You can start any business in Ghana right from your bedroom, or kitchen, whichever is convenient for you. However, it is not as easy as you think. Most entrepreneurs, quit their jobs to start their startup business. It is like burning the ships. I wouldn’t advise any entrepreneur to quit is job to start a new business, especially if you have family depending on your salary income. Although that will put pressure on you to succeed at all cost since you don’t have income coming at the end of the month.

How many starts fail in their first year?

Research shows that 9 out of 10 startups fail in their first year. The odds are against you as a startuper. In Ghana, 70% of the startups fail in the short period after business commencement. That is also true for small businesses, about 95% of businesses fail in their first 5 years. Having a business idea is not enough to succeed. In some cases, a business may have access to capital but still struggle and losing money more than it make. A typical example in this case is WeWork. It doesn’t matter if you are a small starting out from your bedroom or a large corporation like WeWork losing money, all variables box must be checked.

First thing first, you need to sit down and think on paper. Take a sheet of paper and a pen, find a quiet place where you won’t be distracted and think on paper. Thinking will help you avoid mistakes and not let your overconfidence literally obliterate the business reality in the marketplace. That is the hardest thing most people avoid. I have been there, done it, made mistakes. In this article, i want to keep it short, simple to read and understand. Ask yourself the following:

What type of business would you like to start?
Physical product or services ?
What industry?
Does it have barriers to entry? Meaning, any factors that can prevent or impede newcomers into a market or industry you are in? For example, anybody can start T-SHIRT printing business than starting a patented software company that serves schools.
Narrow it down to a niche— what niche would you like to step into? Don’t be a generalist from the start. You can always expand when you gain traction and market share.
Do you love that niche? If you are not passionate enough when the “storm” comes, and it will, you will throw in the towel in a blink of an eye. It takes arduous and strenuous effort to stay in business.
Now ask yourself, how much capital do you have to start? Capital is the lifeblood for any business. Analyze all initial capital needed and expenses(easy to budget if you know reoccurring expenses) to get off the ground(cost of inventory, rent if it is offline, team or suppliers, proprietary cost, legal, etc), your burn rate. Will what you have be enough? What if you burn it all, do you have other sources of capital to fall on?
Ask yourself, what is the worst scenario that could happen? That doesn’t mean you are pessimistic, but rather pragmatic.
Who are your ideal customers, and how are you going to acquire them?
Is it profitable? Forecast your revenue and net profit. The latter is what is most important —protect your bottom line. Don’t forget the saying “Revenue is Vanity, Profit is Sanity and Cash is King”.
Who are your competitors? Can you offer something better than the competition does? Look for ways you could improve your product or services or add value.
How are you going to stand out in the crowd? It is good to be ambitions, but most entrepreneurs let their ego overshadow the reality in the marketplace. I was roasted by my competition because I thought “the cake was big enough for everyone to share” Nope. You don’t want to repeat my mistake.

That said, let’s assume you want to start an online business, you may not need some capital (but that depends on the type of online business).

How do I start an online business with small capital?

Follow all that we discuss above, the below is mandatory:

A laptop with reliable internet connection
A running website that show what you’re offering. Hire someone from Upwork or Fiverr.
A separate phone for calls if you want to separate business from your private life
Marketing skills. You can always learn or again hire someone to do the marketing for you from Upwork or Fiverr.
And, you are in business.

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I hope this breakdown helps. Thanks for reading and please share, someone out will appreciate that you shared.

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