SECRET TO STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Self development is key to business success.

Only read this if you are serious about becoming your own boss.
With the present economic condition of the country, coupled with high rate of unemployment, we all aspire to be entrepreneurs. Truth is, not all of us are built to be entrepreneurs and not all of us will be entrepreneurs. Starting your own business entails so much, but I will be giving you some tips to make your long entrepreneurial journey somewhat shorter, more productive and easier.

We all ask ourselves this million dollar question, how do I start?
How about things to do before you start? Here is what you should know before you start...

Information is key!!! The easiest way to be successful is to first learn all the rudiments of building, maintaining and sustaining a successful business. Congratulations, you have already started learning by reading this post. If you rush into business inexperienced, you will definitely rush out, which is the major reason banks and other money lenders prefer to give expansion and not start-up loans.

There are so many ways to learn, you can learn by reading Books, articles, blogs etc., they are fast and easy ways to gather information about all aspects of business in any niche. The internet has made it easier to access reading materials as you can download books relating to any niche of your choice in PDF formats sometimes even for free on the internet. You can try sites such as booksboon.com, or select from a list of websites in this link  http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/20-best-websites-to-download-free-e-books/.

You can also learn by attending business seminars. Every now and then, we hear of various seminars being organised by churches, organisations, companies, schools, etc. Seminars help to grant us access to professionals at various levels in different fields of business, from the expert, to the experienced or to even a starter like yourself. Seminars are also a good way to get yourself a mentor, which is also a good way to learn about developing your start-up. Get yourself an experienced mentor who you can always look up to whenever you need advice and assistance. A mentors' advice would always come in handy.

Research on people who have excelled in your field to understand what steps they took, also make sure you research on people who have failed in your niche to beware of what steps they took or did not take, so you can avoid failure also.

Join communities and interact with people in your desired field. Physical and Virtual communities such as forums and groups of professionals is a great way to get up-to-date information of what's happening in the business world. Nairaland.com is a good place for such forums.

When you are sure you have acquired enough information, it gets easier for you to prepare a comprehensive business plan for yourself, your vision for your business becomes clearer and in the process, you would have definitely discovered ways of acquiring funds for your start-up. Don't overlook writing down a business plan, even if you don't want to process a loan, a comprehensive business plan will expose you to some aspects of the business you probably didn't give any thought to.

Start by choosing the right acquaintances. On your journey to success, your personal relationships can be a major setback. If you are surrounded with people who are negative minded and you let that negativity get to you, trust me, you're heading back to your starting point of doubt, laziness and idleness. Change your group, if those closest to you are not positive minded, its better you change them and get a different set of positive minded people. If you're also optimistic and positive minded, it won't be difficult for you to find others such as yourself. Unlike magnets, humans with similar values, opinions and beliefs attract.

When times are hard, Passion is what will keep you going. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and the passionate would eventually overcome the tough times.

Most importantly, be prayerful if you want to succeed. Most entrepreneurs neglect the God factor when searching for wealth, forgetting that before anything manifests in the physical, it would have manifested in the spiritual. The God factor is what makes you transparent, fair, honest, respectful and work with optimum integrity in business and it would eventually make you successful.
Commit your business to God and don't forget to pay your tithe.

Think WITTEE! Think intelligence!