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As every Journey starts with an intention, be it a planned business trip, a vacation, or an adventure trip planned or unplanned, there sure is a motive behind it. For business trips it is either to source new business opportunities, for vacation trips is to relax and enjoy after the grinding work hours and for planned / unplanned adventure trips is to explore new heights of entertainment and enjoyment.

So is the Entrepreneurship Journey – it starts with an intention of creating something exciting, enjoyable and at the same time build a new universe to nurture and let out the creative you. Its like an adventure in trying to explore the possibilities of finding new greener pastures, identify the opportunities and create a brand image for own self.  And the task is a real uphill one with lots of challenges, opportunities, steep curves and uneven roads, smoother and faster highways at times.

The only Point is “CAN YOU ENJOY?”, “CAN YOU DO IT?”, “CAN IT BE DONE REALISTICALLY?”, “DOES IT MAKES REAL SENSE?”. Answers to these and similar other questions is where the real “make or break” situation ends.

The first and foremost step in starting your own Enterprise is the zeal and conviction of the thought about “ENTREPRENEURSHIP” and being an “ENTREPRENEUR”. But this is as easy as it is difficult and with it comes the package of successes and failures. Now that’s the start of the Journey where it becomes very important and being sure of what path you should take and how you should plan the whole journey. There are several reasons why we take this route, for some it is to be independent, for others its an opportunity for a gap to be filled and  for some it is a passion which leads to creating an opportunity and so on and so forth.

It requires a very logical and a practical effort in building an enterprise and one must do a lot of ground work and research in understanding the market and its takers. Do your homework, make minute and detailed notes, talk to people around, have critics which will indirectly encourage you, create a vast network of people, friend in need is a friend indeed, and several other means which will give you a fair idea to maneuver and strategical build your idea into a viable and a logical business model.

Some of the most important things need to be thought and penned down are,

1. What are the strengths, marketable skill sets, business skill sets and short comings which I have.

2. How do I acquire skill sets which I don,t have. Do I need additional training and where can I find one to fill the gap.

3. Who are my Pillars of support – family, friends, philosophers and guides and how do I get their encouragement.

4. Time management in multitasking and multi-managing is the most crucial element.

5. Demand for the product /service and its long term sustainability and growth opportunities.

6. Type of business, product based or service based or a combination of both.

7. Who are the Target audience (B2B or B2C or a mix of both), the customer base, market share, growth of the target market itself needs to be detailed out.

8. Marketing and sales strategies, brand building initiatives, partner and channel development strategies needs to be chalked out.

9. Identifying the competition and thorough study about their business model to identify the gaps and create opportunities out of it.

10. Can I diversify / expand my products / services or create an allied product or service which can be easily sold in the market.

11. How do I ensure that there is enough funding backup to start the venture / seed fund so that it can grow in size.

12. Is there an external source of funding available for my venture and what are the risks and rewards in acquiring the same.

13. What type of manpower do I need to employ and how much initial support do I need. Identifying the necessary skill sets required is crucial and there is no point in recruiting in numbers when the business needs only few to start with.

14. Including a family/friend as a business partner will enable you to have that extra support, provided you know where and how they can contribute in your venture.

15. Having adequate physical infrastructure & technology infrastructure also needs to be factored as it will need investments to be made.

These are some of the important things which needs to be put in place in order to ensure that there are no initial hiccups and barriers in the journey to achieving what you have really challenged your self for.  A journey which needs to be planned and well prepared for the expected and unexpected adventures ahead of the trip.

As the saying goes ” The impossible is often the untried” 

Bon Voyage! GodSpeed!! Happy Entrepreneuring!!!

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