Starting a new business is an exciting time – you’re likely going to be full of passion, drive and ambition, and also have big goals and dreams for where this business should go, and those are all things you should be feeling – after all, what’s the point of starting something you don’t feel passionate about and don’t really have any goals or dreams for?
That would be the definition of a waste of time, quite honestly.
However, before you go diving in – as tempting as it is, it’s important to be able to take care of the not-so-fun, yet still very crucial parts of building a business from the ground up, so in this post, we’re going to share with you some of things you should consider before launching your startup.
Have you tested the market?
The very first thing you should consider before launching anything that’s going to take a considerable amount of time and money is whether or not there’s a market for your product or service. Now, this will of course depend on what you’re launching and whether you need to do extensive research. For example, if you’re thinking of launching something like the next Facebook, then you’re looking at a market that already exists so much that there’s not much else you could do with it. If you’re looking to create a new kind of high temp camera, you may have more options, but then again if you’re looking to launch something where absolutely no competition exists, this isn’t necessarily a good thing and it could mean that nobody wants it, because if they did, someone would have created it already. So, it’s important to do research and find out if people actually want something before you spend time and money creating it.
How will you fund your startup?
Unless you already have millions in the bank or a hefty chunk of savings to fund your new startup, then you’re going to have to find a way to do this – if you’re launching something like a service then it’s easier to bootstrap, but if you’re launching a physical product or something like a software, then it’s going to take a little more in the way of cash. You have options such as a business loan, approaching an investor, or even going to the crowdfunding route. No matter which option you choose, it’s important to know ahead of time how you’re going to fund your startup.
Do you have a back up plan?
Some people shoot down the idea of having a back up plan because they believe it says you don’t believe in yourself, but this is just crazy. Having a back up plan says nothing about your belief in yourself or your startup, but it’s simply a smart strategy for anything in life because life in and of itself is unpredictable and it makes sense to have something to fall back on. It certainly doesn’t mean you can’t start again, but you maybe just have to switch your approach.