Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello, I'm your host, Alisa McCabe, and welcome to another episode of Financial Snickens. Today, we are going to be talking about the seven questions you should ask yourself before starting a business. So we talk to a lot of business owners and we have found that these are The most important questions you can ask, you know, you might be chatting with friends or family over drinks and you start writing ideas down on a napkin and there's energy and excitement and then you wake up the next day and if you're still jazzed about starting a new adventure.
Ask yourself these seven questions. So, look, why are you starting a business? Is it because you want to make money? Is it passion? Hey, both of those are fine. But just so you know, most entrepreneurs when they start a business [00:01:00] typically are not motivated by money. And you definitely need some incentive to keep you going because It's not going to be the easiest thing you've ever done.
Second question. Can you start this as a side hustle? Can you still do this? And do it slowly while you're still working a full time job. I highly suggest this because this path protects you from great losses, but it can also reduce the rate at which you grow your business, which might be negative. Again, you have to decide what is best for you and your life.
If you have people that depend on you for your salary, you may not be able to ditch your full time job, but can you start it as a side hustle? Another question that... I think it's really important and some people, um, really kind of gloss over it, but should you go it alone or do you want to have a [00:02:00] partner?
So, you know, having a partner is great until it's not, because we have looked into so many businesses and we are on the inside of a lot of businesses. We've seen partnerships go horribly wrong, um, and some go really good. So you have to be honest with yourself and do some soul searching to see if you would make a great partner or the person that you picked will make a great partner.
And then think, do I really need a partner? Do you need someone who contributes their expertise, money, or skills, or do you just want someone to hold your hand in the scary adventure things to think about? So now what you've decided to do is it. Is it what you're offering? Is it needed? So, are you solving a pain point?
And did you do your research to see if there is offerings like yours on the [00:03:00] market? And are they successful? So, if your business is truly unique, try sending out surveys to potential clients to determine they would buy what you're offering. Next, who's your potential client? You really need to find out what the demographics are on that potential client.
And who would you want as a client? Do they share your ideals? Where do you find these people? Where are they online? Is it going to be in person? What kind of marketing is going to reach those people and, and why would they want to work with you? These are all questions you need to figure out finding out who your potential client is.
And then next, how much money are you willing to invest? Are you going to bootstrap it, which means you're just going to use the money that you make from the business, or are you going to get an investor to support you? Every business requires an ambition, an initial [00:04:00] investment, so it can be buying furniture for an office.
It can be creating a digital presence. You need a website. You know, there's all these different things that do require money. Um, and the small business association offers loans for small businesses at every stage. So I will put the link to that resource in the notes. And it's, it's someplace you can go to learn more about starting a business.
And there's lots of support out there for starting a business. Okay. So you've talked about how much money you're willing to invest and, you know, are you going to put in sweat equity? How is it going to work for you? And number seven, it's my favorite question because I think people often forget that starting a business is not easy.
It's fun, and it's exciting, and there's lots of motivation, and there's so much creativity that you can do, [00:05:00] but there's also a serious business side to it. There is a lot of structure that you have to do. You have to track your money. You might have to pay sales tax. There's so many things and small nuances that you have to pay attention to.
How are you going to price your product? How much money can you make? Is this a money making business? So are you willing to work long hours for little money? Are you okay with losing sleep over issues in your business? Been there, done that. Are you ready to be exhausted and exhilarated at the same time?
That is, anybody who's owned a business will tell you, that is absolutely something that's happened to them. And owning a business is not for the faint of heart. It requires grit to pursue entrepreneurship, but keep chasing it. It requires passion and perseverance. It is, it is one of the most rewarding [00:06:00] things that you can do and things are going to go horribly wrong, but they can also go really well.
And in those moments, it seems like. Things are moving in the right direction. It is like nothing you've ever felt before. So when you experience this feeling and you're feeling energized to go to your next goal, it is, um, someone explained they were, uh, a comedian getting on stage and they said there was nothing like getting in front of an audience and everybody cheering for you.
And I have to think that as a small business owner, when things are going really well in your business and. You're profitable and your team's going well. That feeling of success is, is amazing and it is exhilarating and it's a great feeling to know that you're making a difference. And I can say I have felt it and I've [00:07:00] seen other people feel it and it's amazing to be in the room with it.
So if you're thinking about starting a new business. Please ruminate over these seven questions and know that First Steps Financial is here to help you. If you want to talk about starting a business, we are more than happy to chat about it and talk about QuickBooks online and setting things up properly.
And that is our space that we live in. So head over to our website, firststepsfinancial. com, and we'd be more than happy to talk to you about it
