Starting Business
It takes some steps to convert your dream into reality

Setting up of a business enterprise requires research, strategic planning, legal registrations and arrangement of resources in planned manner.

It is tough to start and running it is tougher and controlling its failure is toughest. People will advise you not to start an enterprise.

If you have decided you want to be a successful entrepreneur follow these steps. You can surely successfully setup a new enterprise and make good profits.

Step 1: Dream Your Enterprise

Entrepreneurship starts with a dream that is converted into reality through passion, patience and hard work. Dreaming (even day dreaming) will also help you in visualising all business problems and find their solutions. Dreaming is free risk management tool available with everyone. Use it most.

Step 2: Document Your Dreams

Document your dreams into vision and mission statements. Prepare a outline of specific and time bound objectives. This will help you in initial discussions and workout finer details.

Step 3: Prepare Detailed Project Report (DPR)

Draft finer details of project including corporate structure, engineering designs and complete financial and risk analysis. Talk to as many people you can, surf internet for weeks, get firm price quotations for every asset or expense and document everything.

Just keep patience you life time project can wait for 3 months more. Once you start implementing roll back will be tough.If you can't wait longer then take help of expert professionals who will charge anything between 2 to 5 percent of project cost.

Step 4: Setup Management Information System

Configure a information system for all departments to get up-to-date information about all activities. This is essential because you have limited funds and you are dealing with human beings who are most unpredictable.

Step 5: Formally Register Your Enterprise

Register your enterprise name and constitution under appropriate law. Laws differ from place to place. You are advised to contact your local chartered accountant or lawyer for this. Registrations may be required in multiple laws in multiple jurisdictions.Don‘t forget to register a domain name also. It is as important as your legal name.

Step 6: Make Arrangements for Finance

You need not bring entire money upfront. Funds are required for making payments for assets and expenses. Schedules for these payment depends upon your understanding with vendors and employees.

You may approach family, banks, venture capitalists and finance companies depending upon your project requirements. In rarest of rare cases you will receive an advance from customers. This is repayable if you fail to deliver expected quality on time.

Do not move ahead without making adequate arrangements. Any shortfall later could result into complete closure and multiple legal proceedings.

Step 7: Place Orders for Assets/ Infrastructure

After making arrangements for funds, place orders for assets. Assume thrice of delivery time committed by vendor because there is no certainty in business.

Step 8: Recruit Manpower

Hire right people matching job requirements and your financial position. Sign firm agreement with new recruits. Experienced and employed people will take two months to resign from previous employer and join you. They will take two months to settle in new job. Keep the backup ready because most often people use new enterprises as stepping stone for next bigger job in established organisations.

Step 9: Start Marketing Your Products

Marketing should start when you first discuss your business plans. You need to sell your ideas to investors/ lenders for funds, customers for products, employees for jobs and vendors for getting credit.

Now create marketing channel through which your products will reach ultimate customer. Make arrangements for quicker receipts of payments also. Just before start of commercial production, you must to create market for your products. If you need to show your ready products to customers then get samples manufactured first.

Step 10: Fine Tune Supply Chain

You need to fine tune your procurement, production, storage and distribution processes according to your new experiences and changed market needs. Your may be required to rework most of your original plans at this stage. Do it because you have become wiser.

Please note that most often people fail because they are passionate about their original plans and they do not change them. Therefore your dreams must be fixed but your operational plans must be flexible.

Step 11: Prepare for After Sales Support

A satisfied customer will recommend your products to everyone he knows. Remember, even if your products are perfect, customers want more. So prepare a customer support system.

Step 12: Start Commercial Production

Now you can start commercial production of your products. Increase capacity as demand grows.

Step 13: Manage Your Growth

Most often people fail to manage growth. You must monitor every progress and must not relax before you recover your investment. Take prompt decisions. Sometimes you may be required to take tough decisions. Just take them to save your enterprise.

Growing beyond installed capacity or opening a new facility is altogether a new project. Follow above steps for all major expansion decisions.

Finally, trust everyone but prepare for their failure.