finance articles businesses business management business marketing Technologies finance accounting Industrial Manufacturing starting a small business Investment health information

How to avoid financial problems when running a business


There are thousands of people that start a new business in the United States every year. Most of these businesses do not succeed, nearly 90% of them close their doors within the first two years. Many people dream of owning their own business but do not realize what it really takes to run a successful business. It is much easier to open a business than it is to build up a business that will continue to grow and develop. To start, open and run a successful, thriving business, there are ten specific steps that should be mastered. These steps require a lot of effort to be mastered but mastering these steps will increase the chances of your business being a long term success. By starting your business using these steps,you will be helping to avoid future financial problems that often occur when running a business.

1. Clearly define and develop your goals in a written plan. Use this plan like a road map to help you reach your destination. This map should help guide you in reaching a successful business of your own, with a minimum amount of time, effort, and expense.

2. Next, listen to the marketplace. You cannot expect to go very far in business if the market is not there. You may come up with a brilliant idea that many people think is great and exciting but if you are not able to sell the product, your business venture is most likely headed for failure. You must test the market by conducting some market research to determine if there is a need for your product.


3. Then you must develop a marketing plan. Your marketing plan should describe how you will intend to create and maintain customers for a profit. It must clearly define who you are going to sell to, how you will sale, and how much you will sell annually over the next five years. Once it is completed, your marketing plan will become an integral part of your overall business plan.

4. Next, develop an initial business plan. Keep in mind, your business plan will help you in securing the key people you need and also help you to start to develop your financial projections. Your business plan should outline how you plan to run your company, and a definition of your business strengths and weaknesses. It will also be the start of your formal business plan, which will be developed later.

5. You can begin to determine your financing needs once you have a rough business plan in place, which will be part of your formal business plan in the future. Your marketing analysis will predict your sales forecasts, which will determine your staffing level, which defines your operating budget, and from there you will be able to determine your projected cash flow and financial projections.

6. You should put together a strong management team before developing your formal business plan. The rough plan already developed should help you to build a solid team and attract top talent to your company.

7. Using your rough business plan, create and define a formal business plan. Your plan should show that your business is capable of selling enough of its product or services to make a profit. You will need to use this document to secure financing that is needed to start your business. Once your business is funded it will serve as an operating manual.

8. You will need to develop a marketing strategy to obtain financing and raise the capital that your business needs.

9. Use negotiating tools that will enable you to attract capital on your terms instead of just on your investors' terms.

10. You will need solid management along with strong marketing skills to ensure your business is a success and continues to grow and develop.

FREE: Get More Leads!
How To Get More LeadsSubscribe to our free newsletter and get our "How To Get More Leads" course free via email. Just enter your first name and email address below to subscribe.
First Name *
Email *


Get More Business Info
Sponsored Links
Recent Articles

Categories

Copyright 2003-2020 by BusinessKnowledgeSource.com - All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy, Terms of Use