How do you start a business?

Question

What's the best way to start a business from scratch? I have a really good idea for a retail store/cafe, but I don't have the first clue about how I should go about getting finance for it and where to open, or if I should even start as an online store first. Can someone please give me tips on the best way to start a business.

Answer 1

Starting a small business takes a lot of courage. But, as they say, courage does not pay the bills. To be successful – to stay in business – you need more than courage. You need a combination of hard work, skill, perseverance, and lots of luck.

Some things you need to consider:
- "How can I support my family while I build up by business?"
- "What are my abilities?"
- "Is there a market for the product or service I have chosen?"
- "How long will it take this business to reach the financial goal I have?"

Here are the basic steps to launch a new business successfully:

1. Provide a benefit.
2. Determine the fit with your market.
3. Right timing is everything
4. Be ready to support your business
5. Develop a blueprint for success
6. Market, market, market

I recommend that you start reading and learning more about the business you are planning to start. You did not specify the type of retail store you want (e.g. is it a clothing store, sports store, gift store, etc) but here are some guides to starting a retail operation

How to Start a Retail Guide http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/retail/0,7167,,00.html
How to Start a Clothing Store
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,287057,00.html
Starting a Specialized Clothing Retailing Business http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol89/specialized.htm
Retail Store Operations and Management http://retailindustry.about.com/od/storeoperations/
Starting a Retail Clothing Store http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1102419629706&pagename=CBSC_SK%2Fdisplay&lang=en&c=GuideHowto

I suggest you start preparing your business plan. Even though you may not apply for loans from financial institutions, the process of business planning can help you think through your business. It can help you determine the costs involved, how to get suppliers to sell to you, how to market the store, expected profitability, etc. Here are sample business plans for a retail store that you can check out:

Retail Clothing http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-01/Retail-Clothing.html
Men's Clothing Retailer http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-04/Men-s-Clothing-Retailer.html
Special Needs Clothing Store http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/business-plans/Business-Plans-Volume-07/Special-Needs-Clothing-Store.html

For detailed information, I suggest you check out the following books:

Start Your Own Clothing Store (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up) (Paperback) by Entrepreneur Press http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1891984314/104-9178108-5912741?v=glance&n=283155
Retail Business Kit for Dummies by Rick Segel http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076455381X/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-9178108-5912741?ie=UTF8
Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471212644/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-9178108-5912741?ie=UTF8

Sometimes you may want to have someone guide you as you start your business and help you with the right things to do. There are several places where you may be able to find a mentor:

- Government Mentoring Programs such as SBDCs, which works with community colleges and local business development councils to offer mentoring programs http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html ; or the Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet_roundtables.html
- Volunteer programs such as SCORE http://www.score.org which is composed of mostly retired executives and entrepreneurs
- Formal mentoring programs such as Athena Foundation http://www.athenafoundation.org/programs/globallinks.html , Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program http://www.helzbergmentoring.org/HEMP/ , or The Aspen Institute MicroMentor Program http://www.micromentor.org
- Professional organizations such as the National Women’s Business Council http://www.nwbc.gov/Mentoring/programs.html
Industry and trade associations
- Local business groups, such as the chamber of commerce
- Local chapters of business groups

There is so much to learn about starting a business that it is hard to put everything here. I suggest that you to check out the following websites and learn from their content:

Entrepreneur http://www.entrepreneur.com
Inc.com http://www.inc.com
SBA http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/

You may also want to check out the resources of the following associations:

National Retail Federation http://www.nrf.com/content/default.asp?folder=home&file=main.htm
Retail Industry Leaders Association http://www.retail-leaders.org/new/index.aspx
Electronic Retailing Association http://www.retailing.org/new_site/default.asp
Professional Apparel Association http://www.proapparel.com
American Apparel Producer’s Network http://www.usawear.org/
Worldwide Responsible Apparel Manufacture http://www.wrapapparel.org/
American Apparel and Footwear Association http://www.americanapparel.org/
National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers http://www.nafad.com/
Fashion Group International http://www.fgi.org
Apparel News http://www.apparelnews.net/

Answer 2

I advise you learn "Skip College: Go Into Business for Yourself." It's an e-book, and the hyperlink is hooked up. There are tons of examples given, and methods to hold it realistic. You are absolutely historical ample to begin your possess industry, however you obviously want a plan. You additionally must discover anything you are passionate approximately - you can be much more likely to revel in it, and much more likely to make a well residing. Also, recollect that you can by no means move incorrect serving to different individuals make THEIR desires come actual.

Answer 3

There's a national non-profit organization called "SCORE" - Service Core of Retired Executives. This organization is FREE to you to use as a resource for planning. They can assist you with all your questions, point you in the right direction if a business loan is needed, how to create a business plan, talk you through some of the logistics, even in most cases, connect you with a retired executive which most closely matches the business you'd like to create! They are on the web at www.score.org

Good luck to you and your business! :)

Answer 4

How to Build Any Online Business Fast
By: Daegan Smith

There is a ton of information on this site!

Answer 5

You've got several different issues here; let's tackle them one at a time

RE: Retail Store

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Start and Run a Profitable Retail Business by Jim Dion, Ted Topping
* Retail Business Kit for Dummies by Rick Segel
* Specialty Shop Retailing: How to Run Your Own Store Revised by Carol L. Schroeder
* So You Want To Own The Store: Secrets to Running a Successful Retail Operation by Mort Brown

ONLINE:
* Selling Online: How to Become a Successful E-Commerce Merchant by Jim Carroll, Rick Broadhead
* The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build, and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business by Janice Reynolds
* Intelligent Selling: The Art & Science of Selling Online by Ken Burke
* E-Commerce for Dummies by Don Jones

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

RE: Cafe/Restaurant

Book titles:

* The Restaurant Business Start-up Guide by Paul Daniels
* Restaurants That Work: Case Studies of the Best in the Industry by Martin E. Dorf
* Restaurant Financial Basics by Raymond S. Schmidgall
* Opening a Restaurant or Other Food Business Starter Kit: How to Prepare a Restaurant Business Plan and Feasibility Study by Sharon Fullen
* Upstart Guide Owning & Managing a Restaurant by Roy S. Alonzo
* The Restaurant Managers Handbook: How to Set Up, Operate, and Manage a Financially Successful Food Service Operation by Douglas Robert Brown

RE: Starting a Business

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* How to Really Start Your Own Business, Fourth Edition by David E. Gumpert
* How to Really Create a Successful Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide by David E. Gumpert
* What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs (What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business) by Jan Norman
* Business Start-Up Kit by Steven D. Strauss
* Start Your Own Business (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up) by Rieva Lesonsky

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 6

I would try to start an online store 1st there is a lot less risk involved. Once you can establish that I would then look to branch out.