Ultimate Business Guide by Roger Keyserling (the giving tree read aloud .TXT) 📕

Ultimate Business Guide With Helpful Tips

“Everything you need to know about how to start a business, I have read that before many times. Unfortunately, that is not really possible... Every business is different. It Is Possible to use this guide and Find What You Need!" - Roger Keyserling

There are no limits on who can become a great entrepreneur. You just need to get it together to make it happen.

You don't necessarily need a college degree, a bunch of money in the bank or even business experience to start something that could become the next major success.

What you do need a strong plan and the drive to see it through.
If you're online searching for this topic, odds are you already have the drive, but you might not know how to start building your business or blog, etc.

This is a basic guide to help turn your big idea into a realistic business. Plus one that is professional in not only appearances but Actual business practices.

Evaluate yourself.
Let's start with, Why do you want to start a business?

Use this question to guide what kind of business you want to start. If you want extra money, maybe you should start a small business of your own If you want more freedom, maybe it's time to leave your 9-to-5 job and start something you have wanted to do and think you can earn too.
After you have given a lot of thought and have arrived at the reason, start asking yourself even more questions to help you figure out the logistics of a business you start, and if you have what it takes to make it real and profitable.

What skills do you have?
Where does your passion lie?
Where is your area of expertise?
How much can you afford to spend, knowing that most businesses fail?
How much capital do you need?
What sort of lifestyle do you want to live in?
Are you even ready to be in business?
Be 100 percent honest with your answers. This will create a foundation for everything you do in your life from this point forward, so it's better to know now than rather than later.

Think of a business idea.
Do you already have a killer business idea? If so, congratulations! You can proceed quickly through this section. If not, there are a ton of ways to start brainstorming for a good idea.

Here are a few pointers:
Ask yourself what's next.

What technology or advancement is coming soon, even what policy changes or social changes happen. Learn by research, how will that change the business landscape now and in the future? Can you get ahead of the competition?

Think this way. Fix something that bugs you. People would rather have less of a bad thing than another of a good thing, which what the see always. If your business can fix a problem for your customers, they'll thank you for it.

Apply your ideas or talents to an entirely new field.

Many businesses and industries do things one way because that's the way they've always been done. In those cases, a fresh set of eyes from a new perspective can make all the difference.
Use the better, cheaper, faster approach. Do you have a business idea that isn’t completely new? If so, think about the current offerings and focus on how you can create something better, cheaper, or faster.
Get Social!

You do this going out and meeting people and ask them questions, seek advice from other businesses, research ideas online, or use whatever method makes the most sense to you.

Do market research.
Is anyone else already doing what you want to start doing? If not, is there a good reason why?
Start researching your potential rivals or partners within the market. You break down the objectives you need to complete with your research and the methods you can use to do just that. For a long time, I conducted interviews than in the old days by telephone. Now online or face to face. You can also offer surveys or questionnaires that ask questions like “What factors do you consider when purchasing this product or service?” and “What areas would you suggest for improvement?”
The most common mistakes people make when starting their market research:
Using only secondary research.
Using only online resources.
Surveying only the people you know.

Get feedback.
Let people interact with your product or service and see what their take is on it. A fresh set of eyes can help point out a problem you might have missed. Plus, these people will become your first brand advocates, especially if you listen to their input and they like the product.
One of the easiest ways to utilize feedback is to focus on “The Tiny Budget Startup” approach but it involves three basic pillars: prototyping, experimenting, and pivoting. By pushing out a product, getting feedback, and then adapting before you push out the next product, you can constantly improve and make sure you stay relevant.
Just realize that some of that advice, solicited or not, will be good. Some of it won't be. That's why you should have a plan on how to receive feedback.

Standardizing the feedback process is essential for a positive feedback culture. You need to establish standards about who gives feedback to whom, how often feedback should be shared, the official processes and mediums by which feedback is shared, and more.

Once you have created these standards and processes, make sure to follow them to a “T”. This makes it easier for everyone involved to understand what's expected of them.

Stop! Your brain will probably be in an excited state when receiving feedback, and it might start racing to bad conclusions. Slow down and take the time to consider carefully what you've just heard.
Start by saying ‘thank you.’ People who give you negative feedback won't expect you to thank them for it, but doing so will probably make them respect you and encourage them to continue to be honest in the future.
Look for the grain of truth. If someone doesn't like one idea, it doesn't mean they hate everything you've just said. Remember that these people are trying to help, and they might just be pointing out a smaller problem or solution that you should look into further.
Seek out the patterns. If you keep hearing the same comments, then it's time to start sitting up and taking notice.
Listen with curiosity.

Be willing to enter a conversation where the customer is in control.
Ask questions. Figure out why someone liked or didn't like something. How could you make it better? What would be a better solution?
Also, one way to help you get through negative feedback is to create a "wall of love," where you can post all of the positive messages you've received. Not only will this wall of love inspire you, but you can use these messages later when you begin selling your product or service. Positive reviews online and word-of-mouth testimonials can help make a big difference.

I get asked, often, "Why am I not getting sales?" Do More, that is my best advice. I know that sounds shallow yet it sums everything up. No Sales, do more research, marketing, testing... Until there is no more to do or that can be done. Then Do More differently or do something else. - Roger Keyserling

Now that we have explored the tips of starting a business, it is also important to understand the common types of business that you can start.

It is important to understand that the type of business that you ought to start should be suited to your business goals as well as your expertise. Success in any business is linked to the skills and experiences that allow you to make informed decisions regarding your business.

Therefore, assessing your priorities, lifestyle, and business goals will greatly help you decide the type of business to start. You should figure out the industry you want to venture in, understand the scale and funding to help you narrow down your options.
The three common types of business that you can start are as follows;

Ecommerce

It refers to an online business idea that allows you to sell products and services on social media platforms, personal website, or an existing online retail shop like eBay.

Ecommerce businesses provide plenty of room for flexibility as well as a lower threshold for entry to the business. Business can be conducted remotely or as part-time businesses and this is dependent on the business model. Currently, eCommerce is growing as an online retail market increasing the overall sales worldwide.

After understanding the market, you might need to open a website, which relies on three basics; clear images of the inventory, description of the inventory, and an easy payment funnel. Setting up a retail website that deals with selling product is nowadays considered a job that you can do it yourself. There are different platforms that can help you create a good website; such as Wix.com.

However, there are websites that may require a different business model, for example, websites that access database that allows people to search for jobs. Service needs an explanation and thus this will require you to tell the visitors what the services offer, if it is described in the name of the company, using an image on the website, or state the services clearly on the homepage of your website.

If you would like to venture into eCommerce, ask yourself the following questions;
• What customer needs would you wish to fulfill?
• Who is the target consumer? Are they online?
• Is the website clear indicating what you are offering?
• How can you position your products on the website to make it easy for the visitors?
• Will the consumers are satisfied with the number of products offered on the website?
• How can customers order the products/services? Is the payment funnel clear?
• Are there ways that you can make it easy for the customers to buy on the website?
• Do you have any plans for customer service?

Franchise Business

A franchise requires a license that has the name, logo, business processes, and goods and services offered by the franchisor. The cost varies depending on the initial fee of the franchise, training costs, marketing costs, royalty payments, and retail build-up.

One disadvantage of a franchise is that it is based on a system of replicate processes of business that have proven records. It is important to ensure that you evaluate your personal and professional experience, expectations, and the available money, to decide if you are capable of owning a franchise.

Here are some of the reasons that people invest in the franchise;
• Recognition of brand name: Franchise comes with a degree of familiarity and recognition. However, this is dependent on the geographical region and if the franchise is already in the region.
• Low risks: You are investing in a system that is known to work. However, there are still risks involved and the cost of these risks can be significant leading to a financial burden for the franchise. To shield yourself from all these, it is important to ensure that you have six to nine months of available working capital before purchasing a franchise.
• Built-in operations: There is an aspect of the organization for a good franchise. It indicates what you are buying with the initial cost as well as other payments. Also, there is a systematic plan that guides you on how to operate the business. It describes how the location should be set, how to operate and market, location to market, and assistance will be offered along the way.
• Economies of scale: If you are involved with a large system, there is a possibility that you can get better prices on your end-user goods as part of the system.

It is important to note that as easy as this might sound, the franchise does