How do you start a business?

1) Base a business on what you know
Create an idea for a business based on what interests you and what you know. If you are not passionate about the business, customers and prospects will sense it.

2) Target your market
Keep an eye out for unmet needs. If your community lacks a product or service that you have the ability and willingness to provide, you might be onto a kernel of a business idea. Talk to prospective customers, experts in the field and leverage every available resource. If possible, conduct online surveys, phone interviews and face-to-face discussions to sharpen your idea.

3) Be flexible
Once you have an idea, be prepared to modify it — flexibility is critical to being a small business owner. Ask any owner — a few unexpected experiences likely brought them to their destination.

4) Create a short business plan
“Your business plans should spell out who you plan to sell to, what they will pay for products and/or services, how your offering is unique, how you will reach customers and how you will turn a profit,” says Susan Sobbott, president of OPEN from American Express. Five pages is enough, she says, and the process of creating this document will help to polish your idea further and create a plan to get started. Network with members of the local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (www.nawbo.org) in your area or visit a Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Center (www.sba.gov) to help with research for your business plan.

SOURCE:www.msnbc.msn.com