Starting a new business

You might not know this about me, but I have a master's degree in Management. I know that by itself isn’t worth much.

Do I have the experience to back it up?

More or less (I know I have to a certain extent but I wouldn’t tell you that).

Did I ever start a successful business by myself?

No (but I did my research on it (and did a mockup) for my master's thesis).

So in theory I should be able to set up a successful business (with some help on the financial plan, which really wasn't my strong suit).

So how can I tell you for certain that my business would be successful?

You know what? I can’t say that for certain either (starting up a successful business is a combination of so many things…) Let’s be honest, nobody can.

Not even the greatest entrepreneurs can tell you with 100% certainty that their next company will be a success. It might, or might not be. it is true though that they already know the ropes. They have already done it and know what is needed to start a successful business (or so they might have you believe. Because maybe the key to their success was timing and a good portion of luck — which is something you can’t simply replicate).

So how would I do it?

1. Come up with a (realistic) business idea (this is probably the hardest part).

2. Decide if I would be able to make this business successful by myself or if I need some people with other skill sets (for example making the financial plan - in my case) to join me right from the beginning.

3. Write my Business Plan. Now, this is NOT necessary (contrary to what some may have you believe, but I will write a different post all about the topic (in the meantime you can check out my Master Thesis— how I think a business plan should be used as a tool and by whom).

4. Turn the Business Plan into reality and adapt it according to results (this is very important. What you write or decide (you don’t need to write it) for the business plan isn’t set in stone. Feel free to adapt it accordingly. Don’t continue to follow something you know won’t work out.

5. Have fun with it! And believe in your project (if you don’t believe in it nobody will). How would you be able to sell it if you don't believe in it yourself? Investors will be able to look right through you. Because maybe you might not know this. But many times when finding a good investment the investors are more interested in investing in the person than the business itself. A good business idea with the wrong person behind might still fail (and investors know this).

As you might have noticed some of the points can be done interchangeably (however it may work for you).

If you don’t know what a Business Plan is: it is a tool that helps you guide your research about the business you want to create, its industry, and also more practical things about how you would make it work (including but not limited to a Financial Plan (the document where you put all the numbers (money that is needed and for what)) and a Marketing Plan (how will you promote the business? Who is your target audience? How can you reach them more efficiently?)). The business plan is also a document to which you can come back later and compare what you had envisioned versus what you made (and decide how you can further improve).

I don’t want to make this article too technical and long so I will talk about some of the referred topics in other posts. As I believe they deserve more detail.😉

If you got curious about something specific about this post or topic please let me know in the comments!