Advice For Starting Your Own Business

Starting a business is hard work, many believe they will make plenty of money and work half the time they do now! The reality is that a business owner often works much harder and longer and that about half of all new business ventures fail within the first year. So what can you do to make sure that you new passion is among the businesses that succeed. We put together a few tips and resources to assist  the potential new venture.

1. Make use of your network. Do you know a friend that is an accountant, web developer, manufacturer or any other profession that can help your new business? Time to call in those favours and see how they would be willing to assist you getting started. Of course if the business works and they buy-in to your passion there is every chance that could join in your success.

2. Take a look online for some free software like Formever, which featured in Entrepreneur Magazine South Africa and offers open source access to account software. Finding software that can add value at no cost is vital when stating out and allows you to keep cash that can be used in other areas where it is absolutely required, such as buying stock to sell.

3. Make use of places that offer free internet access, printing or faxes. Often coffee shops offer some free wi-fi access, you can also make use of Stor-Age business centres to access your emails, the internet and print and no extra cost.

4. Do your research. There are many online resources such as SME Toolkit South Africa that offer a wealth of information that a budding entrepreneur can use. The more knowledgeable and more research you do the better positioned you will be to make  the correct decisions early on. This can often mean the difference between success and failure in the long term.

5. The last tip is the "borrow, rent, buy used" principal and is excellently worded by Entrepreneur. "Find ways to use other people’s resources in addition to your own. Whenever possible, borrow rather than rent; rent rather than buy; and buy used rather than new. Some industries have excellent equipment available for a dime on the dollar. Also, go to bankruptcy sales and auctions to see if you can find what you need."

If you need more information about the Stor-Age business centre or would like some flexible short term space to store your new business goods then give us a call on 0861 18 18 18, we would love to be part of your new venture.