Some Important Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Starting A Business

Its easy to choose a line of business sometimes. You see a product or service invoke and you tell yourself "why not?'. Well, before you decide venturing into that particular line of business, you need to ask yourself some questions:

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• The Engineering Question - Can you create it?

I get it. The chocolate cake inside a box looks so yummy and people are rushing it. The woman who makes it sells over a 100 pieces of chocolate cupcakes in a day so you think you should start a cupcake business too. You too can sell over a 100 pieces a day and get so much profit but can you bake? Do you love baking? When choosing a business to venture into it is advisable to choose something that comes naturally to you. Something you love doing so its work and fun at the same time; you never get tired of doing what you love, I tell you.

• The Timing Question - Is now the right time; is there a time limit?

We sometimes get so enthusiastic about a business idea that we forget to ask ourselves this question. We throw our energy and finances into launching a business, gathering a team and making what we consider necessary plans to kick start the business only to faces opposition from outside influences. Let's pick an example of Ice cream production during rainy season. Yes, there are people who still take ice cream during cold weathers but can it be compared to the population that would in hot weathers? Also, the consumers would probably be familiar with your product at the end of the sunny weather that they still opt for it when they need something cool during the cold season.

• The Monopoly Question - How many producers does this product have currently?

There are lots of establishments out there and someone might have already executed the idea you have in mind. Now, that isn't so bad a thing as there is room for competition. However, you have to have something unique to attain a higher level of success. You need to discover a way to make your services or product have an added upside for users.

• The People Question - Do you have the right team?

The people you have as your time will greatly influence the success of your business. People will like minds as you to satisfy a particular want in the market will bring out innovative ideas and strategies to better the business. The wrong team will however drag the business down and probably wont hang around if the business takes a little longer to bloom. Choose your partners wisely.

• The Distribution Question - After creating this product, can you adequately distribute and deliver it to those who need it?

This should be self explanatory. It is not just about creating a product, is there a market for it and can you supply your product and deliver your services to those who are in need of it easily?

• The Sustainability Question - Can you defend your market position 10 years into the future?

We see lots of new businesses fail, mostly due to improper management and inadequate planning. Success in a business is a process, might not happen immediately. Are you prepared for the waiting stage? Do you have enough will power to carry you through? what about the needed resources? Lets assume you starting a new school. You have to employ teachers and get books and everything ready to start; at the beginning stage you not sure of the number of kids you will be having and so you cannot base the salary of the teachers on this. Can you run the school effectively for 1 year, pay the bills without depending on the influx of pupils or students?

Also, five years down the line, will you have as much enthusiasm for this field you venturing into as you do now?

These are some of the questions you should answer before making a decision of starting that business you have in mind.