You Get What You Give
by K. M. Bal

You must put in the work and preparation before opening for business to give yourself the best possible chance for success. If you truly care for your business in the beginning, down the road you will be ready for both problems and success.

"The love you take is equal to the love you make." The Beatles wrote those lyrics over three decades ago, but they still apply today. In life, in love, and yes, though it may seem surprising, in business as well. What does this mean for the small and home business owner? Simply put: PREPARE. No all-encompassing formulas, no magic incantations, just basic wisdom. 

You must put in the work and preparation before opening for business to give yourself the best possible chance for success. If you truly care for your business in the beginning, down the road you will be ready for both problems and success. But how does one prepare effectively? Well, there are several areas where the aspiring entrepreneur should focus his/her pre-launch efforts. 

Your first consideration should be the market. This means the people to whom you will be selling your product. Have you given this any thought at all? You must have a product that a large enough group of people want to buy. And you must also reach those people with your ads. And, if your chosen market is large enough, you will be competing against other businesses with similar products, so you will have to find a way to distinguish your product from the others. These are extremely important considerations, since nothing which comes later will matter in the slightest if you have not chosen your product and your market wisely. 

Next up is money. Perhaps you are thinking that the whole idea of business is to make money, so why bring it up in the context of preparation? Well, this is a question with a simple answer: you need money to make money. The green stuff is essential in covering overhead and operating expenses, as well as living expenses. (You didn't forget about food and clothing, did you?) You need to sit down and figure very exactly how much money you will need to start and maintain your business. Then you have to decide if you need outside financial assistance, and, if you do, you must decide how you will accomplish this (bank loan, investors, grants). 

And this brings us to the business plan. Even if you do not need help financially, but especially if you do, writing up a plan is vital to your future success. A business plan is not merely a page or two of general statements about your aims and desires for your business; it is exactly what its name says, a PLAN. It details every aspect of your business - market, competition, product, employees, advertising strategies, your resume and credit history, even in-depth financial analysis and predictions. Basically, a business plan is a comprehensive report of every current and foreseeable detail of your business. It should create a picture of where you are now and where you expect to be at least one year (preferably three, or even five or ten years) down the road. 

Finally, in attempting to prepare for success, do not overlook the day-in, day-out details of conducting business. These include supplies, office space and equipment, time management, and bookkeeping. The little things will grow overwhelmingly difficult if you do not have control of them from the beginning. You should question yourself at great length on the details. Have you included the office supplies and equipment in your financial considerations? If you will be working at home, have you set aside enoug space for your office? Is it well insulated from the rest of the house? Your productivity will be severely hampered if you are not comfortable and free from distractions in your work environment. Also, have you learned how to keep records properly? Have you looked into computer programs for bookkeeping? You do not want to have to deal with the IRS if you have not been keeping quality records of all your business transactions. 

It is true that meticulous preparation is not a guarantee of success. However, not preparing is very close to a guarantee that you will fail. Perhaps you are saying to yourself, "Well, I've already started my business and I didn't deal with any of this stuff. What should I do?" You should deal with it now. Unless you have gone bankrupt and your business is only a bad memory, it is not too late. The idea is to prepare for the future, and you can always do that. Of course, the choice is yours.

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