How to come up with a business idea

Coming up with a business concept is fraught with challenges. In this chapter we’ll look at some basic guidelines, before providing an overview of global business trends. Here are our top ten things to consider when deciding on what business you should start.

1. How knowledgeable are you about the business you are considering opening? What
do you know about the products, services, and market? Look at businesses that you know very well, and not just from a technical perspective, but from a market standpoint.

2. Make sure you have all the necessary skills to run the business (e.g. not just those
required to manufacture the product, or deliver the service). Remember no matter what the business is, you will have to do some selling.

3. How much money do you have to invest? Businesses such as graphic design and
consulting require far less start-up capital, for instance, than opening a retail establishment. Buying a franchise can be a good idea, but do you have enough capital for both the purchase and the initial running costs?

4. Think about what you enjoy doing, and what you are passionate about. You are more likely to stay the course and be successful, if you enjoy what you do. However, be careful that your passion for your hobby doesn’t blind you to the business potential it has. You may be an excellent writer of poetry, but making a living from it is all but impossible.

5. Decide what type of selling might be involved. A retail store for instance allows you to be a little like a spider in its web, waiting for people to come along before interacting with them. Being a consultant on the other hand, means cold calling and attending business mixers. Remember selling is ALWAYS a major part of any business.

6. How competitive is the field you want to enter? You may have worked for many years
as a lube technician and feel that you have what it takes to launch your own business,
but how many other oil and lube businesses are there in your town, and is there enough
business for another? Analyze your market and see how saturated it is. Remember, you will be trying to take market share away from existing businesses, unless your business is the only one of its kind in the locale.

7. Look for where there is a gap in the market - where there is unfulfilled demand. If you are looking at the retail market, is there a product that people currently have to travel a long way to purchase? Consider the example of social media consultants; as the business world started to see the potential for marketing their products via Facebook, Twitter and other sites, there was no one around to tell them how to go about it. The gap was quickly filled by entrepreneurs who saw a need that was at that time unanswered.

8. Look at market trends and see what is becoming increasingly popular, and what
may be coming to the end of its popularity. For instance, now would not be the time to
open a video rental store, or one selling CD’s or DVD’s. If, however, you can develop apps (or perhaps be a reseller) for Smart phones then you’d be in a growing business. In 2010 the industry was worth around $1.7 billion, within the next three years it is predicted to grow to $3.8 billion. Now, that’s a business to get into. Later in the book, we’ll be taking a look at current business trends in more detail.

9. Be wary of going into any business where consumers make their buying decisions
based entirely, or primarily on price alone. As someone new in the market, your competition will have deeper pockets than you and you could watch your profit go down the drain as they undercut your prices. This is where service businesses have the edge, as people don’t choose who they work with solely on price.

10. Come up with several business concepts and test them out. The best thing you can
do to prevent yourself starting a business that simply doesn’t work for you, is to work in it for a while. If, for example, you are considering opening a coffee shop, go and work in one while you are writing your business plan. Experience the business first-hand and you will not only learn a great deal, but you’ll see if you enjoy the environment.

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Become a barber for a school

This is a small-scale education business opportunity and it will be very profitable for you if have the barbing skill. Most of the boarding schools may be in need of your service if you can barb. You can approach the schools and offer your hair cut services, I bet that the schools will be ready to do business with you.

There are so many boarding schools springing up and this business can add a lot more to your income especially if you have more than 5 schools under your care. Just imagine if a school has about 500 students, they are all you potential clients since they will need a haircut at least in the middle of the term. The best way to approach any school is for you to pay a visit to any of the house parents or house masters (these are the custodian of the children in the hostel).

If you can win them over, then you can get the job. You can also do this business even if you do not have barbing skills, by teaming up with an expert on the trade. Find him the schools and the contracts and share the profits with him.

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Become a dog breeder

Do you love dogs? Do you want to make money out of your passion for dogs? Are you interested in starting a dog breeding business from home? If your answer to any of the questions above is yes, then read on as i share with you a sample business plan on how to start your own dog breeding business from home.

Dogs are sometimes referred to as man’s best friend and it is a well known fact that almost every household own a dog. Now there are several reasons why people keep dogs at home and one of such reasons is for companion purposes. Yes, most people love to have dogs as pets while others keep dogs for security purposes.

Now regardless of the type of dogs you want to breed for sale, there is surely a market for it. If you are interested in breeding pet dogs such as the Hoodle Poodle, Chihuahua, etc; there is a market for it especially for women. And if you choose to breed guard dogs, such as German shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Pit Bulls, etc; there is equally a market for it. With the rapidly increasing rate of crime worldwide, the demand for dogs is only bound to skyrocket.

Secondly, there is no market boundary for dogs. So whether you reside in the United States, U.K, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya, India, etc; you can do this business even from your home. Another positive fact about this business is that you can tap into the global market by putting your business on the web and exporting to the countries of your customers, based on demand.

So now that you have seen the potentials of starting a dog breeding business, below is the exact steps to starting your own dog breeding business from home.

1. Are you really prepared to breed dogs for profit?

Yes, i believe this is the first question you should ask yourself. One of the reasons this question is important is because you are dealing with an animal for a business, which can prove quite challenging in the beginning. In fact, if you don’t love dogs, this business might proof a challenge to you and if perhaps you love dogs so much, then you might also find it difficult to sell your dogs because of the emotional bond between you and the dogs. I think i am talking from personal experience here.

Also, you should note that dogs have that ‘scent’-which should be okay with you. And since you have decided to breed them, then you should be willing to handle the mating and birthing of your dogs which can be ‘cumbersome and somewhat irritating’ if you really know what I mean.

In general, if you do not mind your dog sleeping by your side in bed and you will not have problem with the licking all over your faces, then you will be okay at the very least.

2. Decide what type of dogs you want to breed

Dogs have a wide variety of roles, duties and significance to man. I doubt if you will be able to satisfy all the niches within the dog business. Now you can either choose to breed pet dogs or security dogs; the choice is absolutely yours. But you must bear in mind that the way pet dogs are handled and trained is quite different from the way security dogs are trained. Also, the type of dogs you breed should be determined by your environment and market demand.

3. Note the requirements to start a dog breeding business

The third step to starting a dog breeding business is to find out if there are certain restrictions, rules or laws covering dogs within your environment or region. Now if the law says you are free to breed or own dogs, you will also need to ascertain if it is possible to breed dogs in your neighborhood. This is important to avoid getting sued by your neighbors for breach of peace and for constituting public nuisance.

4. Research and Study

Now this is where the pain of this business starts. To succeed as a dog breeder, it is very much important that you have the knowledge of different breeds of dogs, their genetics, history, characters, pedigrees and temperament.

Moreover, you should also be told about the proper health care, mating and breeding techniques of dogs. These are so many resources that are out there especially on the web but the real question is: will you be patient and committed enough to learn?

Now assuming that all the steps listed above have been followed judiciously, that now bring us to the main question of the day: how will you start the business?

Technically, the first thing you should do is to take decision of the specific breed that you want to concentrate on. Once you have decided that, you can then proceed to the next step.

5. Research the market for chosen breed

So get started, you need to study the market for that breed. How much is it in the market? Who is purchasing them? How popular and important is it compared to other breeds? etc. Who are your customers? Who are your competitors? How resistant are your breeds to diseases and climate conditions in your area? Can your chosen breed be sourced locally or would you have to import them? These are examples of some of the questions you must find answers to.

6. Compute your finances

The next step is to have your finances prepared. Get enough capital not only for buying one or two dogs, but most essentially, a budget for the dog food, veterinary care, vaccines, etc. Also consider the expenses that you will encounter during registration of your dog, your business name and marketing.

What could be your potential income from breeding dogs? Now it is difficult to give specific amounts but you can do some moderate projections and estimate. When you sell puppies, you can recover your expenses of buying and caring with three or four puppies but this estimate is based on the breed. If you have a rare color or a champion breed, selling one or two puppies can fetch you good profits.

You can also earn additional income by the provision of study services. In fact, the expense of caring for your male dog can be up holed by this. If your dog has a nice record of successful mating, more dog owners will like to have your dog copulate with theirs and you can earn constant dividends from it. This is why writing a business plan is very important, even if it is a one-page plan. So that you can prepare adequately for the unexpected.

7. Create space in your home for your pups

Based on the breed you would be buying, you should be able to create space to accommodate at least two dogs at the beginning and if possible, a space for a puppy nursery. You must also make plans ahead because your puppies are definitely going to grow into full-fledged dogs.

8. Purchase your dogs

Finally, you can then proceed to purchase the dogs, if you do not have any already. Most of those who explore the business of dog breeding normally begin with their own pets.

9. Cover yourself legally

If you are just beginning in business as a dog breeder, then you can easily do it as a freelance endeavor. But when your kennel begins to grow after some time, it will be a plus if you can get it registered it as a business. However, from the very beginning, you should have and properly file the veterinary records of your dogs, especially the shots it already had. And most essentially, get your dog’s registration papers details. If a dog has no paper yet, or if it gets lost – then its selling value will greatly decrease.

In conclusion, i want you to know that there are a lot of dog breeders and lovers out there that are breeding dogs just for fun and for the love of it. You can make friends with them learn from them. Most of them who are into the business are good in terms of giving out dog breeding steps freely.

Another good rule of thumb in the dog breeding business is to join dog clubs and attend dog shows / events. This way, you will learn more about the dog industry and network with other successful dog owners. As a final note, i want you to know that the dog breeding business is a fun or hobby-business. It can be stressful at times but all the same, dog rearing can be financially and emotionally rewarding.

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Become a commission agent

Many people argue about lack of enough resources to run successful businesses in Uganda, however you can become a commission agent with little or no capital. You can help others by bridging the gap between them and earn money.

A lot of people have things they are selling but have no ways of finding potential buyers. Also many people have things they want to acquire but have no idea of where to find them. You can help bridge the gap between the buyers and sellers.

You can work as a commission agent in sectors like real estate for those selling and looking for land and houses for rent or buying; car bonds, and household items. All you need is to develop a network of sellers and find means of marketing your clients' property. Patience is required in this line of business but you will eventually laugh your way to the bank at the end of the day. This kind of business has potential to earn from both parties; the seller and the buyer.

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Become a blogger

Another unique small business idea for Ugandans is to become a blogger. We need to borrow a leaf from our counterparts in countries like India who are reaping big from this opportunity. The internet offers a lot of opportunities which Ugandans can exploit to make earn a living and blogging is one of them.

A blog is a semi web site, it actually has most features of a web site and they is little difference between a blog and a website. You do not need to be with extensive knowledge in web design to start a blog. This is because blog hosts offer already designed templates from which you can make a head start. Most common blog hosts include Google with the BlogSpot domain and Wordpress. Hosting your blog is free on these sites and one can have more than one blog to his name. However, there is also an option for a paid blog hosting service. One can open up a BlogSpot blog using a Gmail account.

To become a blogger, one has to have extensive knowledge in a particular field from which he would provide useful and original information to his readership. You just have to utilize you knowledge in your area of competence and begin sharing your knowledge. With that you are bound to attract loyal followers to your blog posts. Effort has to be made on timely updating of your site so that it does not bore your followers. However, effort has to be put in your selection of keywords in your posts as these are crucial in generating traffic from search engines. The higher the traffic generated to your site the higher you are likely to earn. All this can be achieved with very little money involved, making it one of the cheapest unique small business ideas for Ugandans to start.

When your blog is already set and you have about 50 posts published on the internet, then you can start looking for an advertising program to join. You can apply to join the Google Adsense program and become one of their publishers. However this program has very strict guidelines which have to followed like having your blog about 6 months old and having original content though it is the highest paying of all pay-per-click advertising programs. There are other programs though they are not very relevant in our African setting unlike Google Adsense.

Alternatively, you can talk to local companies directly to let you advertise for them on your blog. This will earn you money depending on your negotiating ability with the companies. The advantage is that you can advertise for more than one company on your site. Many people are earning money from blogging for example www.greatugandajobs.blogspot.com and www.ugandanewspicks.com . All you need is a computer, a modem, your knowledge, time, commitment and patience to take up this unique small business idea for Ugandans.

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