How to Start an Individual Business - Essay Example

A start of individual business and individual reflective evaluation Name Institution Subject Instructor Date Word count (1503) Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Skills, Knowledge and attitude 4 1.2 Pros and cons of self employment 5 2 Individual reflective evaluations 6 3 References…………………………………………………………………………….………9 4 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………..……….10 1 Introduction Noting that there is an increasing unemployment in the country coupled by the biting economic crisis forcing companies to lay off its staff, it’s prudent for a person to start own business and become ones boss. Nevertheless, the start and success of a business requires great ingenuity and skill. These skills can either be learnt in school or from organizations aimed at furnishing people with entrepreneurship skills (Prien, Erich P., Goodstein, Leonard D., Jeanette, and Gamble, Louis G., 2009). On this matter, I have decided to start up a business to make and sell customized attires mostly targeting women. These clothes will entail mainly wedding gowns, fashion attires to be worn by pageants and cultural attires mainly for Asian market. The business plan is the first thing to indicate that an entrepreneur is ready to take an idea into an action .the business plan provides the benchmark and is what guides the business. It gives how the business will be owned, either as sole proprietor or as partnership. It also gives the details of the strengths, the employee skills and remuneration thus ensuring that the entrepreneur doesn’t fall short of some requirements or overspent. It forms an outline of the business, shows the forecasts of sales, revenues and cash flows and also gives the marketing strategy. In addition to the business plan, it is required that an entrepreneur chooses the right legal and organization structure to be followed. Since we now live in a global village, it is also advisable to invest in an eye catching, low cost and high impact website with adequate information pertaining the goods on offer. The trickiest part in starting business is the acquisition of capital. It requires one to be creative and show great confidence to woo private investors. Later, the issue of staff recruitment, one requires to seek the skills of renowned career advisors so as to tap the best talents in the job market. Of most importance is the conduction of a concise and thorough market research which will show the competition in the market and the needs to be satisfied. For the sake of my business, we have no customized wedding gowns in the market and most brides go and fit in stalls and buy what fits without regard to their preferences. 1.1 Skills, Knowledge and attitude Knowledge forms the foundation of successful business, one need to know a number of activities like the most strategic positioning of the business, understands the trends in the market and have an understanding on how to best run a business. The employees to be recruited should also have knowledge and thorough understanding of the business. Similarly, skills in conduct of business are paramount to me as the owner and my employees. I need to be equipped with skills in stock taking, record keeping and auditing. These will come in handy in the operation of the clothes business. Consequently, skills in advertising and marketing are of great importance. The attitude is very important in business, whether established or start up. Angry and frustrated team cannot lead a business to prosperity as noted by Prien et al. (2009). As the owner, customer focus and enthusiasm are paramount. Similarly, my team should always be ready to help and advice customers and not focus on money only. The attitude employed is the one that drives our customers back to the shop doors. This would be embraced by encouraging courtesy amongst the workers and understand the emotions of the customers. 1.2 Pros and cons of self employment In being self employed, one enjoys the privilege of being his/her own boss where you decide what to do. One also enjoys the profits from the business alone and can decide on how to invest/use the profit. It also offers flexibility and ability to fit work and family together. While being self employed, one can take on several projects at the same time from different companies. The downside of being self employed is the risk of bearing losses alone in case the business falls. Similarly, one suffers the costs of running the office, rent and other utilities. It also places one in a very awkward position since if you take holiday, then there is possibility of losing earnings hence can make one workaholic. In addition to that one lacks employer security where you are assured of salary no matter what, here salary is pegged on the profits one makes. 2 Individual reflective evaluations The idea of starting business and one becoming an own boss is thrilling but, it comes with its own challenges. It is prudent for anyone intending to start a business to consider if they are personally or professionally suited to the business. In self evaluation, there is no either true or false answer to the questions, it’s a self-evaluation which helps an entrepreneur think through the critical aspects of one’s` readiness to enter into self employment. It helps in assessing the reasons and qualifications to enter into private business, to help the entrepreneur set the business and personal goals and thus, help one to establish if it is the ripe time to venture into business. This also aids one in identifying whether one has the right resources, the energy, the flexibility and freedom and the capacity to balance family and business. To conduct self assessment one needs to ask a number of questions like why a particular business can be started. This seeks to know whether the person has the drive which can sustain one in the venture and has the goals and principles to guide an individual. I am in this business since I believe I have the skills and the knowledge required and seek to see my business become one of the best and exquisite fashion stores. Considering the fact that I am a team worker, I would mobilize members of my firm to give them positive energy that would enable them achieve their maximum output. This would be achieved by continuous encouragement that \i would offer to my employees. This would be propelled by my ability to understand individuals with various emotions and device ways of handling each employer. It also seeks to establish the kind of business a person will be in, whether it is a service or a product based business. In this case, my business would be a product based business to provide customized clothing. It also asks why one thinks will make the business work. In this case, am sure my business will thrive since the current market does not offer customized wedding gowns and cultural attire even with the increasing number of Asian market. The other question asked in the self evaluation is why one thinks the business is sustainable. In individual self evaluation, one is asked the kind of education, skills and experience has in the market. This is to weigh my ability to thrive in this business basing the argument on my level of education, skills and experience in the clothing industry. Since I have realized that I have the necessary skills in accounting, marketing and advertising and my education degree, then venturing in the business will be easy and there is great possibility of excelling. What is the final goal am I seeking to achieve? This is a question I have to answer in the self evaluation, in this I seek to excel my business to levels where the sales turnover exceed $100,000 per year and with profit margins about $15,000p.a which is quite easy as from the projections in the business plan. This would indicate the possible breakeven points and show up whether the business is worth investing. I have also to answer the question whether incase I need financing, do I have the collateral? In this since the business has great ability to grow, venture capitalists, grants and banks are willing to give external financing. I have also to answer the question of my strengths and weakness in the business? This is answered using the SWOT analysis where the resources, the environment and potential opportunities which may favour the business are analyzed. In my case, the business has a strategic location with no completion at all and easily accessible by road and internet through the fibre optic cable. Since the immigration laws have been softened, I foresee an increase in number of Asians hence a great opportunity for the growth of my business. The weaknesses in the business include its small market share which I seek to minimize through advertising. Another thing to answer in self evaluation is whether I have good judgment in people and ideas and the risks I am taking for the business to be successful. In this, am investing a substantial amount, approximately $60,000 which has to return. To balance between personal and family life, since am not married currently, it will be easy to run the business even at late hours and on weekends. But when family will come in, I will have to separate work and family since both are important. References Prien, Erich P., Goodstein, Leonard D., Jeanette, and Gamble, Louis G., JR., 2009. A Practical Guide to Job Analysis Epub Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc. Appendix BELBIN’S TEAM ROLES SELF PERCEPTION INVENTORY ALALYSIS SHEET Section CW CH SH PL RI ME TW CF I g 3 d 1 f 1 c 1 a 2 h 1 b 1 e 0 II a 3 b 1 e 2 g 0 c 0 d 1 f 0 h 3 III h 2 a 1 c 0 d 1 f 2 g 1 e 2 b 1 IV d 1 h 2 b 0 e 1 g 2 c 0 a 3 f 1 V b 2 f 1 d 0 h 1 e 1 a 2 c 2 g 1 VI f 1 c 2 g 1 a 2 h 1 e 0 b 3 d 0 VII e 2 g 0 a 2 f 1 d 2 b 0 h 1 c 2 Total 14 8 6 7 9 5 12 8 Read More