By KJ Henderson
Starting a business can be daunting, but many people open successful businesses each year. Those who do succeed typically spend significant time raising capital, doing market research and developing a realistic business plan before launching their new company. Of course, careful preparation isn’t an absolute guarantee of success, but it can improve your chances enormously. Take stock of your resources and be prepared to meet the challenges you’ll encounter.
Tip
The resources you need to start a business can be broken into five broad categories: financial, human, educational, emotional and physical resources.
Financial Resources: Funding
The most important element in starting a business is funding. Even the most basic home business incurs a multitude of startup costs, including registering a business name, obtaining a business telephone line and printing business cards.
Financial resources can be obtained from a variety of sources, the easiest being from the personal accounts of the company’s founder. Alternatively, loans and lines of credit may be granted from financial institutions, friends and relatives, private investors and even the United States government. In addition, many grants are offered from private and public sources to entrepreneurs of all demographics and personal situations.
Human Resources: Employees
The success of an organization is heavily reliant on the talent and strength of its employees. The hiring of experienced professionals with track records of excellence within their area of expertise ensures that the mission and goals of the company will be carried out efficiently and with competence. Strong team members can be recruited using a variety of methods. Staffing agencies and executive search firms specialize in placing talent of all levels within every industry. An alternative is to find employees through referrals from individuals whose judgment is trusted.
Educational Resources: Industry Know How
Perhaps the greatest thing an entrepreneur can do when establishing a new business is to gain as much education possible. By understanding her competition and gaining an in-depth knowledge of her industry, she will be better prepared to make smarter decisions regarding the direction of her firm. Educational resources can be found through professional trade associations that are geared toward her industry, her local chamber of commerce as well as the Small Business Administration.
Physical Resources: Premises and Equipment
Whether a small home business or a retail operation with multiple locations, every organization must have the appropriate physical resources to survive. This includes a proper work space, working telephone line, adequate information systems and effective marketing materials. This aspect of business planning can be one of the costliest. As such, it is important for an entrepreneur to realistically assess his needs before making any purchases.
Emotional Resources: Support Systems
Starting a business can be an extremely stressful endeavor for an entrepreneur to undertake. To maintain her sanity as well as stay motivated, it is important she have a support team that can give her inspirations and guidance as needed. This team may be composed of friends and family as well as a mentor or professional group.
See original article at Small Business
