Starting any business can be be a daunting as well as an exhilarating experience. It all comes down to sensible planning, a healthy dose of rationality and plenty of passion. Before you make the leap of starting your own business, here are a few practical considerations to help you get going:
- Knowing your Passion: First things first. Get hands-on experience of what it feels like to be in the business, before you invest the time and energy in starting your own business. Get a full time job in the industry, try some contract assignments or perhaps even some volunteer work. A few moths into it, and you’ll know if this is what you love doing or maybe it’s something that you’re not so passionate about, after all. Regardless of the conclusion you come to, it’s far less painful to have to discover this on your own dime!
- Getting Experience: As we’ve said many times in our earlier blogs - there is simply no substitute for experience. And it’s critical to know why experience is so important. Managing a few real-life events will give you the opportunity to learn from your mistakes, understand what works and more importantly what doesn’t. Making critical mistakes at the start of a business can prove fatal - so why not learn from other’s and your own mistakes, before you make the leap?
- Building Connections: Once you start managing events, you’ll quickly learn the importance of building a network - be it customers, partners or suppliers. When it comes down to it, a successful event is really a superbly choreographed show that delights your customers. And there’s no better way to start a business, when on day one you can call on your network of partners and suppliers to help your fledgling business started.
Read more about building connections on our earlier blog on networking and jobs.