Featured Article: Points to consider before launching your business

Published Tuesday March 10th, 2009

Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series by Enterprise Fredericton exploring the process of becoming an entrepreneur. The next article in the series will appear next Tuesday.

The dream of becoming your own boss is something that many people fantasize about. However, when faced with the decision to make the dream become reality, many people are on the fence and teetering. This part of the series looks at the personal reflection and thought processes that are involved in bringing into focus your business interest and ideas.

Determine your strengths and weaknesses

The common notion that entrepreneurs are simply born that way is a misconception that has been disproven by numerous people. It has been proven that one can learn to become a successful entrepreneur. The first question to ask is: What can we learn from the successful entrepreneur? A starting point is to examine the personal traits that are common in many successful entrepreneurs. The following were identified as being crucial to achieving success:

- persistence

- good decision-making abilities

- a strong drive to achieve

- innovativeness

- being highly reliable

- competitiveness

- being a risk taker (calculated)

- and possessing a tolerance for failure

Before fully committing to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur, ask yourself a few vital questions. Am I that type of person? Do I possess most, or all of those traits? If not, is there help available?

The answer to these questions should be analyzed. This exercise will help you determine if you are ready to hit the ground running or if more time is needed to refine some skills.

Becoming an entrepreneur takes a strong commitment and a willingness to see things through during good and bad times. Therefore, it will also be important to assess other factors which may impact on your decision to get involved in a new venture. This involves looking at factors such as family responsibilities, support from family and friends or contingency plans in the event that things don't unfold as they should.

Develop your idea

When determining which idea to pursue, there is a simple analysis to determine if this is right for you. Do you have the following for your idea?

- Market

- Interest

- Ability

These factors are intertwined and fundamental to your eventual success. First, since time is of the essence, you must ensure that there is a market for your product or service.

There are several ways of determining this and help can be provided to assist with market research. However, a good market for a product that is of little interest to you is not a good recipe for success. Therefore, interest for the product is essential. And it goes without saying that your ability to manufacture or deliver the product/service, or an intimate knowledge of a product/service, is also critical.

State your idea clearly

A good exercise is to write down in one sentence your concept and how it will fill a need. This exercise will help you focus your thoughts. Once you have a clear statement in place, embark on conducting the preliminary research.

The first thing to research is the direct competition. Some competition is healthy, but if the market is saturated, this should raise a red flag. Make the rounds and discuss the idea. Friends and family members are a good start, but go beyond the immediate surroundings because close connections may hold their opinions back to spare your feelings.

Enterprise Fredericton offers free confidential consultations regarding business counselling and coaches you through this part of the process.

Determining whether there is a viable market is one of the most challenging aspects of the early stages of the planning process, but it is necessary. Thorough research is an essential step and will be crucial to the development of a business plan (the next step in the process). The purpose is to come up with a creative or innovative way to present your idea.

Creativity and innovation can go a long way in business and making an existing product or service better can allow an entrepreneur to have a competitive advantage. This can be a determining factor to consider if the game plan is to go up against an establish organization.

The second part of this series will focus on the essential steps in developing a sound business plan. Finally, part three focuses on the types of support mechanisms currently in place to help businesses take flight or expand.

For more information or to schedule a confidential meeting with one of Enterprise Fredericton's experienced business development officers, please contact us directly at 444-4686 or visit the website at www.enterprisefredericton.com.

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Lucas Roze is a communications officer for Enterprise Fredericton. He can be reached at lucas.roze@ent-fredericton.ca.

Daily Gleaner