STARTING A BUSINESS

STARTING A BUSINESS
What is a Start Up?
he word start up in business refers to the early stage in the life cycle of an enterprise. It is that period when the entrepreneur moves from the
idea stage to securing finance, putting together the basic structure of the business and initiating the business operations The start up company is that enterprise,that is at its early stage in the business life cycle just as a child in the early stage
of life. There is, therefore, need for parental support for the start up business to survive this stage As there is always a beginning to everything, the beginning of a business enterprise is referred to as the start up period and an enterprise that is just beginning is also referred to as a start up company.The start up company is that
enterprise that is at its early stage in the business life cycle just as a child in the early stage of life.
To encourage and support the survival of such enterprises in the economy, it is always advisable that certain exceptional conditions are put in place as a matter of policy to make such companies survive as they will be competing for resources with matured and older enterprises who already have the capacity to snuff life out
of such enterprises.

Starting a Business

Policy makers are, therefore, advised to implement policies that will protect and

Support start ups, particularly at their infancies. Access to funding and other one rational facilities are areas that could foster growth for start up companies.

When you look around your immediate community, you will identify the need for

some products or services. These needs are usually as a result of a difficulty or problem the community is experiencing. You can easily, therefore, determine what product or service could help in solving the problem or meeting the need to overcome that difficulty.Better still, if you take a critical look around your home, you will equally identify one need or problem within the house that you can apply your skill to solve by

providing a service or product that could address such needs.Where do You Start from?

Starting a business begins with you generating a viable business idea. This means you have to identify a need in your local community and use your skills to fulfill that need, in the process of which you will earn compensation for yourself in the form of a reward or payment.

Abusiness starts from an idea capable of meeting specified needs.Matching Skills with Business

We all have skills that we use in day-to-day life. We can use some of these skills (or a combination of them) to launch a viable business. This is because the ability to transform the idea into a product capable of meeting the identified needs lies in your capacity and capabilities called skills.

There are different types of skills: Thinking Skill (being creative, solving problems, making decisions, observing your surroundings, basing actions on needs and opportunities of the immediate context, etc.)

Conduct Skill (believing in yourself, managing your life, being responsible, etc)interactive Skill (working with others and accepting others irrespective of their tribe, gender, social status, whether they have a disability or not, etc.)

Entrepreneurship for Senior Secendary

Safety and Survival Skills (HIV/AIDS prevention, self-preservation, first aid, drug abuse prevention, etc.)Technical Skills (repairing bicycles, cooking, making crafts, reading,Singing, etc.)

The skills that will help us in business are usually a combination of our personal

(entrepreneurial) skills, our technical knowledge and expertise acquired in school Skills should not be confined to traditional stereotypes. For example, girls may make good motor mechanics, and boys can make good cooks List the skills you are convinced you have, starting with the strongest. Ensure that they cover a broad range of skills, such as planning skills, personal skills, and

health and safety skills, in addition to your technical skills.

Also list the needs that you observe in your local community that would require those skills.

Then, match your skills with the identified needs in the community by drawing lines between your skills and the needs.

Demand Assessment

The first step in starting a business is to identify a need in the community.

Estimating the size of that need is called demand assessment. Until the demand assessment is established, no other part of the business planning should be embarked upon.

While referring to the needs earlier identified within the community, it is important

to establish a list of methods and criteria that will be used to assess demand for a product or service. Some of these methods are:

Listening to people's complaints abaut a need in the community Informal surveys in the marketplace Mail surveys/questionnaires

Aneed that is highlighted in the local newspaper or radio Local focus groups, etc

Starting a Business

you are required to develop a survey to assess demand for any identified product service in your school or community. After gathering information concerning this product or service, analyze and classify such information into demographic

groups (for example age, gender, occupation, income status, etc.) to determine which segment of the community is asking for the product)

Ater completing this exercise, select another need and repeat the process followed earlier.

Defining the Market

The market refers to people in the community who need our product or service Land are willing and able to pay for it. They have a need that our product or capable of meeting. These people have the will to consume our product to satisfy

their needs. Finally, they have the financial capacity to pay the price we are charging for the product.The market defined above must be aware of the availability of the product or service and be able to obtain it. Helping the community to know about a product and how to obtain it is a marketing strategy. Every business must have an effective marketing strategy a marketing strategy to be effective, it must take into consideration the

following

-The location of the business

-Advertising the business

-Packaging of the product

-Relationships with other businesses

-Reputation in the community ('word of mouth)

Competitors' prices