3 important questions when building a startup

MANILA, Philippines –A brilliant idea has come to you and you jump to your feet to start working on it immediately. Such eureka moment is priceless for innovators and entrepreneurs.

But don’t get too excited. You need to make a solid plan first and iron out a lot of important details. You also have to make several decisions as you take off in this venture.

You can start working on your startup by answering these important questions:

1. Who are your competitors?

Who are you going to be up against? Can you keep up with the competition? What kind of game plan should you draft? To find out the answers to these questions, you’ll need to explore the industry and know your competitors.

There are many ways to discover what the other players are like. You can personally visit their stores to see their marketing gimmicks and what kind of experience they’re giving their customers. Conferences are also a great venue to meet other entrepreneurs who are in the same industry you’re pursuing. You can also fish some information from your suppliers.

This way, you can leverage your overall business strategy and product development. You can also come up with great ideas on how you can be different from your competitors.The insights that this study will give you can help you establish your company’s value in the market.

2. Who are your customers?

One of the first things you need to settle before actually setting out in a business is your target market. The key is to make it as specific as possible. Otherwise, your strategies won’t work to meet your business goals.

To define your market, you can start with the demographics—age, place of residence, gender, education, income, civil status, occupation, and the like. Then you can proceed with the psychographics or aspects in your prospective customers’ profile that pertain to their values, interests, personality, behavior, lifestyle and affinity.You can also get customer insights through your competitors.

Once you’re done defining your target market, it’ll be easier to craft your branding and marketing strategies, and develop your products or services.

3. Are you ready?

A flourishing business starts with a big idea. And it’s thrilling to get the work started once that big idea strikes you. But first, reality check: Entrepreneurship requires hard work. Are you ready?

When starting a business, dedication, diligence, patience and perseverance are some of the important attitudes you need to put on. Otherwise, you will never be prepared to face failures, which, by the way, are very normal in the initial stages of venturing into a business.

You know you’re ready to run your own startup when passion is what drives you. You are also willing to take big risks and understand the pros and cons of your plans. You have a realistic vision for your business and possess solid experience in your chosen market.

But if you think your experience and skills might not yet suffice until you get more training and exposure in the industry, make sure you have people around you now who have the relevant know-how.

Are you building a startup? Set up your headquarters at a Regus office. Check out your options at regus.com.ph.

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