Small Business Series – Part 3: Planning before you start your small business
Welcome back to our Small Business Series! In this post we’ll look at planning before you start your business. In the excitement of thinking about your new business, it can be tempting to jump right in. Planning before you start will help you identify your clear concept and your value proposition (your why).
Define your business idea
We know you have the passion, and hopefully the skills. This is what will drive your commitment to your business. What will make your small business stand out in the market?
Market research
Who will be your target market? Who are your competitors? What are their pricing and marketing strategies?
Industry trends
Is everyone jumping on the bandwagon and flooding your intended market?
Tools and resources
What are the online tools that you might be able to use? Google Trends and other analytics can help you to understand market demand and customer interests.
Target market
Can you test your idea with a small sample of your target market to validate your idea?
Financial viability
Lastly, but probably most importantly, you need to consider financial viability. What will be your initial investment? Is your idea financially sustainable in the long run?
This might seem overwhelming at this point but don’t be alarmed. There are free tools available to help with your business planning. The business.gov.au website has tools and templates to help you though this process at Develop your business plan | business.gov.au or please feel free to reach out to us at LCB Accounting Solutions if you would like advice based on your unique needs.
Let’s get back to our case study Katie. Her business idea is to provide custom made cupcakes, freshly baked with options for dietary requirements. Her target audience is busy families in her local area who value quality, homemade treats and have dietary requirements for allergies who need convenient ordering options with the ability to customise their order to suit their requirements.
Katie has looked at competitors online and at community markets and identified her competitors . She has decided her point of difference will be ensuring very low risk of cross contamination of potential allergens in her kitchen. Katie’s start up costs will be minimal as she will be using her home kitchen and due to the fresh nature of her products she does not need storage facilities.
As with all our blogs, the information contained here is general in nature and does not form personal, financial or tax advice as we can’t take into account your personal circumstances.