Business creation involves planning, making key financial decisions and completing a series of legal activities. It is a way of taking a professional idea or concept to the point of starting a company.
The best business ideas are usually ones that solve a problem that many people have and provide a significant improvement over existing products. This may be in terms of efficiency, innovation or cost. For example, the successful technology company, Tesla, started with the objective of making the world’s cars purely electric.
Having the right motivation for launching your own business is also crucial. For some, it might be personal fulfillment in seeing their new venture grow and succeed. For others, it might be the challenge of stepping out on their own or the potential financial rewards. However, it is often the case that a mixture of these reasons is behind most start-ups.
Most business advice tells you to ‘monetize what you love’ but it is also important that the business idea is viable. This means that it has to be profitable and something you’re good at. A hobby, for instance, might be a great idea but it is unlikely to turn into a multi-million dollar business if there are already several other soap shops in your local town!
Once you have identified an opportunity it is worth carrying out market research to see whether there is a demand for your product or service and who the competition might be. This is an important stage because it can help you refine your business model and identify areas for improvement. It is also a way of testing whether your business idea has a chance to work by analysing competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, market opportunities and threats.