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Is Starting a Business the Right Choice For You?Do you dream about starting a business or owning a franchise? According to a Gallup Poll, 61% of employed Americans would like start a business.In the current economic climate, more and more people are considering starting a business or investing in a franchise, especially of it offers the opportunity to work at home.If you’ve clicked through to this page it’s because you are already considering the possibility that starting a business or franchise is right for you. The Office Supply Chain may be exactly the solution that meets your desire to own and operate your own company while allowing you to work at home.At the same time, you’re probably asking yourself some of the same questions every entrepreneur ponders when evaluating the pros and cons of starting a business:
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Starting a Business – Making the Right Choice
| Business Option | Pros / Strengths | Cons / Weaknesses |
| Start your own business | Originality of your own idea | Will the idea be widely accepted? |
| Your hobby becomes your passion | Can you monetize your passion? | |
| Option to choose between franchise and starting your own business. Flexible hours and working from home could mean increased time with family. | As the owner, demands may mean a decrease in family time | |
| Profits belong to you | Profits can take time to generate | |
| You “own” the customer | Takes time to build a customer base | |
| Buy an existing business | Customer base built in | Goodwill may not be transferred to you as the new owner |
| Opportunity to put your own mark on the business | Changes by new owner may impact existing customer goodwill | |
| Business is established | Why is the owner really selling? | |
| Underperforming business could be a bargain | Underperforming business could be symptomatic of a dying business | |
| Immediate entry into a business that interests you | Extensive changes may be necessary to “make it your own” | |
| Buy a Franchise | Brand recognition | Name does not belong to you |
| Immediate revenue generation | Initial costs are high | |
| Established operating systems | Rigid structure doesn’t necessarily allow for your creativity | |
| Head office provides support | Support may not be available when you need to make decisions | |
| Corporate marketing programs | Programs don’t necessarily benefit your individual operatio |
Starting a Business – Do I Have the Skills?
As a valued employee, you already know that working for someone else is not like running you own business. As an entrepreneur, you need a complete skill set and not simply expertise in one particular area. You may be a seasoned sales executive but do you understand accounting? Perhaps you’ve achieved success as an administrator but do you have what it takes to interface with customers?
As part of the exercise you will undertake in order to determine if business ownership is right for you, every element of company management needs to be evaluated. List your strengths and weaknesses, where you feel you have the skills to succeed and where you feel you will need professional assistance (legal, accounting, etc.). Be honest and complete in your analysis. This will help you determine where to focus your efforts and where you need help.
Can I Manage the Challenges That Come With Starting a Business?
What are the challenges that come with owning your own business? Well, there are many, some positive and some negative.Some of the challenges you should be prepared to face include:
- More responsibility: Essentially, the buck stops with you. On the bright side, you don’t have to justify your decisions to anyone;
- Financial responsibility: Can you finance the early stages of your business? With the right business model the payback period can be fast. If the business costs too much up front, you have to ask yourself if there will be anything left for sales and marketing;
- Working alone: Initially, you will spend a lot of time alone building the business. For some entrepreneurs that is exactly what they want. For others, they prefer to be surrounded by fellow workers;
- Multi tasking: Working for a company means that you have your responsibilities and everyone else has theirs. When you run your own business you have to wear many hats;
- The right partners: Every business has partners in one form or another and the most obvious among these is your choice of suppliers. The right supply channels can make or break your business. Will you be a good judge of your suppliers’ capabilities?
Does the Business or Franchise Provide the Management Tools I Need to Succeed?
Every business is different in terms of the operating tools that are inherently built into its structure. The range of models varies from your own business where you have to create every tool needed to run the business up to franchising where you are essentially told what to do and how to do it. Your evaluation of the ideal business should include a close look at the support and functionality of the back end systems you will need to deploy. If these require your undivided attention on a regular basis, it becomes difficult to focus your energies on one of the most important part of making the business successful – selling. As you review the information throughout The Office Supply Chain web site, you will find that our model is unique in that it gives you the ability to truly own and operate your own business and focus on generating revenues while our support team manages the day to day administrative tasks.
How Do I Find Out More About Starting a Business?
If you have decided that business ownership is right for you, it’s time to gather the facts. Simply fill in the details below and click on “Submit”. A member of The Office Supply Chain team will contact you to answer any questions you may have about building your business in the $75 billion ink & toner sector and multi-billion dollar office products arena.
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