“Starting a Business Tips
There’s a whole wealth of information about starting a business, and we won’t be able to give you a complete guide (that would take several books and several years of research!). However, from our experience at ClickMechanic, where we’ve grown over the past 4 years we can pull out some common themes that have been crucial to our success.
What are your hypothesis?
Inherent in any business plan is a number of assumptions. Working out what these are and then testing them should be one of the first things you do as a budding entrepreneur. A helpful exercise is to write down any assumption you’ve made on a post-it note, and stick them on a graph with an x and y axis: ‘Ease of testing’ and ‘Criticalness to business’
If they fit in the top-right, get testing. If you’ve got things in the bottom right, then now is a good time to rethink your idea. Testing your assumptions with as little resource as possible is key to building a successful business.
Apply the scientific method
In science, you start with a hypothesis, collect some data and then evaluate. This build-measure-learn cycle is incredibly helpful in starting a business. No amount of thinking and hypothesising can replace feedback from real customers. Iterating quickly will help you to improve your product or to change your idea if needs be.
Watch the financials
Startups fail because they run out of money. Ensure you’re measuring the financial performance of your business from day one. It will give you early warning signs of where you need to change course or areas where you can scale. Not only that, but investors are looking for a return, and any founders without a good grasp of their financials is a huge red flag.
Why do you want to start a business?
Building a business from scratch is hard work, and takes long hours, sacrifices and dedication. Before embarking on a project, consider why you want to start this particular business. Just because you have found a gap in the market doesn’t mean that you want to dedicate the next few years to trying to exploit it. So do some soul search, pick an industry that you care about and build a business you’d be proud to be running in a few years.”
This article has been provided by an external organisation, as such the views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Careers, Placement and Experience Centre.