Starting your own company is a fine goal to have in life. You’ll be told you cannot, that is too much of trouble for you to indulge in, that there is too much risk, and how your day job brings you a secure salary at the end of the month.

But, if you know this is what you want, don’t back off and don’t get discouraged.

If you were a 9-to-5er, they’ll say you couldn’t keep your job. If you were a housewife, they’ll say you are not domesticated enough. But by now, you already know that people will always tell you, that you cannot.

March right ahead and form your own company. Because, you can!

Also, as Emma Watson once said, “Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do, or cannot achieve. Just don’t allow it. It’s wrong. It’s so wrong. Be what you want to be — and prove them wrong.”

Here is a little help from us. These are the most important tips you can use to turn entrepreneur and start your own company:

1.       Believe in yourself

When people have told you that starting your own business is tough, they weren’t wrong! It is very difficult and a lot of work goes in before actually starting the company. First, accept that what you are about to do is not going to be easy. Working in a cubicle where someone else takes the decision, is easy. Starting your own company needs every iota of confidence, resilience and motivation that is in you, maybe even a little bit borrowed. Do this only when you are ready and sure, just having a brilliant business idea won’t take you ahead.

2.       Assess yourself

None of us is superhuman and even if we push ourselves, there is only so much a person can do. Now, don’t see this as a negative aspect. The positive side to this is assessing and being aware of what you can do, and what you might not be comfortable with, or able to. This puts you on the forefront because you will not walk with your strength and depend less on your weaknesses.

3.       Identify your market

Look at the supply and demand; find out if people really do want your product. Apart from the size of the potential market, what is also important is to know if it is a short term demand or a permanent demand. Will people enjoy your services or will they want to try it out once out of curiosity. Your business will be your source of income  and hence it is crucial to know your market and its demographics to understand if this source of income will be long term or temporary/seasonal.

4.       Evaluate the market

Don’t do something just because everyone is doing it. First, your concept should be different. Only then can you attract more customers. Go through its pros and cons and check out its plausibility. Can you make a profit out of selling this concept? Will there be a demand of the concept forever? Because, short term demand won’t fill your bank account for very long! Once you have done this, identify your market. Evaluate all available markets and understand which one works the best for you.

5.       Have a business plan

Our advice is, write your business plan. Make it professional and business-like with – mission, vision, target, and cost of operation, financial projections and miscellaneous information. Set accomplishment goals which you will set for your business to achieve and write it down. Make sure that when you are filing your returns at the end of the year, you also tally stats with your ultimate business goals.

6.       Find investors

Investors are needed to help you fund your company, unless you are planning to use your own life’s savings. If you are getting an external investor, make sure they share the same passion about the business and are not in it merely for the profits. And always remember that your investors automatically get a say in the works of your company. Hence sharing passion and goal is important because otherwise ideas and egos will clash.

7.       Get the legalities sorted

Everything should be on paper, including the kind of ownership of the company. Make sure that the papers are checked by a good lawyer because any loophole might get you into trouble.

8.       Formalities

Now, decide upon a name for your business and register it. Find out what your tax obligations will be. Insure your premises and everything valuable the business will own. Yes, this is important. The cost might pinch you now, but you can sleep peacefully knowing everything is covered.

9.       Advertise

Once all this has been sorted, you will need to advertise your business. You have two options of going about with it. If you have ample advertising funds, go for traditional advertising. Book slots in newspapers, magazines, websites and even television. Or alternatively, advertise your website on social media. This is a pretty effective way of advertising as your reach out is huge and you can directly target your specific audience.

10.   Promote your company

A website is a good idea to promote your business. Instead of having to tell prospective clients everything about your business, maybe multiple times in a day, wouldn’t it be great if your website did the talking? Just give them your visiting card and point the URL to them. Cool, right? Now to have an impressive website is important. It’s okay if it is minimal. Since your website’s content will be doing the talking/advertising on your behalf, ensure that it is top-notch. Not only should the content be good, it should also be error-free, crisp and to the point.

The above are the few basics you need to carefully do when starting a company. There are many more big and small steps which make up the entire process, so go slow and take every step with a good amount of thought.

Once the company is set and functional, you can sit back and breathe! All the best! Remember, you can do this!

Article & image source: http://www.naaree.com/going-entrepreneur-heres-how-to-start-your-own-company/