Steps for initial success: Small Business Development Center at the University of Scranton (SBDC)

Steps for initial success

According to the administration of small US businesses, more than 50% of small businesses fail in the first five years. We don’t want this to happen to you!

Beyond the first critical steps offered in our initial brochure of your business (Available for those who attend one of our first step: start your first -step web business or seminars) Here are some tips to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes we see again and again:

• Do not hurry to make decisions or sign contracts! There may often be emotional or high pressure situations when it comes to starting a business. Taking the time to do some planning will help you avoid making decisions that are not the best for your interest.
• Be sure to have enough capital to start. This includes your own money, money borrowing from others, bank financing, etc. Do not have subsidies! They are very few and distant and are not available to cover the cost of starting a business.
• Make sure there is a market for your product or service. You are passionate about what you have to offer and that is great! Now you must do the job to make sure people want to buy what they want to offer and know where those people are and how to get to them.
• Do not underestimate the costs to start and operate your business. Trying to severely limit expenses or doing completely free things from the beginning is not realistic or sustainable. For example, if you plan to market your business completely for free, you will be spending a lot of time and that dedicated time is not guaranteed that you arrive at your audience if the platform has control.
• Gan experience! If you have no experience with the type of business that you are interested in starting or even with specific aspects of starting or administering a small business, there are many opportunities to learn before jumping.
• Make an exhaustive and honest evaluation of its competence. Yes, you have competition: everyone has competition, whether direct or indirect, obvious or not.
• Investigate the pros and cons of their location. Some locations are not as ideal as they can initially be, so do the work of evaluating anyone who is considering. Even plans for a home business may not be ideal or even allowed, depending on where you live.

Starting and operating your own business is not fast and easy in any way. Take time and it is a challenge and it can be extremely rewarding if you put the correct amount of work on it.

The best thing is that the SBDC is here to help! Talk to your SBDC commercial consultant at each step on the way. We have professional staff with tons of knowledge and experience, as well as students who provide excellent support in the collection of research and information to help you plan.

If you are interested in learning more about how to start a business, visit www.scrantonsbdc.com/training to see one of our “start of your business” at request