Starting Your Own Business and Thriving

Every year lots of people make the decision to set up in business.  There are various reasons for this including:

• More flexibility
• More control of their working life
• There is something that they are passionate about which they believe they can make money from 

While lots of people set up in business, lots of businesses fail.  According to Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited, 1 million businesses are set up in the US each year:

• 40% fail in the first year
• 80% fail within five years
• Of the remaining 20%, 80% fail in the next 5 years

Put simply, only 4% are still around by year 10.

Other studies suggest that the failure rate in the first 2 years is around 50%.

So what steps can you take to increase the likelihood of success?

1. Be clear about what you want to do
2. Get clear about the level of commitment you are willing to make
3. Research the market for the area of business in which you wish to operate
4. Have a very clear vision for the business that is easy to convey
5. Set some very specific and measurable goals
6. Be clear about how you are going to generate business making sure that it is appropriate for your market
7. Have a very clear financial plan with a big focus on your cash flow
8. Keep your set up costs as low as possible.  Really question what is absolutely necessary to get started
9. Prepare a risk management (or contingency plan) in case things don't proceed as you expect
10. Build in some form of accountability structure to keep you focussed.  It could be a business buddy, business coach, business mentor or business start up group.  Initially it can be a real struggle and it is all too easy to give up
11. Give proper attention to areas like accounting, tax, insurance, business rates, health and safety, data protection, etc.  While these might not be the areas that really excite you they do need attention
12. If you are lacking skills or knowledge get yourself on a course.  Your local Business Link or Chamber of Commerce are good starting points for finding events.

 A few final thoughts to remember:

• It takes time to get established
• You need to stay committed even when the going gets tough
• Believe in yourself
• Be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them
• Have fun