What are the Steps to Becoming Your Own Boss?
The comfortable structure of a nine to five job is no longer cutting it out for you. You feel something else is better and more challenging. And that “something” is running your own company.
How do you start a business?
Conduct a personal evaluation
Assessing yourself and your business idea is crucial before starting a business. Set aside time to do a personal inventory of your goals and resources.
Why do you want to start a business? How much capital can you risk? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
This step is not to discourage you from becoming your own boss. On the contrary, it is an essential step to ensuring good start and the longevity of your business. It will allow you to plan and research, narrowing your focus for your future company. For example, you may prefer to buy an existing business in Utah rather than start one from scratch because you know the potential for growth. So instead of wasting your time on a feasibility study, you can focus on finding an experience business broker from Utah to help you find the right company to buy.
Conduct market research
Market research aims to understand the drivers and primary motives of customers who buy certain products. It analyzes consumer behavior and all factors that influence these behaviors.
Market research has always been a key fundamental in setting up and running any business. Without conducting a thorough research, it’s nearly impossible for you to succeed.
The basic questions your market research need to cover are:
- Who are your customers? Know them by age, occupation, income, lifestyle, etc.
- What do they prefer to buy? This means their buying habits, like how much they buy, their favored brands, the most popular product characteristics, etc.
- Why do they choose a particular product over others?
- What will make them buy from your brand?
Gather detailed research on customers through social media, Google Analytics and even through the traditional telephone interviews. You can also outsource this task to a reputable company that can provide you with the data and technology to learn about your target market.
Once you have adequate information to formulate your business plan, you can get down to the nitty-gritty.
Set up your business
The first step toward running a business is to register your company. You need to choose your business structure, which is critical to how you file taxes and the distribution of profits. You also have to pick the perfect business name, one that captures your brand and has recall. Then make it legal and binding.
Work with an attorney to iron out all the details and make sure to meet all the requirements. These include the federal and state tax IDs, licenses, and permits, among many others.
Most small business owners tend to have a more satisfying business experience than top-level corporate executives, even amid challenges. By conducting the necessary self-evaluation, market research and ensuring all legalities are in place, you’ll be well on your way to being your own boss.
