have to start writing a business plan.
And your pitch decides success or failure. Before asking for financial support, evaluate or calculate the costs associated with your chose business and know how much money it will cost you to start and decide where to get funded from.
Step 4: Develop Inner Capacity
It is better for you to go into a business you are passion for and have researched on than follow others’tracks because it is hot. Find your inner capacity and develop it. This is a useful advice you must heed because it is said in the Bible, “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is”. So if your business must grow, you need to develop inner capacity as I said it again.
When you are not sound in your thinking, it is obvious that it will reflect in the way you run your business. How do you go about developing capacity? It is books/seminar you must invest in. You need to improve yourself knowledge-wise consistently if you want big business.
Readers they said are leaders. Ask the likes of Dave Ramsey, Mark Zuckerberg, Forbes owner, Dangote owner, etc. And they are able to grow their businesses as a result of what lies within.
Step 5:Give Value for Money
Excellent value is what you should strive to be known for. A good product they say sells itself. When you create a culture of offering people value in product and services, they will not hesitate to keep patronizing you. Be known for offering quality. Don't compromise standards on matter what it costs you. If you give much more than what people pay for, I tell you it will come back to you in a big way. Do the unusual.
Step 6: Choose A Legal Business Structure
Decide on what a business structure you should establish. There are four main types of business structure that you should determine:
1.Sole Proprietorship.
2. Corporations.
3. Limited Liability Companies (LLC);
4. Partnership.
Ask your accountant and attorney to assist you to make a right determination what business structure to be established.
Step 7: Build Your Business Name.
The richest man, Dangote, said, “Build a brand and don't destroy it”. People don't buy your product. They buy your brand name. Your identity is much more than your product becaus the name you choose will display how your business will be known to the world.
Choosing a right name will talk a lot about your company. Choose the right name that will allow the world to recognize who you are and what your company is. And you need a web domain name for your business brand because Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, said, “If your business is not on the internet, then your business is out of business”.
Step 8: Do Careful Record Keeping
To make your business strong and healthy is to do recording keeping if you are good at it or hire an accountant if you can afford that.
This is where many businesseses fail. And this is one skill that many business owners overlook. But mind you, if you follow suit, you are digging your business grave. Record Keeping may look technical but very vital. It is the major means of determining whether your business is growing or failing.
Step 9: Be Innovative
There’s no business you want to embark upon that someone else is not already doing. Well, that does not stop you from penetrating the industry of your choice with your offering. The only thing you require to have your own share of the market is to be Innovative.
That was the secret used by Frank Nneji owner of ABC transport. Others like Ekenedilichukwu were in before him, but he was innovative. He employed niche marketing. That was first-class customer service. Look for what others in the same industry are not doing and introduce it.
Step 10: Customer Service
The reason why you set up that business is because of the people out there. So you’ve got to learn how to treat them right. Your money is in there pocket. If you treat one right, be sure to get many more coming.
How to Grow Your Business from Scratch
1. Not all tips I offer you above there to start a business from scratch is a must if you want to go into small business like retailng trade or wholesale trade or distributorship business. It is only for big entrepreneurs or manufacturers.
2. For a small beginner or small trader, it is encouraged you to belong to trading/or religion association so that you can use it to raise some capital if you are in need for more business
3. To grow and expand your busines is to join a cooperative association which is also known as Esusu because it can help you save and obtain large sum of money to expand your busines.
4. Success in this business requires the ability to relate with people because they are your asset. No business is grown without people. They don't like being cheated since money pocket belongs to them and they want to help your business to grow with their pockets instead. So honest with people. Don't try to cheat them because they are your consumers and customers.
5. Replace each time you sell to grow business. Abide with the principle of replacement. You must always replace a bought item. Whenever you sell anything, ensure you buy it back immediately so that customers don't come and won't find it to buy from you. You may lose your customers if that becomes frequent. Also, adhering to this principle helps you maintain your stock level.
6. Avoid being too familiar with some people because familiarity breeds disrespect. And also it can make your business collapse gradually if you allow it. Remember over-familiarity with some people can harm your business.
They may start taking you for granted and be taking your goods gradually on credit without even paying back. It leads to small-scale business owners’ folding-ups. So you have to be strict about not letting people with such tendency to ruin your business.
Even if they label you a tough man, don't worry because they mean no good to your business. It is not that you shouldn't laugh or joke with your customers, but let those of them that might want to start taking your articles as they like to know you do not joke with your business.
7. Always take record each time you sell because it helps you to stay on track of the business.
8. Plough back your profit into something each time you sell because it helps you to maintain a good cash flow and keep your stock afresh.
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