5 questions to consider before starting a business

5 Questions to consider before starting a business

So you are starting to think about starting your own business. You’ve saved up some cash and are ready to go on a journey to be your own boss. But I think you should stop for a moment to think some things through for things to not turn ugly quickly.

These are essential 5 questions to consider before starting a business. Let’s get right into it.






5 Questions To Consider Before Starting A Business

1- Where do I set up my business?

Some might say “why does it matter? anywhere is fine”, well sometimes it isn’t. let me give you an example. Let’s say you want to open a restaurant, and you think you spotted a good location and after opening, you discovered you don’t get as many customers as you think. I believe the location is a big part of why. I will list some stuff that you can go ahead and think about for yourself if they are true.

  • Location = Different Levels of Customers and subsequently different decorations to attract them
  • Location = Different Pricing for the service/product you introduce to the market
  • Location = Different Rent or Buying price ranges for properties
  • Location = Different methods of advertising
  • Location = Different needs for the type of service you provide. For example, you can’t for real think you can open a luxury restaurant in any place and succeed or open a carpenter shop in a compound where they get their furniture and design by contacting interior design corporate and think you can sell something.

Now, do you think that the location is not important? I surely hope you reconsider.

2- Who are you targeting?

And by that I mean, are you a business-to-consumer type (B2C)?. Like various Hotels, Restaurants, and Other Shops (selling clothes, tech., etc…)

Or are you a business-to-business type (B2B)?. Let’s say an accountant office/lawyer firm wants to manage the record/Legal issues of another established business.

Targeting People by Catergory

Another thinking direction is what is the age group of people to target? what about gender? level of income, type of business, business size, and needs.

3- How to be Unique?

Reed Hastings – Netflix Co-Founder and CEO Said “Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us) because they are afraid to hurt their initial business.”

There are really some cool sayings that make you think deeply, Here is a link to some useful quotes you may want to read.



“Just because you have a brilliant idea does not mean other people haven’t also had the same idea,” said Wright founder of British Business Energy

“Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.” – Anwar Sadat

There are many great things to learn from these. I think you will too, just think along the lines of better value to price product/service, a follow-up service after the sale is always a great feeling to make customers comes over again, and lastly what are the features and what are benefits that I offer?

4- How to organize it all?

To start a business, it must be because you have a good idea or you are good at what you do. That is totally different from the process of running the business itself. Who to hire for a complimentary job? How to manage my employee properly (and not make them work 24/7, I know you want that!!), When to buy extra material for the production line or for the shop (you can’t possibly stack them, especially when you do know that their price can fluctuate all the time).

Image concept of business planning and organizing tasks

 

An Image concept of business people planning and organizing tasks.
Effective time management.
Schedule planning.
Deadline.
Work process organization.
Productivity improvement.
Entrepreneurship.

To summarize this part, You must have a clear goal and vision for the future and all the steps you do are to accomplish your goals but they must be neat. Because messy steps accumulate and may result in failure even if you have the right mindset.

5- How to handle Legal Structure and Tax burden?

First, Let’s talk a bit about the legal structure of your business. Like what type of company are you starting? solo or a multiple-shares business company? There are as many as 7 types of companies to choose from when starting in Egypt.

Let me list them for you:

  1. One-person company (OPC)
  2. Limited Liability Company (LLC)
  3. A company limited by shares
  4. Joint-stock Company
  5. Partnership Company
  6. Limited Partnership Company
  7. Sole proprietorship

Scary right? that’s why I will leave the link on the description of these types. And I advise you to consult an attorney specializing in the business start-up process. It will ease the burden and ensure you don’t violate any laws along your journey.

This is really a confusing part because according to my research some businesses may pay 1% of taxes (depending on the income per year) and some businesses have to pay something along the lines of 40%. All I have to say is to review your taxes with an experienced accountant (unless you’re one of course).

And you must seriously pay attention to this as sometimes filling in the taxes late can result in severe consequences. Here is a link to an article that displays the taxes in Egypt and who pays what (though it can still be confusing sometimes).

Summary

I know it can be a lot just thinking about it and how much of a headache this will cause. But success is never easy to get without effort made. You must believe in yourself as you can do it. Take it slow (step by step), that is never a bad thing to do.

Just answer the 5 questions to consider before starting a business template for your business and you are ready to go.

If you have a story to share, Write your success in the comments and what hurdles you overcame and how.

Now that you’re ready to start your business, or already have one, I think you are ready to consider if you need a website for your business or not? if you’re not sure just go here and read my article, maybe I will help you make a decision.

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