How did you start? What should I start doing to get my feet wet? I’m 19 in college but I want to take a “smart” risk so is there website I can go to market a specific item like a “niche” ..tell me your advice to get started….I started this summer a surfing camp but I don’t wanna teach because I hurt my leg really bad…..thankyou
goodluck
There’s a lot to know when you want to start a business. You can do so, if you have someone who can guide you to the legal/business part of it. Eg. taxes, accounting, company incorporation, annual returns etc. Secondly, you need to have a product/brand that people want. It’s easy to start a business but hard to make money. You may end up losing money.
So pick a niche you like, eg. surfing camp. Join the workforce at the camp. Get some ideas on how it is run, how much they charge, start working out the sums and see if they make money. How they get customers. If you don’t want to teach, then you need to know people who can. But how much are they paid?
Every business is different. Websites can give you a generic guide, but not a whole lot more. It is also essential that you arm yourself with some business school knowledge. Eg, you should know how to manage profit & loss. Cost and revenue models. How to do finance projections etc.
Hi John,
My advice: Think of a few business ideas, then get on Twitter or Facebook and ask your friends what they think about them. Once you have an idea there is literally tons of resources and organizations that can help get you started- a lot of them for free.
Does your college have a business development center? You can start there if they do.
I have a list on over 100 business resources online that you can also check out:
http://frugalentrepreneur.com/links-to-free-online-small-business-resources/
Good Luck!
Adam Gottlieb