Creating a New Business
Business Plan
Deciding on what type of business to open can seem mind-numbing. There are several ways to go about this, but the most important thing to consider: Will you enjoy owning the business? If you have passion for what you do, then all the hard work and long hours will feel worth it.
One common mistake people often make is to skip the previous question, and go directly to this one: Will the business make money? If you skipped the first question, then your business will fail. You will only put in so much effort. If you're sufficiently satisfied with your response to the first question and want affirmation that your passion will turn to profitablity, you're not going to get that type of reassurance. Opening a business is a risk just like any other.
However, when creating a new busines, there are things that will help put you on solid foundation.
Demand for Goods or Services
Take a look around your community. In the past, we would start this exercise by asking, "What do we need?" But this question doesn't work in the same way as it once did – the Internet of Things has changed the way consumers buy goods and services and has had a profound impact on local businesses.
Instead, we need to ask: "How can my business disrupt this type of industry in my community?"
This is an odd way of thinking about how to go about creating a business. But what you need to imagine is how you're going to carve out a piece of the market – how to set yourself apart from a crowded, competitive field. How are you going to be better than ones out there already? One of the best exercises for doing this is think about the Customer Experience and who you want your customers to become.
Design Your Ideal Customer
By carefully thinking about who we want our customers to become, we can create our own business identity. Notice we're saying "who we want our customers to become," as in the future tense, and not the present tense "be." You might be thinking that this is a superfluous distiction, but when we think about customers in this fashion, "who we want them to become," we create a narrative where the business and customer are partners in a journey. When we build this type of relationship with customers, they cease to be customers and become loyal followers.
Who will be your customers and what do you want them to become?
Using the image below, design your ideal customer. Think about the type of person he/she is now and label the person with the types of products he/she currently owns. Then, write a paragraph below describing how your business will help the customer meet his/her goals.
