Step 1: Why do you want to start your own business?
The most important thing to do is take time and really think about why you want to go into business for yourself. Make a list and look at it with a critical eye. Will starting your own business help you to realize these things? Get in touch with the motivations and desires that are hidden inside of you. Some questions to ask yourself are:
What do you want right now?
What is most important for you at this stage?
What drives you and motivates you in life?
How much do you want your goals?
What can you do differently that will inspire you?
What will bring out the best in you?
In addition to answering the questions above, write down the pros and cons of starting your own business versus working for someone else. Once you complete this simple task you will see which way the scale is tipping. Be realistic. If the comfort of going into an office Monday-Friday and knowing you will get paid is appealing to you, jot it down in the appropriate column.
If you are saying “I know I want to do something, but I just don’t know what,” make a list of the things that you like to do and answer the following questions:
What are your hobbies?
What are your strengths?
What are you good at?
The list that you create and answers you come up with will give you a bird’s-eye view of your business ideas to develop over time. Decide which items in your list are most likely to develop into a business and begin to take action.
Step 2: Focus on filling a niche
Create your market niche by applying your unique expertise, talents, and interest within your chosen field. Pay close attention to how your business can fill a niche during the research stage of your idea. As you conduct market research, you may find that there are a lot of established competitors in your chosen field. Naturally you will begin to doubt whether or not you should enter the market. How can you be sure that you are not wasting your time entering into this market? The answer is to differentiate yourself. What is your unique value? Find it and apply it. If you are entering a market where there are a lot of sellers, it’s a good thing. This means people are interested in that product category. Your challenge is to now find a unique void in the market to fill. How do you do this?
Step 3: Conduct keyword research
Brainstorm every word that comes to mind related to your niche. Now use a keyword search tool to look for similar terms, and more terms related to your topic. A tool that can be used is Ad word analyzer, which allows entry of a single word or phrase. The software will query search engine database, and find all related terms people did searches on.
Step 4: Participate in discussion forums
This is a good way to feel out what your potential customers are talking about. You can get feedback, see trends, and develop relationships with people.
Step 5: Don’t let what you find during research deter you from starting your business
Many will become excited about their potential product, or service until they find that there is competition, and then use this as an excuse to not go through with their idea. Others will look at an alternative niche and find similar results and repeat the process time after time. Finally after checking out multiple niches they conclude that there is just too much competition out there. Conduct thorough research but don’t let a little competition stop you from moving forward.
Below are lists of professional organizations to aid in your research efforts.
National Association for the Self-Employed
https://www.nase.org/
National Foundation of Women Business Owners
https://www.nfwbo.org/
National Small Business Association
https://www.nsba.biz/
Forrester Research
https://www.forrester.com
Stay tuned for part two of this two-part series.
