You could be wondering, sitting on the fence with an idea or a desire to start your own business. Inspiration to start a business comes through many different sources and not all reasons are valid enough to pursue a business.

For instance, bragging/showing off or getting fed up of being answerable to your boss all the time isn't the right reason to start your own company. Because when you do, you are then answerable to your employees, customers, partners/investors, etc.

So, before you do take those first steps, you must know the landscape where your feet will land on. Being aware is the first step towards taking the right decision.


Your Business Must Solve a Problem

Whatever you decide to do as a business, always start with a problem that a specific category of people have or one that you have encountered yourself. Do not start up because market research states great potential for your industry.

Go the extra mile in finding out what challenges people are facing, and then build your product or service to address that. Nearly every successful company built to survive, solved a problem for a defined group of people. For example, Dropbox solved the problem of syncing files across multiple devices. WhatsApp solved the problem of messaging (without incurring messaging costs) across multiple phone manufacturers.


Procrastination is Dangerous/Startup Killer

* “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone” ― Pablo Picasso

The first step of starting a venture is to start one. If you want to start your business, shut up and start up. If you don't act on your idea today, someone else is bound to stumble up on it and take it to market before you can.

No idea is unique until it is executed, for the difference lies in the execution than the idea. Google wasn't the first search engine when it was launched. There were many others. But what differentiated Google was its execution (algorithm) of the existing idea.

The day you decide to startup, is the day you should take the plunge. There is no right time or moment to start your business and you will never be able to imagine all the possible things that can go wrong even before taking your first step. Cross that bridge when you get to it.

* “Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” ― Charles Dickens, David Copperfield



Failure is One of the Prerequisite of A Business

* “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” - Robert F. Kennedy

If you are going to startup, you are bound to fail. For in failure are life's little secrets. For in failure is where you will discover a pivot that can make your product or service successful. Angry Birds was the 52nd attempt that finally made it for Rovio. PayPal was Max Levchin's fifth attempt at entrepreneurship that finally won him the things he deserved. So embrace failure.

You cannot learn to ride a bike by reading how to ride one. You've got to hop onto one, fall a few times, but then you get up and hop on again. And only then will you gain the confidence and the balance to ride free. This is exactly how it works in startups too.

* “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” - Ken Robinson


Capital is a Bane

This holds true for mainly tech ventures. The more money startups have had in their initial days, the more mistakes they have made. So it's a good thing that you do not have capital to startup as you wouldn't foolishly hire professionals more than you need or rent a fancy office space, which is irrelevant on day one.

If you want to start a product company, bootstrap. Pool in your resources from savings or borrow from friends or family. There are many more ways of raising money to build your product. But importantly, get a proof of concept done (outsource if you must) and get some traction before you take it to investors.

If you plan to start a services business, then get your first client, and then hire a team to work on it or simply outsource. Deliver a fantastic service and then work your way into setting up your own team.

So, here having established the ground for taking your first steps as an entrepreneur. This was the easy part. The hard part is to quit your job and take the first step. And the day you break free, that is the day your fears will be laid to rest. Because, that's the day you've just learnt to take your first step and there's no stopping henceforth.

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” - Jack Canfield

Surround yourself with people that matter. Your network is your net worth. #NuffSaid

Hmmmmmmm

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If you are thinking of quiting your job to start a business of your own,be sure you start your business before tendering your resignation letter.and the most important thing is be sure that whatever business you have started is working well before you resign

Insightful

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GOOD POINT.

.

hmmmmm

start ur business small and grow before you quit your job.

Okkk. I will take note

GMB 2015

Change!!

Hmmmm idleness bad

Right now, I’m at work,
using the Internet. But in
my mind, I’m already at
home, using the Internet.

Is reasonable sha.

some entrepreneurs are born while some are made

one can also bcum an intrapreneur....acting lyk an entrepreneur even within anoda's enterprise..

nyc 1 op, lyk temple run ........wen u fail/fall, u try try try again.

Una too fast to comment!!! I thought I was fisrt to comment just nw, una be winsh

I don't know why entrepreneurship has always look so scary to me :S

Ʊ r on point.
Almost regrettin a biz I started in august, but wen a frnd told me how sha failed in 5 biz... I decided to fasten my belt wit d one I av n A̶̲̥̅♏ makin a headway.
Everytin Ʊ wrote here all happened to me. Wish I had sumone to pre-inform me, I wouldn't av invested as much initially; all d same, I tank God.

Nice thread.......the Job quitting aspect tho ......cnt u keep both ....Cnt quit mehn!

Great points op! Many people make the mistake of thinking that just because they have a unique idea or a pimped-up version of an existing idea, coupled with a little savings in the bank, they have all it takes to start a company. A lot many have also been misled by too much reading, I know this might sound a little controversial but because you have it all worked up in your head after some inspiration from some success book doesn't mean it will all work up as planned. My point is this: try to dip your legs in the river you are about to dive in to know how cold it is before you plunge. Make sure your new bucket can hold water without licking before you throw the old one away. #mycharitydonation.

Op nice one

The new trend.

You must have faith in what you want to do.

If you encounter hardtimes during ur new biz, it is not come to stay it will surely pass.

You must have patient and engage in consistent action.

learn from where others have failed

please am a biafran ...... OK... case closed .... I was like... ehn WWW.nscdc.com *coughs* that's all

entrepreneurship is not a career its an attitude
having a job and being an entrepreneur is mutually in-exclusive

having a job u can also be a successful entrepreneur

stop misleading people with rubbish posts

NICE ONE OP

What is your motive? If your motive is to make money at the outset, you might as well just stay put in paid employment.

Successful businessmen always have one thing in mind while starting up a business. Problem Solving. You will only get paid for solving problems. Dangote, Bill Gate, Otedola, Oyedepo, Oyaks, Ogunbanjos, etc are all making tons of money cos they are solving problems and meeting human needs.

In essence, your business has to be relevant to the people you are targeting... to be continued

true

Quite insightful.

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