Date Posted: 10/26/2012 1:02:50 AM
Posted By: saucer Membership Level: Gold Total Points: 4885
In this economy when money is scarce, we have to find ways to earn an extra income. As a teen or an adult in the early twenties you will find that pocket money from the parents isn’t enough to survive on in campus or in whatever activity you engage into. This need to have money has prompted people to start businesses that can earn them an extra shilling. When you have come up with an idea to start a business what exactly do you need to implement it and see it through? The major obstacle that many business start ups face is capital. How does one start a business with little or no capital? Here are some of the ways on how to achieve this:1) Create a detailed concept of what you want your business to be like. When you have limited funds to start a business you only have one chance to get it right because many trials and errors will be costly and remember you do not have much money. In other words you cannot afford to fail, literally. Create a detail account of what your goals and objectives are and your strategies of how you will achieve them. You can think out of the box but do not put ideas that are extravagant and cost too much money to come alive because you cannot afford it. You can come up with a simple strategy that requires little or no money and be successful. Not all business millionaires came up with out of this world ideas.2) Go out and do research about the market. This is important especially when it comes to selling your products and actually getting customers. When you put your product into the market you must go and get views of customers about what they think about your products, if they like them or not. Thereafter you can customize your product to meet the customers’ expectations, be it improving the quality or reducing the price. If you do not do market research you may find yourself repeating mistakes on your products that will eventually turn away the customers.3) Analyse your competition. Doing this will enable you know what the current businesses in operation are doing to make so much profit. This will help you not get left behind when you launch into the sector. You will not have a hard time catching up and losing customers at the same time. You may even be ahead of the rest by coming up with new creative ideas that will give you an edge of the competition.4) You need to be competent in your business. Know basic things that about how to operate the business they include managing and accounting. This will help you save money on hiring people to do that for you. There are online sites that provide education o such matters e.g. Udemy.com5) When you are trying to get value for every shilling it is important to reduce the cost of operation for much more profits. You need to minimise on the labour, marketing, transport and production costs. Ways to do this is by using cheaper methods of transportation, hiring family members to do simple activities for you. Find ways to reduce your expenses so as to maximise your profit. The motto here is ‘spend less make more’.6) Use social media to your advantage. The advertising expense on them is close to free, so why not utilise it to the fullest. Get the most out of it by posting new updaters on your products and even running promotions on the internet. You will not only reach a wide market base but you will spend less money on it.7) Get advice and guide on how to run your business more effectively. Running a business will help you reduce on expenses and maximise on profits. Meet with other entrepreneurs and learn from them. Ask questions on how you can get the best out of your business and engage in discussions with them. It might help if you also got a mentor to guide you and develop you.
Next: How to study effectively for KCSE/KCPE exams Previous: Kenya's water towers: can they sustain us?