{"id":9250,"date":"2021-01-09T16:00:04","date_gmt":"2021-01-09T21:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/?p=9250"},"modified":"2023-02-23T13:14:45","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T18:14:45","slug":"starting-a-business-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/starting-a-business-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting A Business"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If being an entrepreneur has been on your mind but you are unsure where to start, check out these articles which will help you with your business planning, financial decisions, market research, and everything in between.  This can be overwhelming and daunting, but it doesn\u2019t have to be.  That is what we are here for!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Pricing, Market Research<\/h1>\n
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Web Links:<\/h1>

Starting a Business (RI.gov)<\/a>: Rhode Island business links
\nStart Your Rhode Island Business<\/a>
\nThe Right Foot<\/a>
\nChoosing Your Business Structure Example 1<\/a>: Comprehensive information from the SBA on the types of business entities, including pros and cons of each.
\nChoose Your Business Structure Example 2<\/a>: Solid advice from Entrepreneur on important considerations when choosing a business structure.
\nThe Complete Guide to Registering Your Business Name<\/a>
\nHow to Test Your Business Idea<\/a>: Eight step plan from Business Daily.
\n10 Questions to Ask Yourself When Testing a Business Idea<\/a>
\nSBA Debuts New Market Research Tool For Small Businesses<\/a>
\nFree Data for Market Research: Five official sources from the SBA.<\/a>
\nURI Library Guide: Articles related to small business marketing and market research.<\/a> For Client Use Only.
\nCalculator: What Are My New Business Start-Up Costs?<\/a>
\nBusiness Start-Ups<\/a>: Questions and exercises from the RISBDC to help assess your business idea. <\/p>\n

Click on these links to learn how to develop a business plan:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.simplifyllc.com\/blog\/business-plan-templates\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.simplifyllc.com\/ideas\/<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

Books:<\/h1>

Small Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, and Stay Out of Trouble<\/a> \u2014 Bernard B. Kamoroff, CPA.
\nThe E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don\u2019t Work and What to Do About It<\/a> \u2014 Michael E. Gerber
\nPricing with Confidence: 10 Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table<\/a> \u2014 Reed Holden and Mark Burton.<\/p><\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Following are several exercises and questions designed to assess your business idea. Included is a process to document the primary building blocks of a business. A meeting with a business counselor at different intervals could help you to plan and build your business.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Big Idea \u2013 Self-Assessment<\/h1>

What is your primary aim in life and will your business help you fulfil that vision?             <\/p>\n

What core competencies will you bring to the business?<\/p>\n

Are you missing any unique skills or resources that are vital to success?<\/p>\n

What product\/service are you proposing to offer?<\/p>\n

What is the problem \u2013 what is the burning need that needs to be relieved?<\/p><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Definition: Customer Segments are the group or groups of people and\/or organizations that a business owner aims to reach and create value for with a defined value proposition.<\/h1>

Who are your customers?             <\/p>\n

Can you qualify the pain that your customers feel?<\/p>\n

How will you make your customers\u2019 lives better?<\/p>\n

How is your product\/service different than your competitors?<\/p><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Exercise: Value Proposition Canvas: You need to tactfully match your value proposition with your customers\u2019 needs in order to attract their attention. <\/h1>

Watch this four minute video<\/a> and work out the defined concepts.             <\/p>\n

Who\u2019s on your team and what technology do you have or need to sustain your business? The \u201cteam\u201d can be defined broadly but it\u2019s those people who will help you. They could include business partners, employees, suppliers, family members and others. At this point, getting feedback from some of these folks could be helpful.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve done a lot of work up to this point. You may want to seek out one-on-one counseling to sort through the findings. OR, you could move on to the Business Model Canvas below. The Canvas addresses several important elements needed to plan your business.<\/p>\n

Exercise: Business Model Canvas<\/p><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Exercise: Business Model Canvas<\/h1>

Watch a You Tube video explaining the Business Model Canvas<\/a>. While watching the video keep in mind the following notes:             <\/p>\n

Customer Segment: You\u2019ve already worked on this element above
\nValue Proposition: You\u2019ve already worked on this element above
\nKey Partners: Partners must be reliable, but always have a backup plan.
\nChannels: Customers will tell you which distribution methods are most convenient
\nCustomer Relationships: Talk with the customers to ascertain their expectations.
\nRevenue Streams: Be proactive to determine what customers\u2019 value.
\nKey Resources: What assets in the business are indispensable for creating value
\nKey Activities: Unique activities distinguish you from the competition.
\nCost Structure: Be judicious with relationships while shopping for value.
\nThe results of this Start-Up Process will lead to one of two conclusions. Either you will recognize the need to further develop the idea or it will strengthen your confidence about starting the business. If you want to move ahead contact a business counselor to schedule an appointment. A business counselor will work with you on market research, competition and developing financial projections.<\/p><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If being an entrepreneur has been on your mind but you are unsure where to start, check out these articles which will help you with your business planning, financial decisions, market research, and everything in between.  This can be overwhelming and daunting, but it doesn\u2019t have to be.  That is what we are here for! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":701,"featured_media":5270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/701"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9250"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11166,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9250\/revisions\/11166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}