Last week we looked at our fears and worries about starting a new business.
You should now have a list of all the fears and worries that may be holding you back from making the leap, and next to each fear or worry should be a solution.
But having fears about running your own business is not a weakness, it is good practise, and of course only natural, to evaluate our risks when making a big life choice, which leads me onto our next question:
Do I know my business risks?
There can be many risks to running your own business but there may be some that are specific to your industry too. Knowing the things that could potentially make the business fail goes a long way to making sure that doesn’t happen.
Some of the risks we need to look at are:
Financial Risk– Will I go into debt? How do I pay my bills?
Gauging the market- Have I over or under-estimated the market? Have I even estimated the market at all?
Product differentiation- Why should anyone buy from me? My current customers are obviously buying from someone else, will they leave, and come and buy from me?
Consumer behaviour- How can I forecast this?
Government regulations- These are often changing, have you checked that you are adhering to regulations and policies?
Environmental risks– No one could have predicted what’s happening in the world right now. This is a great example of the environmental risks that come with running a business.
Human risk- What if I mismanage the funds? What if I hire the wrong people?
So, how can you limit the risks that might be involved in your business?
- Find a business mentor or coach that can help you
- Research, research and more research!
- Speak with your competitors-If you can, find out what parts of the business they found to be the most difficult.
- Join social media pages, blogs and vlogs of people in the same industry.
The more prepared you can be before deciding to run a business, the better equipped you will be for any risks that may be involved, and remember-Anything that carries risk, also carries rewards!
Next week we will be looking at our next question- What values are important for business success?