Starting and operating a successful small business requires a great deal of determination enthusiasm and motivation. The success and failure of your small business will greatly depend on your choosing the right business to start with. Having chosen the right business what next? The advice and help you are able to secure from various professionals and organisations will indeed play a vital role in the success of your business.
1. Banks
Your Bank will naturally be playing the pivotal role in financing your small business and giving you all the necessary advice and assistance to help you run your business successfully. The bank will constantly monitor your business and advise you.
2. Small Business Association (SBA):
In the United States they help small businesses start, grow, and compete in global markets by providing quality training, counseling, and access to resources.
There is a misconception that the SBA grants loans to Small Businesses
The SBA only guarantees loans made by banks and other private lenders to small business clients.
Similarly most countries have their own Small Business Associations to help and advice small businessess.
It is advisable that new entrepreneurs seek their advice and help when starting their new business.
3. Business Mentors:
Mentors are useful people with vast experience in starting and running a successful business. Very often they are people who have gone through the mill and their advice can be very helpful, especially if you have had no previous business experience at all. SCORE.
4. Accountants:
Proper accounting procedures have to be adopted right from day one to ensure that your business is running profitably. For this the sevices of an accountant is absolutely essential. Negligense of this can end up in disaster.
5. Business Associations/Organisations:
Many new entrepreneurs are unaware of the advantages of joining an association that represents their business. For that matter being a member of any business or trade association will be enormously beneficial to your business. These associations provide their members a vast range of information such as sources for raw materials and markets for their products. Workshops and seminars conducted by them exclusively for members provide useful tips, know-how and other valuable information. Membership of certain associations also adds prestige to your small business.
6. Libraries:
Libraries are a great place where you will be able to find a vast range of books and periodicals relating to starting a business, marketing, accounting and other allied fields. Many successfull entrepreneurs make good use of the libraries to gather vital information or to update their knowledge.
7. Internet:
Today the Internet is the source for information on anything and everything under the Sun. You can ignore anything but certainly not the Internet. You just have to visit the the big three search engines such as Google, Yahoo or MSN and type your query and lo and behold you get your results immediately. You may at times have to wade through unwanted and unnecessary results but nevertheless it is a goldmine you simply cannot ignore.
Conclusion:
You have started a small business and your goal is to achieve success. The expertize and usefullness of all these and other professionals and associations will be necessary for matters such as, research, market survey, profitability, preparing a plan and obtaining a feedback. Your success will to a great extent depend on how best you utilize and take advantage of them.
