HOW TO START A BUSINESS FROM YOUR KITCHEN TABLE
The Coronavirus is affecting everyone and unfortunately a lot of people have lost their jobs or are self-employed and struggling to get work, because no one is hiring.
We’ve spoken to lots of you that are now toying with the idea of starting the business you’ve been thinking about for years now you have more time on your hands. So we wanted to share the 5 steps we used when starting Squirrel Sisters at home….
- Identify a need and problem you are trying to solve
Start with you – is there something out there that you wished existed, or is there something that you strongly believe would help others. Define what this idea is and talk to others about it. We’re all online at the moment and communities are coming together so now is the best time to ask for help and put our a survey to get feedback. Typeform and Survey Monkey are great for collating anonymous feedback.
- Find out if your idea is viable
Once you’ve decided that your idea is a good one and that other people will buy into it, go that step further into looking into it. Can people make your product / how will people access your service….and is it going to be financially viable too; can you sell something at an affordable and make a profit (and if you’re selling to retailers, have you ensured that the margin is going to be there for you both).
- Suppliers
Can you find someone you want to work with who believes in your idea? Make sure that you protect your ideas with NDA’s when appropriate but don’t p*ss people off. Now is a time where new business will be welcomed with a lot of suppliers so use this time to research and get to know processes.
- Timings & Cash flow
If you work out a cash flow and manage this really closely then you’ll be able to launch a product without having to get investors on board. We use suppliers who are really supportive and have given us generous payment terms which has really helped us, and invoice financing has also been really helpful too.
- Make sure you really believe in your business & can hold your nerve
Running your own business can be so rewarding, but is very challenging at times. You really need to 100% believe in what you are doing in order for it to make it work and hold your nerve during tricker times because they will happen. We are passionate about taste & quality, so have never given up because we know that even if it takes us a while to grow, we have delicious bars out there which don’t rely on sugars, syrups or artificial sweeteners to make them taste great and that other people will love them too!
