Today many of those who want to do business do not even imagine what exactly this should be for the business. Therefore, the first thing that needs to be understood is in what field to begin work.
Today, their own business is firmly associated with many people with freedom and prosperity, which they will never find when they are hired workers. Only for most people, the dream of their business remains just a dream. And all because novice entrepreneurs can not determine their niche, do not know where to get resources for business development, and do not even know where to begin your entrepreneurial path.
If all these doubts gnaw at you, then why not learn how others started their business and not listen to their advice? So, you decided to open your business. What must be done first?
Decide on the market niche
Best of all, of course, if you have your own original idea. But this is not such a frequent occurrence, says the head of the network of real estate agencies «Expert» Elena Andreeva. «To start a business, we need unique ideas that will allow us to work without unnecessary competition. But there are fewer of these with each day, so entrepreneurs often replicate ready-made schemes that guarantee a certain income. «
Elena herself opened her business in 1996, when local real estate agencies began to actively appear on the market. Today this niche is still highly competitive, but the network of EA «Expert» managed to grow in two dozen cities in the Volga region, Siberia and the North-West Federal District. This example proves once again that a successful business can be built without «inventing a bicycle»
One of the spheres that will bring money, and do not require super-investments, is trade. Therefore, it is possible to open your own business with this kind of activity, says the founder of Isitpart company Ilgiz Gilmanov. He himself did so, having opened the company-sub-dealer of auto parts. «I decided to start with a traditional craft that will always work.» Today, the business of Ilgiz is a car portal for finding spare parts, which unites hundreds of stores and operates in 28 cities of Russia and 19 cities of Kazakhstan.
But even such a simple business as trade requires certain conditions. The most important of them – your business should stand out among a lot of competitors. Form a unique trade proposal, find your «chip». This can be as an exclusive product, and low prices or special conditions of service.
It should be noted that the choice of business must be correlated with its financial goals. If you want to earn a million, you need to understand that it is practically impossible to sell small things. Therefore, it is worth looking for a product that will sell very well or is very expensive.
Most likely, a modest trading business that requires small investments, and incomes will bring relatively modest. But it will allow a novice businessman to try his hand, gain experience and earn a certain amount of capital, which can then be invested in the launch of a more serious project.
Test your business idea
If you are one of those lucky people who have the idea of an unusual and low-competitive business, you are waiting for other pitfalls. One of those who found such a business idea was the founder of the network of the cafe «WOKI», working in several Russian cities, Andrei Zhdanov. Inspiration for his business he drew from the movie «Godfather», whose characters ate noodles in boxes. At that time such a meal in Russia was not common, and Andrew decided to launch his delivery service. Today, one point of «WOKI» has a turnover of 700 thousand rubles.
But no matter how interesting your idea is, to enter the market without checking it is a big mistake. «The idea should be not so much unusual, as understood for most people» – explains Andrei Zhdanov. If your business does not find a response among potential consumers, then you will not be able to make money on it. Therefore, before embarking on the embodiment of one’s idea, it is necessary to understand whether there is a demand for it.
At the same time at first it is not necessary to conduct expensive marketing research. To begin with it is necessary to address to social networks, search systems or to the friends. For example, the latter can try to sell what your future business will offer. If the proposal causes friends’ interest, then you can think about further work.
Study the market and calculate