A well thought-out and detailed business plan may not always be the best route to take in starting a business. For most people, having all the pieces to the puzzle of their business plan is vital to them before executing that brilliant idea. As a result, most aspiring entrepreneurs stand the risk of a delayed kick-off or someone else stealing their business idea. In Lagos for example, the chances of someone else implementing your idea are particularly high. In a city filled with many industrious people seeking to take advantage of the next best opportunity, delaying execution of your business may be detrimental. In basic terms, it is equally important to execute a business idea than to lay so much emphasis on a perfecting a business plan. Here are some practical tips to get you started in planning your business:
Visualize the Idea: Before developing a business idea, ensure that it is a venture that you believe in, you are passionate about and its execution will make a significant impact to the target market. It is also important for you to be convinced that this business is something you will enjoy doing, and you have the ability to endure the struggle and overtime hours of work that are inevitable to successfully run your venture.
Conduct Basic Research: It is crucial to do basic market research on the product or service you intend to launch into the market. You can start by engaging people about your venture like family, friends and even professionals in your industry of interest. These people will be able to give you honest feedback. Also use available online resources that can provide guidance towards the direction you should be going in implementing your business idea.
Possess a Go-getter Mentality: After you have a clear picture of the next step to take, you must be willing to commit both time and resources to get you underway and take the risk of putting your idea out there. As an entrepreneur, your business is bound to either succeed or fail, and this should not discourage you from doing the needful in implementing your business idea.
Test the Market: Avoid wasting time and resources to perfect a plan rather than executing the business. Launch a beta version of your product and test the market with close relatives, friends, professionals and anyone who can give you feedback on your product. Constructive criticism from these people will give you first-hand market response about your product and will ultimately help you fine-tune your business idea to suit the target market.
Get the Right Team: Hiring the right team of people is vital for any business to succeed. Entrepreneurs typically fall under two types of leaders; they are either visionaries and see the big picture of what they want implemented, or they are experts in their field of business but lack strong marketing and operational skills. Either way it is necessary to hire the right staff who can fill your skill gaps, understand the core values of your company and ultimately accelerate growth in the business.
Launch your Business: It is key to launch your product or service to the market on a small-scale and gradually expand. At this point, you are already getting feedback from your customers and this will enable you improve your product or service overtime. Branding is also important at this point, as it will make a lasting impression about what you are offering.
