Starting a business takes time and effort and most only start seeing real growth after the 18-month start-up period, so persevere — it's the key to success. Nurture your entrepreneurial spirit and continuously develop your drive, determination and creativity. As a businesswoman, you'll need to uncover and harness opportunities.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2007) observed that South African women could be the key to
unlocking economic growth in the country if better and more targeted support and information was made available to them. 'What is needed to encourage women entrepreneurs is a mix of support which includes the right education that will help ensure women have the business and leadership skills to deal with the dynamic world we live in today,' says Shireen Chengadu, Executive Director of Academic Programmes at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
Here are GIBS' top 10 tips for planning and starting your business:
1. Assess whether you are ready for a new venture
2. Research why the market needs your business
3. Understand the environment
4. Draw up a formal Business Plan
5. Register your business
6. Be realistic
7. Be flexible to change
8. Be financially and legally aware
9. Hire the right people
10. Get educated
In reality, no matter how good a business idea is, no matter how well the idea is implemented, as soon as you open your doors for business, you will find your business has to change — not just minor adjustments and small shifts in marketing or product design, but radical change. Customers you never thought of will want your product, and those you counted on will want it in an entirely different form or not at all.
Your business plan is a model to guide you throughout your business life. A neatly bound business plan gathering dust on the shelf is useless. Yours should be well-worn, coffee-stained, paged through and continually adjusted to best suit your ever-changing situation. And remember, keep it real, keep it current and keep it fun!
For more on the GIBS - Goldman Sachs 10 000 Women Certificate Programme, click here.
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