Learn facets of operating a business before starting one
Dear Karen: I’m contemplating an Internet business. Should I first trademark my logo?
Answer: Move concerns about your logo way down your business start-up list. Too many individuals shell out money upfront on things like design before they’ve worked out their business plan or determined whether entrepreneurship is right for them.
Take a step back and figure out what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, said Phil Holland, a serial entrepreneur and founder of My Own Business Inc.
“You have to have guts, by which I mean an entrepreneurial instinct: an overwhelming desire to have your own business,” he said. “You also have to have brains: a working knowledge about the business you plan to start. Common sense, combined with appropriate experience, is the necessary brainpower.”
Perhaps most important, small-business owners need capital. “You have to have sufficient cash to maintain a positive cash flow for at least a year,” Holland said. Although many companies can be started with very little upfront investment, you will need reserves to support yourself until your company begins to grow and profit.
Prove concept before big leap
Dear Karen: I constantly think of sayings for T-shirts that my friends say they would buy. Can I start selling to shops nationwide?
Answer: Friends often tell us what we want to hear. What you need is proof of the concept: customers who will actually plunk down cash for your shirts. Why not print up several designs and sell them at flea markets for a few months?
If they’re truly hot items, educate yourself on this market and what it takes to become successful, said Paul O’Reilly, a small-business consultant at O’Reilly & Associates in Los Angeles. “Brilliant people with brilliant ideas or designs do not automatically result in a successful business,” he said. “Successful business owners have the right combination of skills needed or they partner with or hire people that have the skills they lack.”
You’ll need to choose the right distribution for your products, develop strong marketing, branding and sales skills, and learn how to manage the administrative end of things before your T-shirts will fly off the shelves.
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