Building Your Business Foundation

By: Shannon Marshburn

When I was around eight years old I was building a crafty project with my dad. He said, “measure twice, cut once”, and ofcourse my 8 year old patience level said cut and don't measure! You can imagine how that project turned out in the end. 

    Even though that phrase floated around in my somewhat empty head for years, it never really set in until my university days and when those mistakes turned into expensive mistakes. The importance of building a strong foundation as an entrepreneur is crucial in avoiding burnout, expensive and avoidable mistakes and saves you in every other aspect of a business. 

    When you make your first purchase for your business, and you get your new lab space, it is all very exciting and you just want to jump right into it like my 8 year old self wanted to do with my crafts. It’s not much fun, but taking that time in the beginning to work out the kinks will help your business stay built. 

Are you ready to build a business that will stand through the storm? If so, read on!

Be Passionate About Your Idea

• The entrepreneurial world is not for the faint of heart, and if you lack passion, everyone around you will feel it. Don’t start a business just from a great idea, you will lose lots of sleep, money and years to your business so make sure it is worth it in the long run. 

Solve a real problem

• By finding a hole in the market, you are able to stand out and solve a problem that needs to be fulfilled. This will help with your business growth and enhances your ability to sell. 

Be resourceful

• You have to spend money to make money, but you don't have to spend all of your money. Be as creative as possible and find if there is another way to come to your end goal. You might find you dont need as much funding, saving you time and yours and others money.

Connect with your target market

• Find your potential customers in the beginning so you can build your business model around them. Look at your competitors and see how you can stand apart from them, and convert those customers towards your business. This can save you lots of re-routing and pivoting before you make the concrete decisions with abstract info before knowing your target market. 

Our programs like I-Corps are built to give you that exact info, so visit our I-Corps page to learn more. 

Business plan

• Find your basic structure for your objectives and decisions. These plans can be edited and changed as you develop strategies and adjust to the changing market over time. The makeup of your business plan includes a summary, business description, plan for growth, market strategies, competition analysis, operation plans, and financing. 

FInal thoughts…

It all boils down to what you want to achieve. 
If you want to build something great with huge growth, you need to spend the time on laying your solid foundation. If you want to just “start”, then chances are your business may come down just as quickly as it went up. 

Take the time and really work out those kninks in the beginning so that once the storm hits, it will be somewhat smooth sailing.