Starting a business in a recession – Only for the brave? 15
Starting a Business in the Recession.
Only for the brave?
There are numerous reasons for starting a business, and many very successful businesses have grown almost by accident. Whilst Richard Branson obviously had a major game-plan, who could have believed his Virgin empire would have grown out of school-boy trading?
Timing is crucial, but so are opportunities, brilliant ideas, hard work, great luck, natural ability, and of course good cashflow.
Whilst the current recession has its business casualties, it also creates great opportunities. How many civil servants and former Connaught employees have been biding their time to strike out on their own? Redundancy is a great catalyst to get budding entrepreneurs into harness.
And whilst the market may appear to be shrinking, houses must still be maintained, parcels must still be delivered, book keeping records and accounts must still be kept, websites built, roads dug up and re-surfaced, property traded, vehicles repaired and maintained. The list of potential opportunities is endless.
So what is required?
Firstly a pretty clear plan of what you are doing and why. Today this should take the form of a written business plan. Include your trading name and style of trading, a corporate aim, business values, and the reasoning behind your venture. Prove that you have carried out market research and that there is indeed a need for your type of operation. Include details about your own experience and skills, what you know about the competition, your proposed premises, marketing, staff, product sourcing, stock holding, and the risks associated with over/under stocking. Add some milestones, a list of advisors and partners, how you will finance things, and the all important review dates.
Reviews are vital because no business venture works according to plan. Some targets will be easy