HOME BUSINESS REPORT 6/96
Starting a Business Requires More than Just a Good Idea
By Michelle J. Bloom
Have you been wanting to start a business but feel overwhelmed at
all the tasks ahead of you?  Don't know where to begin?  
There are two things that we do in business:  the business of
doing business and the skill and/or passion, the work itself.  The
business side of doing business simply supports you being able to
spend the majority of your time doing your actual work.  Any tasks
to starting or, for that matter, running a business, fall into one
of four categories:  emotional, developmental, administrative and
legal.  
In this article, I will talk about the types of things you need to
consider or do in the emotional and developmental categories.  The
emotional considerations are ongoing, though we know the
transition from paycheck to entrepreneurship can be a scary as
well as exciting place.  The management of our emotions is
integral to our business success.  The key is to manage emotions
such as feeling overwhelmed, fear and doubt so that they do not
inform our decision making process.  We want to make decisions
from a proactive place, not reactive.  Other emotions that can
become blocks are financial concerns, success, getting support,
rejection, security and feelings regarding money.  
There are many considerations in the developmental category. 
Locating and organizing office space is one.  When thinking about
space, consider the pros and cons of the home office or homebased
business.  The homebased business is like any other except that
because of the location, there is low overhead.  Most any service-
type of business can be done from the home office.  When
considering this option keep in mind that it can be simply a
transitional tool to get you started or you can choose it as a
lifestyle.  There are many of us who have no intention of leaving
our home office and continue to grow our businesses all the same. 
Like anything, you just need the tools for balancing life and
work.   
Research, research, research.  Talk to the people who you think
are your target audience, the people who are going to buy your
services.  What are their needs?  What are the skills that you
have that will meet their needs?    
Do some volunteer work in the field of your skill.  Here is where
you can get hands-on experience.  See how things work and what 
what you do will look like.  Don't underestimate this opportunity;
very often, the work can turn into paid work and/or you can begin
to make a name for yourself in the field.  
Once you have an idea of what you offer, start researching
pricing.  There are many formulas out there, but either way, you
do need to know what your competitors are doing and how much their
clients are willing to pay.  Knowing how much you need to pay and
what the market will bear will give you the average of what you
can charge.  In the November 1995 issue, I wrote about one formula
for pricing; if you need this, please feel free to call me and I
will send out a copy of the article.  Otherwise, go to the  James
J. Hill business library.  It is a great resource for business
questions of all types.  I would suggest taking a tour of the
library and get to know some of the librarians; they have a
tremendous wealth of knowledge.  
Consider your long and short term equipment needs as well as your
company image and the support materials such as business cards,
letterhead, envelopes and thank you notes.  Be sure the materials
match who you are and what you are doing.  Make it unique enough
while keeping it simple so that people will recognize your image.  
The last consideration on my developmental list is the business
plan.  The process of writing the business plan is what is so
important.  The business plan demands answers to questions that,
if you have researched the answers, can be a guiding light for the
future of your business success.  By writing the business plan,
you will begin to better understand things such as what it is you
want to do; who your competitors are and how you differ from them;
what you offer; and how you will reach your target audience.  I
would strongly urge you to go thru this process for yourself, even
if you are not looking for money from a traditional source such as
a bank or an investor.  There are many, many books on writing the
business plan.  My April 1995 article talks about what a business 
plan is and how to write one.  
This list is by no means exhaustive so add other considerations as
they come up for you in either of these categories.  I will write
about the other two categories, administrative and legal in the
July article.  
Still, where do you begin?  I would simply begin doing volunteer
work for at least a couple of hours a week.  This will get you
into the thick of things right away.  The important thing,
however, is to do something.  Anything.
For an overview of starting a business in Minnesota, call the
Minnesota Department of Trade & Economic Development for your free
book, "A Guide to Starting a Business in Minnesota."  Their phone
number is (612)297.1291.  
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Michelle J. Bloom is founder of Creative Business Consulting, a small and 
homebased business consulting firm and resource center.  You  may contact 
her with your questions and comments at (612)722.2213 or by e-mail at
michelle.j.bloom@wizinfo.com.
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This article was first published (in a somewhat different form)
in SOUTHSIDE PRIDE.
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