Top 5 Ways to Go Into Business for Yourself Research your target, time it right and then it's all about follow through.
By Timothy Sykes Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Business makes the world go around. You can either work for one or make your own. I've always believed that it's better to control your own destiny, though.
The way I look at going into business for yourself is like choosing an investment. The same lessons apply when doing your due diligence. Here are my top five ways to go into business for yourself.
It's all about research.
Researching your market. Researching your process. Researching the funding. Those are just three areas you need to consider when doing business for yourself.
Whether it's choosing an investment or deciding which business to create, you must research everything you can. Don't announce anything before you've considered a wide range of ideas.
Related: How to Start a Business With (Almost) No Money
Make it your passion.
I'm passionate about investing, which is part of the reason I do it. Of course, you can do something for money, but this is only going to take you so far. Passion is what gets you through the hard times. Whatever business you start, you should have a genuine passion for it.
Not only am I passionate about investing I'm passionate about teaching. That's why I created the Tim Sykes Millionaire Challenge to help ambitious people replicate what I've done.
Related: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your First Business
Is it the right time?
I will invest in a stock for a short-term gain based on the time of day, which got me thinking about the value of timing in business. Think about ideas that were ahead of their time. Many of the early virtual currency adventures failed because they were ahead of their. You can have a great idea fail simply because the market isn't there yet. Before you explode into action with your great idea, think about whether it's the right time.
Related: 7 Myths About Starting a Business That I Used to Believe
What are peole saying?
Customer insight will determine how you develop a product and how you market that product. Consider what others are saying about business ideas and companies like yours. By looking at regular complaints and spotting the patterns, you'll be better placed to beat your competitors.
These are the second opinions you can't afford to ignore.
Related: Why Your 20s Is the Perfect Time to Start a Business
Look where the market is going.
One option I use for investing is searching for the catalyst. In other words, which direction is the world moving towards? If you are noticing a boom in virtual reality companies, for example, it tells you that virtual reality products are going to be in vogue soon enough. This is a deeper level of research and requires some educated guesswork. But that is how you make the big gains you are undoubtedly searching for.
One of the greatest business lessons is that investing is enormously similar. You must research your target, time it right, and follow through on where the market is going. These skills are easily carried over from one industry to another.
