The prospect of increased wealth, freedom and job satisfaction have led many people to start in business for themselves. Many have failed, however, because they did not clearly identify their personal and business goals. Write down your specific goals and aspirations on paper. This will help you to think about them clearly.

Each method of [tag]business start-up[/tag] has its pros and cons. It is essential for you to know your own aims, strengths and weaknesses in order to decide which is the most suitable start-up method for you. Perhaps, spare 10 minutes to try an online personality test. You might be surprised by what you discover about yourself and your [tag]business partners[/tag].

It can be pretty scary when you start to think about all the things you have to know about and be able to do to start a business, but it doesn’t have to be! What I will done in this write-up is to help you think through the process of starting your business in a logical and structured way. That way you can focus on one thing at a time and gradually work your way through all of the important stuff you need to know about.

There are three main stages in setting up a business and each stage needs you to approach it in a slightly different way. These stages are:

• Think: Gathering the information you need to help you decide to write the business
• Plan: Writing the business plan
• Do: Turning the business plan into action, and making it happen

You are allowed to think anything you like! Do not allow yourself to be restricted in what you think about. You can do anything you want (at the moment), no matter how large or small, logical or illogical, ambitious or modest. Forcing yourself to be a bit more positive in your thinking at this stage will really pay dividends later!

Most people only know that they need money but don’t know how to raise the money. They just don’t know! They have already decided they might not get the funding. Do not allow yourself to make this kind of decision at this stage in your thinking. Believe in yourself and in what you want to do and the rest will be much easier.

Many people think that the key motivator for [tag]starting your own business[/tag] is to get more money. This is not always the case. I know people who have taken a drop in income to run their own business because they were able to spend more time doing the things in life that they want to do. I also know people who take very little time off from their business because they get a lot of personal satisfaction from being in their business. It is usually a matter of finding the right balance between income and time off to ensure that running a business is a satisfying experience for anyone. You are the only person who can decide what the right balance is for you and your personal circumstances.

Do you have a good idea for business? It doesn’t really matter how good an idea you have, what really matters is that it is a good idea for a business. To be a good idea for a business you need to be able to supply something that people or businesses will want. Not only do you need them to want it but you also need to get them to pay you for it! Many businesses have discovered, sometimes too late, that there is a huge difference between having something that people want and having something that people are prepared to pay a fair price for.

How do you get an idea for a business? You might be lucky and already have an idea for your business. If not, you may be amazed to find out that a big proportion of the people who want to start businesses do not have an idea for their business when they start thinking about having their own business. The major stumbling block here seems to be that many people believe that the idea they need for their business has to be brand new and has never been thought of by anyone else before. If they manage to do this they will be part of a very small minority of people who start their own business!

Research has shown that there are four main sources of ideas for business:

1. Invent something new: Inventors of new products, services or processes are few and far between. Congratulations, if you have managed to come up with a brand new idea! Do not worry, however, if you do not fall into this category, there will be plenty of other opportunities to find an idea for your business.
2. Copy someone else’s idea! You could just copy another idea but you are more likely to be successful if you could improve it or find a new market for it. Have you ever seen someone doing something you thought you could do better?
3. Spot a gap in the market: Could you supply a product or service that makes life easier for someone? How often have you said “I don’t know why no one has invented….”. Maybe you have just thought of someone who could!
4. Use your own skills or interests: If you have a particular skill or hobby this could form the basis of a new business for you. Could you create a product or service using your skills and interests that people might buy from you?

If your idea seems to fit into one of these categories, just take a minute to see if you could get another (better?) idea by thinking about some of the other categories. If you don’t have an idea yet, take a few moments to note down your thoughts about each of the categories and see if this helps you spark an initial idea for your business. You can use the first idea you come up with to think about the following question, then come back and think about it again with another idea later!

Download this free book – “Secrets of the [tag]science of getting rich[/tag]!” It is my gift to you.

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