5 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Own Business

When it comes to starting your own business, there are various aspects to consider before launching.

16:00 17 November 2019

These areas may start to blend into one another, especially when it comes to product businesses. Areas such as R&D become closely connected to the amount of demand generated for a market solution.

Additionally, areas critical for business success such as customer service, employee welfare, benefits, insurance, licenses, patents, and marketing become increasingly important as you scale. That’s why a comprehensively designed business will leverage the cloud to maximize the efficiencies introduced into the business.

When starting out, it’s important to ask yourself the following questions. The answers to these questions will help you become more engaged with the business while giving you more context for successful execution.

Is there a demand for your product/service in the marketplace?

All founders must run tests on their minimum viable products (MVPs) to understand the demand for the product in its current form. This will help save costs associated with scaling up and expanding upon existing features offered.

Entrepreneurs must also engage with customers about what they want to see when it comes to a preferred product or service. The right model of delivery will help provide greater structure to startups, which is backed by the insights acquired during the demand testing phase.

Is your offering innovative enough?

Many entrepreneurs get inspired by their peers and focus on developing a similar solution in the same market. They might compete in a saturated environment or deliver a version of the product in a different market segment.

It’s important to ask yourself whether the product or service that you’re providing is innovative enough. This will help you gain a competitive edge over market forces, thereby giving you greater mindshare in consumer segments.

Do you have a comprehensive IVR contact center?

Customer communication is key, as it’s the lifeline of any growing business. Firms need to be structured around extensive IVR systems so that they’re able to handle the heavy load of incoming queries.

The best strategy to consider in the call center space is to opt for an omnichannel call center software. The top service providers in the space help empower agents with the necessary customer information from across channels such as social media, email, webchat, chatbots, and contact forms. This helps develop a greater relationship with customers while allowing them to communicate freely.

Have you considered the legal and taxation side of your business?

While there may be an appealing space to tap into, entrepreneurs must leverage the legal side of the business correctly. The critical steps of registration, legal compliance and taxation should be followed as per state and local laws.

Many founders work with the top tax planning firms in the country to help them get clarity about their taxes. They then focus on expansion through legal compliance and have them work out complex contracts, negotiate deals and regulate the business internally better.

Many of the top advisory firms also help in streamlining cash flows and managing incoming capital better. This helps them create maximum value out of the money coming into their accounts.

Do you have a backup plan?

All entrepreneurs must have some form of plan B, especially when they’re in a fast-moving space. They need to focus on delivering critical value in the best format possible, in order to capture market share at scale.

This includes having a pivot strategy in place, in case there are no margins in your current business, or you need to explore other avenues. You should also have a pivot plan structured when approaching investors. It’s important to value their capital investment by having a backup plan leveraging unique strategies.