HOW TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND BE YOUR OWN BOSS. INTRODUCTION. More facts have emerged on the failure of some business enterprises in Nigeria. Are you thinking of going into a business? To run a business of your own, will bring a sense of independence, an opportunity to use your own ideas, earn higher income, profit, return on investment and experience the pride of ownership. You will be a boss, by being a boss; you can also adopt new ideas quickly since your enterprise will be a standardized one. This opportunity for flexibility will be one of your greater assets. You must accept sole responsibility for all final decisions. Wrong judgment on your part can result in losses not only to yourself but, possibly, to your employees, creditors and customers as well. Moreover, you must all alone withstand adverse situations caused by circumstances beyond your control, such as depressed economic conditions or sometimes strong cut-throat or unethical competition. REALIZE YOUR WEAKNESS FROM YOUR STRENGTH. You must also realize that you will be the most important employee in your organization. It is imperative, therefore, that you carefully analyze your weak as well as your strong points. To overcome disadvantages and obstacles and keep your business profitable means long hours of hard work. Invariably, when you become your own boss, you will work longer hours than when you were working for someone else. At least, this will be necessary in the beginning if not for quite some time. No matter what business you choose-whether as manufacturing, wholesales, retailing or service business-you must satisfy your customers, your creditors and your competitors will dictate to you. Customs, standards organizations, quality controlling agencies, health authorities and even insurance people will see that you meet certain standards or criteria and follow certain laws or regulations. You will also have to abide by the prevailing labour, wage and of course, keep up-to-date records in accordance with the requirement of the local or national tax payment system. RECOGNIZE THE TYPE OF PERSON YOU ARE. So the first question you should answer after recognizing that there is a dark side as well as a bright side of the prospect of establishing your own business is “Am I the Adventurous, Self Determined, Diligent, Independent, Self Reliant and Highly Motivated Type? You will do it to recognize your weak points and be able to properly x-ray them before starting your business. Perhaps you can compensate for them by hiring the right help or obtain the right type of associates whose strong points should offset your weak ones. If you are weak in too many of the traits needed for managing a business, do not at all undertake the venture. BE A GOOD FORECASTER. The market forecast assumptions consist almost entirely of objective factors such as; the state of the economy over the next 5-10 years, the impact of potential competition, customer acceptance rate and price sensitivity. However, be aware of the fact that test marketing is not a panacea. If the business forecast seems to be bias, the profitability also may seem to be overly optimistic. PICK THE RIGHT CHOICE OF BUSINESS. You must start by writing out a summary of your background and experience. This should include the varieties of your job experience, academic and educational attainments and even your hobbies. Then write down what you really would like to do. Try to match these with what you would like to do with what you have done. If you do not like the kind of business you have chosen, your frustration and lack of enthusiasm may lead to its failure. But in making your selection, remember that the more experience and training you have had, that can be put to direct use in operating a particular enterprise, the better your chances of success. Next, you must make a sincere effort to determine, as best as you can, whether customers or clients will like the type of business or service that you wish to establish. So, pick the field you think you know much about. HOW MUCH INITIAL MONEY (CAPITAL) IS NEEDED. First, how much would you need to make a start, no average amount can be specified, since circumstances alter cases and therefore, do differ so widely that your immediate financial needs would vary according to the type of operational activity being contemplated, the kind of merchandise or service to be handled, the income level of your prospective customers, your personal trade contacts and connections, the location of the business, the general national or even global economic conditions prevalent at the time of starting. To effectively do this, you must try to obtain typical operating ratios for the kind of business in which you are interested. Such typical ratios, multiplied by your estimated sales volume or output should serve as bench-marks. WHERE TO LOCATE YOUR BUSINESS. Once you have decided on what type of business you are going to do and the amount of money you intend to invest in it, you are now ready to selects suitable location for its operation. You may have already picked the site, base on the environment, your hometown or some other part of the country-in which you would like to live and work. While it is important to choose a location in which you will be happy, you should make sure that the immediate or neighbouring community needs the business or service you plan to open. RETURNS ON INVESTMENT (ROI). Will the rate of returns on the money you invest in your business be greater than the rate you could possibly receive if you invest that capital elsewhere? However, it is also, quite possible that your decision to go into business may not depend entirely on the prospect of financial rewards. For the potential return on investment may well be overshadowed by your burning desires for independence, for creativity and innovation, intangible psychological, altruistic, nationalistic or locational consideration must not be overlooked. Nevertheless, you cannot hope to make your own business a going concern unless you can hope to receive a financial return on your outlay. INSURANCE. Before opening your business, you should arrange for adequate insurance protection or cover. Otherwise a part or all of the investment may be lost in an accident. You should insure against those risks over which you have no control such as fire, wind-storm, liability judgments, or the death of a key-man. On the other hand, you should not insure against a potential loss which would be trivial if it did occur. Neither should you pay for protection which costs so much that the premium is a substantial proportion of the value of the insured property. See You at the Top.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 06:39:35 +0000
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