Black Woman Thinking

What Do I Need Before Starting A Business?

Post was last updated: May 19, 2021
Black Woman Thinking
What do you need for a business?

Hello, on this page you will find out exactly what you need before starting your own company. We will tell you the requirements needed for you to have a successful business in Malawi.

Know your product or service

This knowledge is essential to any business, whether online, home-based or otherwise. Without a good idea of what product or service you’ll offer, it can be very hard to move forward with planning and marketing your business. Your product or service will influence your business structure too. Depending on what you market or sell, will you only do business online, or will you also have an office space or store to run as well? This can have an impact on your business in terms of staffing, storage space, and rent costs. Before you start a business, find out if people are interested in buying your products or services. Find out who your competitors are and whether the market can sustain your business. Conduct some research to see whether your idea is really feasible. This will involve gathering, analyzing and evaluating information to help you formulate your business goals. Finding current industry statistics, sales trends and speaking with other business owners in the industry is often a good place to begin. Some questions to consider are:

  • What product/service will you provide?
  • Is your idea feasible?
  • How will you protect your idea?
  • Is there a market for your product/service?
  • What skills do you need?
  • Who are your competitors?
  • What difference will you bring to the market?
  • Do you have the financial capacity?

Know your customers

Knowing who you’ll be selling to can help you define your business. Do some research into your potential (or existing) customers or clients, and their habits – this means checking out who will be buying or using your goods and services, and how they normally do this.

Understanding your customer base, and how to direct them to your online business, is important. Investigate what kind of customers usually buy online, what they’re buying, and how they find their goods and services.

Know your plan

Why write a business or marketing plan?

It may be tempting to get on the internet right away and start experimenting with setting up an online business. However, a little planning can go a long way in ensuring your business is a success. Creating business and marketing plans can help you identify goals and develop strategies for achieving them.

If you’re an established business moving online, you might already have a business or marketing plan – but it could be a good idea to review them to make sure they’re comprehensive.

Walinase Mayuni
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