How do you recommend I start my own small business?

Before setting up a small-scale enterprise

Small-scale enterprise development is not for everyone, whether disabled or not, and needs a high level of discipline, dedication, persistence and creativity as well as a lot of work. The micro-entrepreneur must be capable of decision-making and have the ability to manage employees (if any) and accounts. Furthermore, small-scale enterprise development for persons with disabilities involves a multitude of additional challenges, which require specific attention and strategies. Before setting up a small-scale enterprise, it is necessary to:

1. Deal with specific challenges

In any business venture, specific challenges need to be addressed. These include:

seed money
physical location of the business venture
construction or other physically demanding work
management skills
accounting skills
marketing skills
maintenance of equipment, machinery and premises.

In the case of persons with disabilities, their physical and mental capabilities have to be reviewed for suitability to the enterprise.

Ask these questions:

1. What are my strengths?


2. What are my weaknesses?


3. How can I compensate for my weaknesses?


4. What are my current personal needs?


5. Who will be working with me?

1. Choose the right business

The right business certainly varies from one person to another. Personal preferences, along with physical and mental capabilities are the main deciding factors. Nevertheless, the focus should be on market demand and its limitations to determine if the business can be successful.

A planned small-scale enterprise should be able to produce sufficient income to justify the time and energy invested in the venture. Family support also plays a major role in the selection of the business since a disabled person needs help in accomplishing certain tasks, especially during the start-up of the enterprise.

1. Make a list of what you would like to do.


2. Also make a list of what you are good at doing.

Go through the following steps to guide the choice of business:

· Start with what you like

® Remain realistic

· Investigate the market and its needs

® Try to be objective

· Review the competition

® Competition means a market

· Avoid saturated markets

® Look for opportunity

· Make sure you can do it yourself

® Hiring means spending money

· Consult with others

® Discretely, not to divulge ideas

· Discuss with your family

® Check impact on family

Starting a new business with no experience is not something to fear because the success of entrepreneurs comes not only from how experienced they are but from the fact that startup owners are usually motivated, excited and hard-working! As long as you have a drive to succeed and you are willing to put in the time and effort - the fact that you might not have prior experience will most likely not be an issue! Here are some tips however when it comes to starting your business:

1/ Do your research

Probably the most important thing you need to do before starting your own business is to do your research. Make sure you know that there is a market for your product/service, that there will be demand for it once it’s launched. You need to keep in mind what the market conditions might be at the moment and whether this is the right time to enter the market. Know your competition! Are you about to enter a monopoly, oligopoly or a perfect competition market? What are your competitors strengths and weaknesses? In fact, what are your product/service’s strengths and weaknesses? Is there a Unique Selling Point of your business idea? All these questions require an extensive marketing research in order to make sure you have an idea that could turn out to be profitable.

2/ Pick the right location

“On one hand, national policies on entrepreneurship and current economic tidings of some countries can be extremely friendly and encouraging towards business owners. On the other hand, the legislation and regulatory procedures of some other countries can grind your company to a halt in no time.”

3/ Prepare a kick-ass business plan

“A business plan is an essential ingredient of any successful business. Essentially, it’s like a blueprint of your future business, what it will look like and what it will entail. Many businesses don’t have a business plan at all, and this is a fundamental flaw you must avoid. In fact, a business plan should be considered as an absolute necessity for business success.”

4/ Hire the right people

Okay, so you have a great idea that you’ve researched and concluded that is potentially very demanded and profitable, you’ve got a great location and a solid business plan. But what are all these things good for if you don’t have a team of people ready to work hard and spend their energy into converting your idea into reality? It is especially essential for start ups to hire the right staff, which fits their company values and is ready to get onboard for the adventure!

5/ Don’t forget the legalities

This is part of starting your own business is just as important as any other! From employment contracts for your staff to terms and conditions for your website- it is essential that you follow the law when setting up everything because you don’t want your energy and resources to get diverted later on.

All the Best..!!!