Starting a business on your own may seem like a daunting task, but fret not – these guidelines aim to simplify matters for budding entrepreneurs as well as provide some insight into the planning stages.
1. Self-motivation
There’s no action without motivation. Be sure to recognise the reasons behind starting your own business, and build a mission-vision statement behind it.
2. Passion
When you’re establishing the nature of your business, personal interest goes a long way in helping you develop initial ideas. The key is in striking a balance between passion and the public’s interest in order to determine a sellable product that is constantly in demand.
3. Family support and assistance
Although this may be a given, earning family support is equally as important in the planning stages. Not only does it act as an emotional and mental pillar, but family is usually the first option for sourcing funds in starting a business. Honest and transparent communication is crucial for keeping the relationship on good terms.
4. Good health
From planning to accounting and marketing, running a business isn’t as easy as it seems. You need to be both physically and mentally fit in order to cope with the hectic schedule of an entrepreneur; more so if you’re doing it on your own or with one partner.
5. Entrepreneurial spirit
A striving entrepreneur should ideally exert constant effort and dedication to overcome obstacles, so they can power through the initial phases of starting a business. Besides that, they also need to conduct adequate research in order to garner a strong, working knowledge of the current trends and patterns in the specific field. Armed with information, they can then decide the amount of seed money to inject into the business, and start from there. It is okay to start small; as a rule of thumb, ensure that you have enough funds to survive at least the first business year.
*Guidelines were obtained from SME Corp, a Central Coordinating Agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia that formulates overall policies and strategies for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
