I Think My Job Is Going Out Of Business

I quit my job to start my own business. Do you think it's a good idea?

Starting own business is a good idea. For that you need to have following things in place.Business Opportunity: Address the customer’s problems/needs/wants. The bigger the problem, the bigger the problem, the bigger the business opportunity. It should clearly state how big the business opportunity is. Opportunity identification and selection are like corner stones of business enterprise. There is no point in starting a business unless the entrepreneur has identified a lucrative business opportunity.Passion: Everyone is passionate about something. If you are passionate about your business, go ahead. Your passion will give you lot of energy to perform. If you are passionate about your business, you will really enjoy.Team: You need to build strong team to support your business. The success of the business mainly depends on the quality of the team. Investors are also keen to know about the people behind the business, who they see as key assets. It is a well-known fact that without the right team, none of the other parts really matter.Business Model: Start with the industry, market and competition in which you are operating and the market size. Explain how your business will make money; provide the financial forecast, and your profit margins. Explain the revenue, profit, and volume growth clearly.Strategy: Explain the uniqueness of your business and how it is going to be a differentiate and provide competitive advantage.Networking: There’s a saying to get ahead ‘It’s not what you know but who you know‘ and when building a new business ‘It’s how many people get to know you‘. In business developing contacts through networking is essential for business success.Mentor: A mentor is a guide who can help the mentee to find the right direction and who can help them to develop solutions to business issues. Mentors rely upon having had similar experiences to gain an empathy with the mentee and an understanding of their issues. We have organisations like TiE for providing mentor-ship to start ups.Resources: The most important element in starting a business is funding and talent. You need various resources such as: financial resources, human resources (talent) and physical resources.

How do you know it's time to quit your job and start your own business?

There is no one “right” time to do this, and it depends on the business you are starting. You may not have to quit your job to get the business started, choosing to quit later when your business has sufficient revenues to support itself and you.Here are some factors to consider as you make the decision for your own specific situation:Do you have six months of savings upon which you can live while you are establishing your business, assuming it may take that long to get your business to the point of producing sufficient income?How much money do you need to start your business? How much money will it need to keep going for the first six months of its life?Can your business be started while you still have your job? Can you develop prospective customers and/or clients in advance of actually opening the business?Do you have a written business plan? Some kind of plan, even for the smallest of businesses, can make the start up much easier and is critical if you intend to pursue financial backing. An excellent resource for planning your business is the Small Business Administration (SBA), which has two excellent organizations under its umbrella: the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Senior Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). They can be found online and have offices throughout the country. Their services (consulting on business plans, marketing training, legal entity set up, etc.) are free and low-cost, can help with your specific situation, and are available not only for start-ups, but also for existing businesses, which is great for planning your expansion.I hope this information provides you with some guidance on getting your business up and running without undue risk. Many wishes to you for success in your undertaking!

I want to start a business, but I have no idea what field or what type of business it would be. How can I figure out what to pursue?

This is a big and good question. How do we know, right? Unless we are the lucky ones with a crystal-clear calling, we are pulled in so many different directions, priorities, seductive trends.I think, ideally, you do some serious vivid vision mapping that leads to the overlapping core of four concentric circles. The circles answer to four different questions:What do you love?What is it that your community or the world needs?What might others pay for?What are you good at?Essentially, you explore your passion, your mission, your vocation, and your profession. The concept of ikigai may help you in this quest (See the image attached).But you also must know your core values: What qualities in life can you not live without. What are the strengths that you can bring to your entrepreneurship. What might be your weaknesses (areas to develop)? What are you willing to say no to once you commit to a certain choice of business?Running a business asks a lot from you and it can be wonderfully rewarding. In the United States, close to 66% of small businesses will survive their first 2 years, which sounds great, but it also leaves one out of three stranded. So it is also important to realize that your ultimate happiness cannot and must not depend on the success of your business.Figuring out what your business is about requires deep inner work. You could start with a test like the MBTI. But that would only be a start. And the finance issue can come later, much later. Whether you then go for entrepreneurship or not, delve into your exploration anyways, since you learn so much about yourself and what is really important to you in life.Enjoy the process! Sophia