How To Start A Business From Scratch

If I were to start a business from scratch today, the first place I would start is not with what form my business should take. Everything in business should flow from one place: the customer. What the customer wants, how much he or she is willing to pay, how we will solve the customer's problem, and so forth. If we start an S corporation or an LLC can be thought about and done later on.

Businesses Fail

The main reason we start at the customer and solve his or her problem is because we need the foundation of a product that will sell for a profit. One that will continue on for years to come. Without that, there is no business. If you go all out and start a business without this kind of product, the business is likely to fail. In fact, even if you come up with a great product, you still have a high risk of business failure. But without a great product, it is almost a certainty.

The Customer's Problem

Finding a problem to solve is finding an opportunity. You add value when you uniquely solve a customer's problem with a product they can buy.

What is a product?

A product can be a physical product such as a shovel, a digital product such as an eBook, or a service such as business consulting. It could also be a method of distributing that adds value, or a way of organizing or combining existing product lines. Really the product is up to whatever you can imagine.

Trial Sales

Initially you can sell under your own name, which is the same as a sole proprietorship. If you find that your product sells, you can always sell your sole proprietorship to your corporation or LLC. But until you find a product that really sells for a profit, you should continue using trial sales.
What problem do you have?

After finding a product that sells for a good profit, evaluate your own business problems. Evaluate how you can serve the customer better, your concern for liability from damages or injuries, potential cash flow pitfalls, and so forth. Incrementally improve your business as you discover your own problems, especially focusing your attention on the customer. At this point you will probably want to consider business structure.

Have you run across a customer problem to solve? Can you create a product that will solve it?

About The Author

Brian Satterlee ran the successful multi-level marketing distributorship Satterlee Marketing from 1997 through 2002. He created an ecommerce site to sell a dietary supplement and recruit new sales people. When the MLM company changed to a retail marketing plan, Brian decided not to start again but to devote time to his family.

Brian now writes and works as a Business Analyst. He received his MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2009.

Visit http://www.splashplan.net for more free small business tips from Brian Satterlee.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Brian_Satterlee/604622

Right Now Is the Best Time To Become Your Own Boss

There has never been a better time to live the self-employed life. Jacob Morgan, co-founder and principal of Chess Media Group and author of The Future of Work (2014), researches how market trends, demographics, political imperatives and advances in technology will likely impact the global workforce over the coming years and his findings indicate that self-employment has significant momentum."The picture for freelancers is very good. It's going to be a huge area going forward."
Morgan points out what most traditionally and independently employed workers have learned over the past two decades: the steady paycheck is going the way of the dinosaurs. Those who are now age 50 years or above started a career and expected to work steadily and at increasing pay for 25 or 30 years and then collect a pension as a reward for their contributions. Employment at one company was considered an accomplishment and job-hopping was seen as disloyalty, if not instability.

Morgan's research shows that now, the average worker is employed at a place of business for about five years and Millennial Generation workers last an average of three years. "Nowadays, when a company is struggling, the first thing it tends to do is cut jobs."

Because freelance Solopreneur service providers typically have a list of active clients, we are somewhat insulated from the whims of business owners. We win some projects and lose others, but we will not be laid off and abruptly lose all income. Our revenue-generating billable hours are sometimes less than ideal; however, finding project work is much easier than finding traditional employment that pays a living wage, especially when the job seeker is age 50 years or older.
Self-employment allows more opportunities to create money-making options for yourself. The flip side of the uncertainty inherent in self-employment is that becoming your own boss could earn you a great deal of money. Traditional employment comes with income caps and many employees have been disappointed to learn that generous merit increases, bonuses and sales commissions are harder than ever to come by. Government statistics for the past 20 years have shown that middle class wages have become stagnant.

As companies shed permanent workers, the demand for project-specific professional help continues to rise and for freelancing Solopreneurs, that is a good thing. Much depends upon one's skill set and the local economy, but the next three years and most likely more than that, look promising. Deciding which of your competencies are the most marketable and discovering how to connect with available projects forms the heart of the freelance Solopreneur business model.

In 2010, Intuit predicted that by 2020, the independently employed workforce in the U.S. would rise to 60 million. There are now numerous associations, such as the Freelancer's Union https://www.freelancersunion.org, that offer professional resources and other support to Solopreneurs, including affordable medical and dental insurance. Co-working spaces are available to those who need modestly priced per diem meeting space or shared office space for those who would like to interact with a cohort of like-minded Solopreneur professionals.

Morgan recommends that those who have full-time employment consider taking on freelance work as an experiment. "Now is an excellent time to do it, but I would do it in a smart way... do a little moonlighting and see how it goes. If it goes well, devote more effort to it. If not, you'll have learned it's not for you."

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Kim L. Clark is an external strategy and marketing consultant who brings agile talent to the for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders with whom she works. Please visit http:..polishedprofessionalsboston.com to learn how your organization can benefit when you work with Kim.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kim_L._Clark/647250