Before You Start A Business, Ask Yourself These 11 Questions

Are you a leader contemplating starting a new business? Or, has a budding entrepreneur turned to you because of your leadership skills to ask for your help?

Here are 11 questions you or that entrepreneur should ask before starting a business.

Is there a true need for my product/service?
What is the competitive environment and how will my product/service be unique, different or better?
Will my location (or accessibility online) be convenient and easy to get to for my customers?
Do I have adequate funding to support my business, particularly during the ramp-up period that could be a year or more?
Do I have the stamina to start a new business and work hard even if it means months of extended work hours and perhaps even seven days a week?
Will my family and social life withstand my commitment to my new business?
Will the name of my business be easy to spell, suitable for print on online, and memorable?
Am I a risk taker?
Am I humble enough to ask for help, especially if I am not an expert in marketing or accounting?
Do I hire well? Do I have the skills, ability and resources to hire people who will share my same vision, work ethic and commitment to the business?
Do I have an exit plan? Do I know how to handle exiting from the business should it fail or, ideally, should it become so successful I’ll be able to sell it?

And, before you start your business, write a business plan even if you don’t have to present one to a bank, funders or lenders. And, ask a handful of your peers to review your plan. Be sure to select a few people who are your best critics.

Writing the plan, which could take two to six weeks of working on it nearly every day, will force you to think of all aspects of your business and will require you to address tough questions you will likely not ask without the discipline of writing a plan.

Perhaps most critical in your plan will be the sections on:

Competition
Marketing
Financial Projections

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