Learn from a Startup Evangelist - How to Start a Business from Scratch?

Take off your Dreams         Photo copyright @ RohanSinha

I have prepared this list for someone special who is smart, intelligent and daring. It really needs lots of guts to think to break the stereotype and take the path less traveled. All the best!

1. Develop your Idea- Identify a potential business idea. Make a business plan to see all aspects of your idea.
2. Research the Market- Understand the current market, your competitors, their strengths and weaknesses. Identify how you can stand out among so many competitors.
3. Identify your USP- Where the market needs meet your passion then that is the right opportunity for you to bank on. It is very important to identify your USP and build your business around it.  
4. Planning – Make a Business Plan, Create your Vision Statement and get clarity of purpose. It will come handy when obstacles on the way will distract you from your aim.
5. Government Approvals/ Registration- For starting a company you mainly need four things. You have to register with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Then you have to get Service Tax and VAT registration. You will require Current Bank Account prior to registering your company.
6. Execution/Operation- Starting a company is easy like buying an elephant. The difficult part is to feed the elephant, i.e. run the company successfully.
7. Finance/ Billing- You have to arrange for the initial finance. So, have to plan for that. Also, arrange for billing of customers.
8. Customer Support- You must retain old customers by your impeccable product and services. Delight the customers so that they can be your brand ambassador.
9. Marketing- Bring new customers through word of mouth publicity. Don't spent a penny on marketing initially and rely on social media for creating awareness about your product and services.
10. Lessons to learn if you want to start a business: Keep learning while you build your business. You must be aware about the things which are going on in your Industry. Always strive to acquire more information and knowledge.  Stay hungry stay foolish!
11. Get Set Go – If you have a passion for running a business then please start it now. Do not procrastinate. Today is the best day to start your business. Make conscious efforts to overcome all thoughts that are misleading you into believing that you cannot be successful. Just imagine the thrill of following your passion.
12. Have Patience. – Anything worthwhile requires time, effort and dedication. Never expect to be a one stop solution provider for the entire world overnight. Don’t get into the number game. It doesn’t matter that how many customers you have but, it really matters that you leave no stone unturned to delight your customers. You don’t have to do anything more than being passionate about your work.
13. Enjoy the journey – You are here to stay. Don’t be in a hurry. Make a solid start by creating a strong foundation. Money should be the by-product of all your hard work as an entrepreneur. Keep the passion alive always. Successful people have one thing in common that they are truly passionate about their work.
14. Let people know that your Company exists – Although, it is not a very important thing while you are building your company brick by brick.  Rely on word of mouth publicity as a medium of spreading the good work that you are doing.
15. Build your reputation- Earn the trust and reputation of your target audience. Business is all about Trust. If your customer starts trusting you then no one can stop you from doing wonders.
16. Losing small battles to win the war- You have to sacrifice small things to pursue big things in life. Stay focused on your goal. Obstacles are such frightful things that we see when we deviate from our goal.
17. Find a Mentor- A mentor will help you to be on track and stay focused. You can learn from their expertise and skills. You can consider someone you admire as your mentor.
18. Respect People and be a better human being- Always focus on what can you offer, rather than taking. Be good and generous to others.
19. Do networking and learn from others- Don’t shy away from building your contacts with all the people who can provide you valuable insight about your business. Learn to know people from the Industry. Meet and know people who can be a potential employee, co-founder, customer, adviser, brand ambassador, promoter, Investor and so on.