If you have read a lot about starting a business, you’ve probably seen over and over that it’s not so difficult. It just takes determination, hard work and patience. This is all true. For most people the problem usually comes in actually starting. You know like when you really want to do or say something but you just don’t know how to start? I put together a couple of steps to help starters get past that starting point.

Decide what you want to do – This should be fairly simple. You must have had some idea in order to want to start a business. Something that you are good at and you actually enjoy doing. It can be writing, marketing, advertising, selling, chocolate bunnies, pretty much anything sells these days. Most people have the idea in their heads, how they are going to make millions, start their own ‘apprentice’ show or something like that. You basically need a plan, not many go as far as Scofield by getting it tattooed all over their body but you get the point, decide what you want to do and have a plan.

Do the research – Check out the field you want to join and even better know the ‘who is who’ in it. Who is likely to be your mentor, who is going to be competition, who can help you out, who to look up to, who to aim to beat. All of these different people will come in handy at different points later on. Through this research you also get more insight and maybe new ideas on how to operate that you had not thought of or maybe even discover things that are not already offered that you can bring in.

Get a website – A website is becoming increasingly crucial in running any kind of business today. It is very important to have good stuff on your site, stuff that people will want to know, don’t just copy and paste from some other sites or pick up other people’s articles. I’ve seen many people complain about the state of Kenyan websites and how they are not up to standard, and seen even more people ripped off by cons selling clone sites. To save you any misfortune I recommend Nickel Pro for your website design, management, hosting and all your web needs.

Get clients– This is the part that needs a lot of hard work and patience. You have everything set, your website running, all that is left is getting clients. You need to let people know that you are out there, what you have to offer and why they should get it from you and not your competitors. There are many ways to do this. You can start a blog of your own, leave comments on other peoples blogs, get into forums, chat rooms, write articles, send emails, do everything. Even the old school African way, tell your family, friends and neighbors and tell them to spread the word.
A big mistake most people make in this part is doing this blindly. Before you start advertising yourself, decide who you want as clients, a target group. After narrowing it down to a specific people advertising is easier and if you do it right most of it will pay back.

Keep clients – Now you have a running business and a bunch of clients yay! It’s not yet time to relax though. In fact, it’s sometimes harder keeping your clients happy than it is just getting them. They came to you because they think you can do the job right. All you have to do is prove to them that you are better than everyone else and make sure they don’t regret picking you. How you treat your clients is very important. Update your website with information they need to know, reply to their comments on your site, answer their emails in time, give them high quality products, timely deliveries and do everything you can to make sure they are comfortable.

Launches – Yes launches, not lunches. One reason why a lot of on line businesses do not succeed is lack of stimulation. If you offer the same thing, over and over, after a while it gets to be kinda boring. To keep your business alive you need to have a launch maybe once every two or three months. Depending on what your business is.
What is a launch? It involves bringing in something new, a fresh idea to your business. For example we had Host a Charity a while back and Biashara30 right now, which is starting soon by the way so sign up if you haven’t yet. These new and different things that you bring in give your business a little spice. Launches also give your clients something to look forward to, makes your duty interesting too since you have to find something new every so often plus it offers an opportunity for you to get new clients due to the new additions to your business can be services or products.

So stop thinking about how you are going to do it and postponing, the sooner you start that business the sooner you start becoming rich 🙂