From Contemplation to Inception- how to do the journey properly

lynzpower

Hi there all

Wonder if I can pick your brains?

I have had an idea for a business that Id like to set up.

I know I have a lot of thinking, research, and to update my skills a little, ( im certainly not going to run at it!).

But I was wondering, how would I start planning? How can I plan in a way that isnt chaotic? How can I ensure that the research and thinking that Im going to do is useful?

Ive never ran a business before, have worked predominantly in the public sector, and am looking for roles within the field to upskill myself. ( although some of these skills I have gained from working environments & personal life)

How do I ensure Im not wasting my time- how do i know IM resarching properly & effectively? And doing the right thing when building my skills/knowledge etc

I have all the time in the world, and some money, but not a great deal.

prudryden

Hi
I hope you don't mind but I have broken your message down into five sections:
1. Congratulations, I think it's great that you have come up with an idea for a business to allow you a certain amount of independancy.

2. Updating your skills- never a bad idea however you might want to wait untill you have defined your action plan to see if your time would be spend wisely in that respect.

3. ....wondering how to start planning... here is what I would call your starting block: Depending on your service / product invest some time and not necessarily money in checking out the competition...take notes as to what you could/would do better ...try out the service/product if you haven't done so already.

4. Get in touch with your high street bank not for a loan but very often those offer business development courses etc. possibly evening classes for those customers who want to set up business.

5. How to ensure you are not wasting your time, well since it is an adventure and something you must have though about for some time you are certainly never going to waste your time because it is your project and their is nothing wrong in taking the occasional detour. Just stay focused by having developed an ACTION PLAN ie start with market/sector research e.g. via the internet, initiate a poll by either asking the forum here or among friends, family or clubs you belong to as to the need/usefullness of your product/service.
having gathered that information it will give you an idea of the necessary setup(business premises etc).

While you are gathering all that information make sure that you write down all your findings. With those details start developing a 'table of knowledge/facts'. The headings of this table depend on your business idea. Usefull sections are:
client/customer base source; product development expense; usefull skills; business infrastructure ie telephone expense, car expense a.s.o...

I think it's great that you have the luxury of time and with a little forward planning you will be up and running in no time.

If you like to follow up on this treat please pm me privatly.

BlondeHeadOn

Can I add another suggestion to prudryden's very useful reply below....

Get in contact with your local Business Link. When I started my own business that was my first port of call, and they are soooo useful! I had all sorts of good advice and ideas from them, and also they used to run free training courses (not sure if they are still completely free for every location, but certainly very cheap). If you can attend one of their training courses then do - most useful thing I did before starting off on my own.

A tip: I live in the middle of 3 business Link areas, so I had a choice of their courses to go on (each BL used to run its own training). I attended both the Surrey one (2 days, useful) and the Hampshire one (4 days, very very useful!), so do shop around a bit and see what is on offer if you can claim to be 'between BL areas'.

You can find Business Link details in your local Thomson's directory, or have a look online here:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk

Mega good luck and best wishes, and let us know how you get on!