Going it alone in business.......

Setting up, and running a new business, whether it is your first or your hundredth is a process of experimentation, trial and error and learning. It starts with the business idea, and for a new entrant to business ownership, this in itself can be fraught with difficulty. Is the idea a good one? Has it been done before? Is it commercially viable? Is it something one can do day in day out, working long hours in the initial period, i.e. is it something at least passably enjoyable? Having worked through these and all the other questions around the initial concept, it is all about the business plan. This, for a business owner is perhaps the most important document you will ever write, more important than sales orders, purchases, staffing, everything, because your business plan is not just the document that your incorporation and financial backing is based on. It is the document that sets out your plan for your business through the initial period. It defines your goals and strategies, your fundamental ideas and goals, and it may well be the only thing that keeps you on track when things get tough.

It may need modification as you realise that something that you were certain of working turns out not to work, a surprisingly common occurance, but without a properly structured and complete business plan, there really is no way to maintain control on the business. We saw a classic example of this on this weeks episode of the apprentice where the teams had to create and launch fast food outlets. One team had a business plan, working out costing, sales projections, budgets and so on, and the other team didn't.....guess who won? So you have an idea and a business idea and a business plan, but then you need to keep monitoring how the business is stacking up against the business plan, how close or otherwise you are to meeting targets, the speed of progression towards goals, and everything else. At the same time, you have to keep track of the financials, is the new business approaching viability? How is the trading position on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? Can you cover the bills and still take a little something for yourself?

There are a tremendous number of demands for time and consideration within any new business, on top of actually running the business itself, and the best advice I can give to anyone thinking of, or actually starting their own business, is to accept that there has to be time to run the business, and time to learn how to run the business, in essence two full time jobs, and you can take my word for it, if you are going to successfully do two full time jobs, you are going to need to be incredibly well organised, well supported and perhaps most importantly, really, really good at managing yourself, both in terms of working, but also in terms of making sure you look after yourself so you are able to do all that work.....

.....Setting up your own business is not for everyone, but if you can get it right it can be the most rewarding way to work. All I can say, to anyone thinking of going down this route is good luck, and make sure you get the work/life balance right....