How to Start a Successful Business in 9 Steps (2023)

Successful Business

The 9 Essential Steps to Starting a Successful Business

Successful Business: Determining the steps to prepare a project may seem difficult for some people, especially if this is their first project. However, if we let go of the worry, we will find that most of the basic steps of project preparation appear clearly in front of the owner.

Of course, the steps of preparation may vary between projects according to the field of each project, but the main steps such as defining the project goal and the target audience remain basic steps for any project, regardless of its specialization or even its target market.

In this article, we will explain to you the most important steps to prepare a project in a simple practical way that allows you to transform your project from a dream to a reality with ease.

1. Define your project goal

The goal-setting phase is considered the most important step in preparing a project, as it is the foundation on which the entire project will be built. The goal here is a broad range that starts from what you aim to achieve from this project to the means you will rely on to achieve this goal.

Suppose you want to create a project that provides an electronic payment service for invoices and purchases through an electronic application. Here, the goal of your project is not to create the application itself, but to provide a reliable means as an electronic payment method.

Here, we can consider the application to be a means that achieves your project goal or helps you turn your goal into a tool that exists in reality. The goal should help your customers improve their lives in some way.

The goal of your application is to save the time and effort required for payment in the usual ways, which achieves the goal of your project, which is to facilitate the lives of your customers. Don't burden yourself with complicating this goal, which is supposed to be very simple.

Remember that most successful companies around the world are built around simple and direct goals. Goals such as providing information, entertainment, or making life easier for individuals are the most common goals of any project.

The importance of defining the goal lies in the fact that it draws the path that all other steps of your project should follow. In other words, do not implement any step that does not serve the goal of your project directly or indirectly.

Finally, be careful not to make your primary goal to make money or build wealth, as this will reflect negatively on your project. You should strive through your project to achieve a goal that benefits a certain group of individuals first, and then you have the profits.

Converting the goal of your project to be only to achieve profits will divert most of its ideas towards this goal and neglect the real requirements of your customers.

2. Define the means to achieve the goal

In the previous example, we chose an electronic application to be the means through which you achieve your project goal, but the means may be anything else. The means are the ones that your project will rely on to improve the lives of your customers, and it may be a product or a service.

Defining the means is what draws you a roadmap of your project and how you can classify it. Usually, the step of defining the means to achieve your project goal branches into sub-steps related to how to obtain this means, which vary from one project owner to another.

Two people may aim to achieve one goal, but each has a preference and vision regarding how to achieve this goal. Suppose there are two individuals who aim to provide affordable food products, one may create an online store while the other may rent a shop on the ground.

Of course, each option to achieve the goal branches into other options, so each project owner chooses the means that suits him. Those who have even a basic knowledge of the field of e-commerce may be inclined to the idea of creating an online store over renting or buying a shop.

This brings us to an important element in the process of defining the means to achieve the goal, which is your level of knowledge of this means. This level should not reach the level of specialization (although this will be useful of course), but it is preferable to have a basic knowledge of this field.

The owner of the direction of creating an online store needs to understand the basics of this store and how it works. He does not, of course, need to know how to create the store itself, but understanding its mechanisms is essential, as the rest of the steps of preparing the project depend on it.

3. Analyze the process of creating the means to achieve the goal

Buying a store, creating a website, or developing an app are all processes that cannot be completed without careful analysis to identify the requirements and define the stages. There are usually two methods for analyzing the requirements for achieving the means that will be used to achieve the project goal.

Method 1 depends on the availability of certain financial resources within which the means can be created. In other words, one person has a certain amount of money that they want to use to create their own project. Here, the stages of creating the means are analyzed based on the available amount.

Of course, the available amount may be compatible with the stages of implementing the means, or it may not happen, and external funding sources are used. However, this method remains popular among people who want to create a specific project and have a suitable amount of money (even partially to create this project).

Method 2 depends on analyzing the process of creating the means without the availability of financial cover. Sometimes this method is used even with the availability of financial cover, as it provides more freedom of thought and does not bind the implementation stages to financial constraints.

No matter which method you will use to analyze the process of creating the means, this method is supposed to produce the following:

Options for creating the means and the cost of each (buy or rent, build an e-commerce store or use a ready-made store, etc.).
A preliminary estimate of the number of people required to complete the project.
Discussion of the details of advertising the product or service offered by the project and selecting the appropriate marketing channels for it.
A preliminary estimate of the project budget.
Determination of the period required to prepare the project supplies.
Determination of a trial period for the project.
Determination of a preliminary date to start the project in actual.

The order of some of the previous steps may vary from one project owner to another, and two or three steps may be added depending on the nature of the project. For example, conducting a feasibility study is considered one of the useful project preparation steps, but some people skip it because it requires time and resources that are not small.

In general, the analysis of the process of creating the means aims to reach several smaller processes that are easy to distribute and complete.

4. Study the market and competition

Some project management experts disagree on the location of this step. Some believe that its location is in the same order as the steps for preparing the project that we propose, while others believe that doing it after defining the goal and means of the project is the best.

In my personal opinion, doing this step and its impact on the rest of the steps depends on the desired purpose. Some project owners already have experience or knowledge of the market they intend to enter even before doing this study.

Whether this experience stems from their work in the field in another project or from general interest, this team represents the market study as a process of converting facts that it already knows into numbers from reality that can be relied upon during the project structure.

On the other hand, there is a team that uses the market study to measure the project's ability to compete. Here, the decision to implement the project depends on the level of readiness to compete and the ability to face it and engage in it.

A project owner may see that he can compete and gain market share because of his capabilities and advantages. Another project owner may see the difficulty of entering this market or competing in it, so he changes the direction of his project entirely or commits to implementing it entirely.

Note that it all depends on a large number of variables, such as the nature of the market itself. Some product and service markets contain gaps that encourage project owners to break into and enter, because the gap means that competitors have not been able to fully meet customer demand.

Also, the features and strengths that each project possesses are essential factors in enhancing the project's ability to compete. Of course, we should not ignore the weaknesses and weaknesses of the project that play an important role in influencing the decision to enter the competition or not.

It is preferable, after conducting a detailed study of the market and the state of supply and demand for your project product, to conduct a detailed S.W.O.T analysis for it. This analysis is known as Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats.

This analysis aims (as its name suggests) to clarify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats available to any project. The timing of completing this analysis does not make a big difference as long as it is done before starting the actual steps for preparing the project or incurring any costs.

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5. Define the Project Timeline

If the results of your market research were in favor of your project and you want to move on to the actual project preparation phase? Excellent, now it's time to draw up the timeline for project preparation and its different phases.

The timeline is the duration that each step of the project requires. A specific time frame and start and end dates must be determined for the smaller processes we arrived at in point number 3.

For example, let's assume that you will start looking for a location for your project. This means that you need to determine the duration of the search, when it starts, and when it ends. It is true that some steps may exceed their timeline due to special circumstances, but having the framework in itself is considered necessary.

Without defining a timeline, you will not be able to measure the time it took to implement a step, and whether this time is too long or appropriate.

The presence of the framework will give you an indicator by which you can measure this overrun and its impact on the overall project schedule.

It is supposed that each phase or step of project preparation should have a reasonable timeline that is consistent with the nature of the step. It is also preferable to divide each timeline into smaller parts. This will increase the completion rate of each step.

Going back to the example of the project location, we can, for example, divide this process into two weeks, one for research and one for inspection, and so on. We have created a detailed guide to help you choose a location for your project. We recommend that you review it.

6. Breaking down project tasks into smaller tasks

In the previous step, we advised you to divide the timeline for each stage into smaller parts. This can be done better when dividing the tasks themselves. Don't worry, even exaggerating by dividing each task into several smaller tasks will not harm your project as long as each task has its own timeline.

The importance of breaking down tasks into smaller tasks also lies in clarifying the requirements for each step of project preparation. For example, a task like creating an online store may seem simple at first glance and can be classified as a single task, but in reality it consists of several tasks.

Suppose you decided to create an online store yourself. This will require dividing the task of creating the store into other subtasks such as:

Choosing a store name.
Choosing the company from which you will purchase hosting and domain.
Choosing the platform from which you will build your online store, such as WordPress or Wix.
Installing e-commerce plugins, such as Woocommerce.
Choosing companies that will provide payment, transportation, and delivery methods.

In fact, the previous tasks are part of a whole, and in general, the number of tasks increases according to the nature of the project and how it is implemented. Note also that each of the previous tasks can be divided into smaller tasks and stages. You may see some exaggeration in this, but this is not true.

Choosing a store name should be done carefully, as it will accompany your store throughout its lifetime (as well as the name of the project). The company you rely on to choose hosting may be the reason for increasing your customers or losing them if you do not take enough time to study this field.

Well, what is the ideal limit for breaking down tasks or when do you reach the point of exaggerating in breaking down tasks? The answer varies from project to project, and also your knowledge of the basic project tasks and subtasks affects the division of each task. Finally, time plays an important role in the division.

The best way to divide tasks correctly is to do a mini-study of each basic task. This can be easily accomplished by choosing someone who is familiar with the task that he will be doing or at least can quickly grasp its details.

Assign this person to do a quick search about the task he will be taking over and ask him to specify the minimum and maximum duration in which he can complete this task. Now, with a little discussion, you can determine the appropriate duration to complete this task in accordance with the timeline of your project as a whole.

Of course, you can divide the tasks yourself if you are going to do them, but this may be at the expense of your focus and effort. You can also rely on your partners in dividing tasks... especially if you have more than one partner and each of them is responsible for implementing a specific task in the project.

Finally, there are several applications you can rely on to divide the basic tasks of your project or even those that stem from it, such as:

Trello
ClickUp
Asana
Google tasks

The previous applications provide the ability to divide tasks, identify the people responsible for their implementation, and the duration of each task. The applications are suitable for most project areas, but if you are looking for the easiest application that reminds you of the tasks required of you, only Google tasks is suitable for that.

7. Choosing Project Partners

Choosing project partners is another step that varies in order from one project owner to another. Some project owners look for partners immediately after finding the project idea, while others prefer to choose partners after conducting market research or defining the basic stages of the project.

Some project owners already have partners, either during the project preparation steps or before that. These partners may be former colleagues, friends who are familiar with your project field, or even a relative who works in a similar project.

There is always that friend or relative who you consult with about implementing a certain project idea, and then he encourages you to implement it and becomes a partner in it. However, there are several factors to consider when choosing your project partner.

The most important thing to consider when choosing your project partner is the benefit they will provide you. As humans, we sometimes tend to look for friends to share our important life steps with, including projects. However, choosing a partner because he is a friend can cause major problems in the future.

The ideal partner for your project should provide an essential element for it, whether it is physical, such as tangible assets that may include:

Real estate.
Machinery.
A place to establish the project.
A financial amount.

The partner may also provide their expertise in a field such as management, the technical field, or marketing. All of the above are excellent forms of what partners can offer your project. However, you should evaluate all of the above and determine how beneficial it is to your project.

Owning a place does not mean that it is the right place for your project's headquarters. The machinery may not be in good condition for use, or it may not be related to it in the first place. Even the financial amount must be commensurate with the amount your project needs, at least in a reasonable proportion, otherwise it becomes just a debt.

As for expertise such as marketing and advertising, it must be in the field of your project or a similar field, otherwise it will lose its importance for your project.

The best way to choose the right partner for you is to determine what your project needs in general from the partnership.

Do you need partners who provide material resources? What exactly? Are you looking for partners who can manage your project or implement it? What aspects should they be specialized in? And so on.

Finally, it is important to extend your thinking about choosing partners to include institutions, organizations, and banks. All of these entities can provide financial resources and strong scientific expertise, and sometimes both.

8. Selecting Project Members

In this context, project members refer to the team members, who are a different category from partners. While partners commit to providing material or logistical support, for example, which affects most aspects of the project in varying proportions, the role of project members is limited to carrying out tasks in one aspect of the project only.

In other words, project members are the ones who will be responsible for executing the core objectives of the project after it has exited the development phase. Most projects rely on traditional recruitment processes to search and select individuals who form the workforce of these projects, and this is the ideal approach.

Again, try to avoid selecting individuals based on previous knowledge or a family connection or any form of favoritism. What individuals should share with partners is the benefit they can provide to the project and their mastery of the skills required to perform the required tasks.

The traditional recruitment process often relies on the following steps in order to find the most suitable person for each role or available job:

Identifying the available jobs or tasks.
Defining the responsibilities of each job.
Identifying the mental abilities and mental requirements (and sometimes educational) that each job needs.
Preparing test questions for applicants.
Formulating a special announcement for each job or a combined announcement for all available jobs.
Choosing the means that will be relied on to search for the individuals required for the available jobs.
Reviewing the CVs of applicants.
Interviewing and testing applicants.
Settling on the right individuals for each job.

The winds don't always blow as the ships wish, in other words, you may need to repeat the previous steps more than once to get the right people for your project. However, this is the best way you can find the right person for each task in your project.

You will also need to train the individuals you have selected to perform tasks in your project, regardless of their work experience. These individuals are supposed to be trained on the tasks they will be performing in your project and how they will collaborate with each other in the work environment.

Recruitment and training are important tasks that should not be taken lightly, and it is preferable to rely on specialized companies in this field to implement them if possible. Of course, you can participate in the recruitment process and even do it entirely, but this is not the best way to implement this task.

In addition to saving time and effort; Assigning the recruitment task to a company or companies specialized in it has other important benefits. Companies specialized in this field will rely on objectivity in selecting individuals, and their experience will help them to screen candidates accurately.

If you are forced by circumstances to carry out the recruitment process yourself, be sure to involve one of your partners with you who have experience in this field. Follow the same previous steps if possible, and let your final judgment be objective without favoritism or irrational preference.

9. Choosing the task execution method

Parallel or sequential? That is the question. Some entrepreneurs prefer to complete the tasks of creating their projects in parallel to save time, while others prefer to execute tasks sequentially based on the importance of each task, the timing of its completion, and of course its role in relation to other tasks.

In fact, each method has its own advantages and disadvantages that are directly related to the nature of the project itself. For example, you cannot purchase the goods you will be selling before owning a warehouse or even a project location.

Of course, you do not need to own a physical space if your project is an online store that works with dropshipping. The best method that can be relied on to execute tasks is the method that benefits from the advantages of both methods.

You can execute tasks that are not directly related to each other in parallel alongside tasks that must be executed sequentially. You can also divide tasks that must be completed sequentially into smaller tasks that can be executed in parallel.

In general, the goal of following a specific method is to save time and effort, and executing tasks in a parallel method achieves that to a great extent.

 Conclusion

In this article, we tried to define the most important steps in preparing a project. The order of the previous steps may vary from one entrepreneur to another, and this is natural. In fact, there are successful global projects that did not rely on all of these steps.

In other words, there is no single equation for success or a specific sequence of steps in preparing a project that can be relied on in all projects.

Do you have any tips or useful steps that can be added to the steps of preparing a project that we mentioned in this article? Share them with us in the comments.

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Article sources :

[sba.gov].
[entrepreneur.com].

Image from : [pexels.com].

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