Step by step on how to start and flourish in any business in this modern century.

An electronics shop which started as a repair kiosk in Nairobi. [Photo: George]

Businesses are the vehicles that run a given country. People thought it was hard to start and require much effort. Starting something to sustain your life is really important and creates a valuable structure in life. It's the engine running in our homes every day. In the developed countries, starting  a business is really simple  compared to developing  countries. 

This is because the structures implemented to facilitate it are much advanced and simple. Most of developing nations, the ways of starting and running  it is really sophisticated and time-consuming.

 All in all, will go through all the aspects that are required to start, implement and run any business. These ways are generally in all countries except  a few who have special structures according to their respective government. It is hard to start it in most of African countries and nations  with a lot of graft.

Starting a business involves two major things:

1. Ideas
2. Market 

These are the important key elements to having in order to start. The majority has been talking about capital, assets, and venue, but it's really  wrong for people who are starting  from scratch. In this article will even provide examples so that you can understand it better. Description and explanations will also be involved as it the only way to make things clearer for newbies who are thinking now of trying at least one.

1. Ideas.
The fundamental aspect of a real business person is having dynamic, clean  and tangible ideas. We are talking about clean ideas which are straightforward and they can be explored easily. I think it's hard to understand this type of aspect when you take it according to the words  illustrated above. The explanation regarding dynamic ideas is when someone starts, he or she has in mind that one day one time will expand the business. 

So it must be something that is flexible and can be expanded without any difficulty. For example; when someone starts a kiosk of selling normal household commodities, he or she has in mind that one day one time will move or expand to a retail shop then to a wholesale and later a distributor or at last a producer. So dynamic ideas are very important aspects of any business. 

I also talked about clean ideas. The majority of people always think of becoming rich overnight. This is really challenging unless you follow superstition and powers of the darkness. We are  only talking about genuine and clean ideas which do not involve loss of someone's life or any injuries. Ideas that cannot fringe anybody's rights of the constitution and should always be legal in the respective  country of implementation.

Then lastly, it is about tangible ideas. These are thoughts that can be seen happening in the mind, in other words, virtual implementation of activities undertaken when the time comes. For example, when you think of starting a coffee shop in an area where it has a very high temperature. When you have in mind that this is what I want to do and you think the community  needs a coffee shop then the points below will assist you with the correct decision.

These ideas will make the respective person find more information about them. Here are some of the facts and ways of nourishing the ideas.

a) Natural environment.
b) People.
c) Culture.
d) Other

Let us start with a natural environment definition and how it affects a business. This is the condition that naturally affects the business, whether it's at pick or off the pick. Some of them are weather changes and camouflaged climatic conditions. Here is a good example that will show you how these affect the ideas and our virtual business ideas.

 When someone wants to start an ice cream or ice cubes and cold drink  parlor, this person needs to think which is the exact place for making a profit. Take these two scenarios.

Scenario one.
Someone starting that parlor in Iceland country where the temperature is below 0°C. 

Scenario two.
Someone starting the same parlor in an arid area where the temperature goes sometimes goes to 40°C.

I hope now you understand about the natural environment from these two scenes. People choose a business because someone has and it's really picking. But that's a very big silly  mistake to have when you still have raw ideas. So, looking at environmental conditions and the nature of business will help the person not to be affected or wind up before reaping the benefits.

When you examine the two scenes closely you will identify and understand that one has to choose a business accordingly to avoid misfortunes. Ice cream and cold drinks like a place where there is a lot of heat and therefore customers will always come to cool their bodies using the cold drinks.
 But when you look at scene one, you will be shocked because the place is Iceland and really cold, then who will take cold drinks else again? At this juncture, you will have to close down the shop and do something else. In other words, it means here you will not be able to proceed with the business unless you change to something else.

We started with the environment now we will talk about people. What are the effects or importance of understanding people in a business. The idea of starting a business, the respective investment must be welcomed by the natives and as well be generated by them so that they will feel like owning it. Discriminating the locals will take the business to hell and you will be able to do anything. So the best feature is when thinking about an investment, then you will have to think of the host community. There are communities which are calm and welcoming, but others are hostile and live in a hostile environment. So it depends on the kindness of the people and well being before doing anything. The ideas must be accompanied by a thorough research of the community and survey.

The third one is about peoples culture. A good business person studies the culture of the consumers and looks for means and ways to fit in. If the culture like natural commodities and foodstuff, then someone can choose to go natural with them and make money. Take this another example here and I think will make you understand  much better in terms of culture. 

A culture that believes in traditional attire is really not in need of fashion house or boutique in the area.

Culture is an important aspect to consider when starting a business. A person who is considering  venturing in a community must be able to integrate with the community and accept the values related to that society. After which he/she will be able to understand their needs. The important  thing is understanding the language if the investor is not a native of the community. 

The last point is about other factors. These other factors have to be considered because they have a very big impact in the business.Now when someone is thinking of starting something he or she has to think of  where the capital will be sourced. The capital is not necessary, but it's an important element for the ideas made. Sometimes people start a business through being an intermediary of a well established company. Here is some information that will help you to identify the areas of capitalizing and acquire what you have dreamt for  a while.

 Look at the points below;

a) Government funding.
b) Chamas
c) Banks.
d) Sacco.
e) Imaginary capital.

So a person may think of starting it with government funding. This funding mostly targets a certain group in the majority of developing countries. Some of them may even require members to be in a group for them to access funds from the government. The group members are said to act as security for the funds. 

The group should be well equipped with ideas to execute the immediately when they are disbursed with the funds. The members should consist of well self respected and faithfully.

The quickest way of getting money is from the merry go round famously in east Africa called Chama.

Chamas provide money asap as they are people from the local community that save money for the purpose of assisting one another in the community or sometimes restricted to the group members only. So by joining a Chama will make someone execute his or her ideas quickly without any interruptions. This becomes the quickest way of raising capital for the business compared from the the other methods.

Banks are also a good to get money as capital.  The advantage is its safe and money guaranteed. Banks give out the grace period of up to six months to start the repayment. It's the only way to start reaping your  profits before starting  the repayment because of the grace period. The biggest disadvantage with banks is that before you take a loan you must have been a subscriber for some months or years. The other one is that banks have high-interest rates compared to other money lending areas.

Then the last legal process of getting capital through lending is Sacco or cooperatives. These are the community banks or areas where people get loans from society easily. In most countries, government subsidies elevate Sacco investments in order to reach many people across. These ways will enable the entrepreneur to get financial assistance for the business.

The last option of getting capital is the use of common sense. This is the most appropriate and the method of getting it quickly as long as you use the mind properly. I will give you an example that will enhance the ability to understand all the features in common  sense or imaginary capital.

A laborer  was offloaded and  loading soil in or from trucks  for £3. He decided to follow the tracks where the sand, soil was being too. He created a friendship with the common buyers. One day he decided  to visit them as an individual to market sand that he did not have. So, fortunately, the contractors agreed  to be supplied the sand. He became a broker of his first employer and the sand buyers and he was getting £30 per truck he sold from his first employer. Then after a year, he decided to buy his truck and open his construction business.

So this is a good example of using the mind with capital. This is what gives the capital of what someone desire. Instead of going round looking for capital, ideas, create it and do what you think is best. The guy sold sand without it and even mode of transportation was imaginary.

Ideas are the most important aspect of life if someone wants to flourish in any aspect. Start thinking now because you have become an entrepreneur and I wish you all the best. Let us explore the last feature when now you want to start an investment or already started it. Good ideas build and worst ideas will end up in worst areas that you never planned to be. Make concrete ,better and legal ideas to execute  a worthwhile business.

2. Market
The other important feature in any business is the importance of the line selected. When someone selects a line of business like fashion, foodstuff or even education, he or she needs to know the where about of  the customer.
The important aspect here is knowing the customers. So marketing  strategy will work well when the businessman studies the community and learn several social aspects.

Let me outline the marketing strategy for a new entrepreneur  in a new place as a venue.

a) Competition.
b) Source.
c) Awareness.

So now those three points are very important because every place has challenges, but the only thing someone has to do is to keep up with the spirit.
For someone who is exploring a new business in a new place has to accept competition for a while. Setting up will involve many parties, but at the end when they see how profits are generated, then they might open the same thing so as to create competition.

 At this point, marketing is very important to outsource projects and new features to be really outstanding in the society. This can be done by participating in community projects and partnerships who will make it grow and overcome the other. 

Community awareness is really important because it creates a connection between the business and the natives. This is the most important aspect in any production  line. The customers should understand the benefits of the product in their lifestyle. Community business integration is really an effective plan to have. Having a marketing plan for it is really good for the future of the business. 

In the cases of expansion it is ideal if the natives benefit and in all terms. This integration will help in terms of slow growth or in social and economic crisis. The society may block obstacles that may affect the business even in a crisis like wars and clan clashes.

Other areas that someone needs to understand is getting massive ideas from the community. This can be gathered in parties or even by using the customers. That is done by asking what they like to be done for them to be able to find what they like easily. 

In this party, you will get lots of ideas and even the business can be changed according to their needs. The aim here is making profits and sustainability of it.  I hope this one has enlightened and ignited your thoughts of survival.

The time is now to start a great business from your ideas and influence others. The only aspect that someone should not forget is the passion and aim or vision of doing great. The outstanding features will motivate  young ones and many more generations to come.

Do not forget to adhere to the laws of the country when you decide what to do. In this part, we have licenses for the operation and government taxes. A good citizen is the one who is patriotic to the country and obey laws.

Have a nice business and feel free to contact us for any enquiries or just comment and you will be answered  by our business experts.