FROM EMPLOYEE TO ENTREPRENEUR (Part 2)

HIT UPON A FEASIBLE IDEA

Do your research and back it up with a solid plan

French author Victor Hugo once remarked: “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.”

If you want to be your own boss, a sensible plan is to start with what you already know. The chances of success in starting a new business outside your industry are very low.

Investors will favour a business you start in the industry you have worked in because you understand its peculiarities, trend, customers and challenges intimately.

But if you want to leave your industry because you never felt it was a good personality match anyway, you will need to come up with feasible ideas. Don’t start a business just because you like its products. If you are a foodie, it does not mean you will succeed in the restaurant business.

Here are some ways you can generate ideas for a business plan:

Sport trends

Look at current trends and try to analyse which ones are likely to grow. Look for demographic patterns or lifestyle changes. Be aware of fads. If you can see a bandwagon, it is too late to jump on it.

Take, for instance, the bubble tea stalls that mushroomed in every corner of Singapore in the 1990s. Many more entered the already crowded market. Suddenly, the bubble burst and most of the vendors vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

Observe closely people’s shopping and lifestyle habits. Travel abroad for ideas by visiting exhibitions, shopping centres and observing the local lifestyle. Bounce ideas off friends. Research widely on the business you want to start.

Market Gaps

Look for gaps in the market that can be filled. For example, there are many families who want domestic cleaning services but do not want to lose their privacy by hiring a live-in helper. There may be an untapped market for domestic services at a reasonable price.

Think about how you can innovate and improve existing businesses. Small coffee shops can increase their business by providing newspapers and magazines for reading and free internet access for surfing.

Business plan

You have done a lot of market research and have hit on what you want to do. As you write your business plan, analyse your assumptions, think about potential costumers and factor in all the costs and financing issues.

In the process, try to avoid paralysis by analysis will do as much damage as too little. As American businessman and politician Ross Perot says: “When I see a snake, I kill it. I don’t appoint a committee on snakes.”

Remember that your business plan is never completed. You have to constantly renew it. The most successful business are those with plans that are continually adapting to changes in customers demand.

Share your plan with others so that they give you feedback .Use people as sounding boards. Do not make the mistake that some new entrepreneurs make-they keep their ideas to themselves because they are afraid that others may steal them.

Be Single-Minded

Keep your focus when your business gets off the ground. Never lose sight of what your customers want. Customers’ needs change all the time. Your business must meet their demands.

Regularly ask your customer service and front-line people what customers want – and listen to them.

When the going gets tough, focus on your dreams. Those who achieve their dreams are people who hold on to them. Motivational speaker Jack Black says: “A strong dream is better than a three-year scenario planning from an MBA.”

Learn from mistakes

Allow yourself the time and space to get thing wrong. The probability of getting everything right the first time is slim.

Soldier-turned-author Andy McNab, recalling his experience in the Gulf War, wrote in Bravo Two Zero: “We may not always have made the right decisions but the worst decision you can make is not to make any decision.”

Achieve a balance

After a period of intense work, take a well-deserved break.. Plan a short holiday, go shopping, visit a spa or see a movie. You are not as irreplaceable as you would like to believe.

As a responsible entrepreneur, you should have a deputy or a network of people you can rely on to get the work done in your absence. Enjoy the perks of being your own boss.