Tang Guohua graduated from the Department of Industrial Foreign Trade of a famous university and has been working in a foreign company since graduation. As a foreign trade major, he is doing his work as seriously as the people around him, and has shown the potential to rise in the company. But unlike his peers, Tang Guohua has never stopped thinking about starting his own business since his college days.
Tang Guohua works in the International Trade Department of an import and export company as the manager of Eastern Europe Department. This young man with five years' work experience and a monthly income of 6,000 yuan leads a comfortable and stable senior white-collar life. But over the years, his blood is full of the desire to start a business. With the support of his wife Xiao Ju, he finally made up his mind to take the first step of starting a business without giving up his job.
Do market research and choose industries.
Tang began to do market research, the main contents are what kind of industry to choose, where to stay, investment amount and expected income, and so on. He also went to the industrial and commercial bureau, small business guidance center, banks and other institutions to consult in detail about individual entrepreneurship. Finally, after weighing his disposable funds and controllable risks, he chose the highly competitive industry of fashion accessories and chose the address in the campus.
As we all know, fashion accessories is a completely competitive industry, what's more, Tang Guohua is involved in the retail of small shops in this industry. Here, the purchase channel and purchase price determine the survival state of the store. Because Tang Guohua was not familiar with this industry before he started his business, and his college major and work experience background were far from jewelry retail, he chose to join a brand chain in Guangzhou. This will not only ensure the supply of goods and product quality, but also provide training and other services.
Raise venture capital
Tang Guohua has written a detailed and feasible business plan for his shop, and attached many charts, which is no different from the usual consulting report of arc advisory group. In the notebook computer that he has been carrying around for four years, there is a folder showing his good intentions for the shop. In this plan, the initial capital investment list is as follows:
The initial fee 10000 yuan, the store transfer fee is 8000 yuan, the rent is 20000 yuan (three months a month), the decoration fee 15000 yuan, the equipment purchase fee is 5000 yuan, the down payment is 50000 yuan, and the working capital 18000 yuan is the total investment. The only person who can lend them money is his father-in-law. With the help of his wife Xiao Ju, his father-in-law promised to lend them 654.38 million yuan. In this way, venture capital is finally in place.
Site selection and opening
After careful planning, Tang Guohua put his entrepreneurial dream into action and began to look for and prepare his own shop. He took this upcoming jewelry store as the beginning of his career.
Because the target customers of jewelry stores are mainly college students, the stores in Tang Guohua are adjacent to the campus, and all kinds of necklaces, jewels, toys and gifts are scattered in the space of 30 square meters.
It was raining on the opening day, but three days before the opening, a large number of advertising leaflets were distributed to the nearby student dormitories, and college students kept coming and going with leaflets. Tang Guohua, his wife and three newly recruited salespeople received customers politely. On the first day of business, the turnover was more than 4000 yuan. Tang Guohua said that although it was hard, he was much happier and full of hope for the future.
Small shops, big enterprises
Although it is only a small shop of more than 30 square meters, Tang Guohua still stubbornly calls it an "enterprise". In the past six months, Tang Guohua has been working in the company during the day, but after work and holidays, he and his wife are going through a critical stage of joint venture. Tang Guohua also made employee manuals, store rules and regulations, balance sheets and sales revenue statements for the store, trying to standardize them from the beginning.
Although only three employees were employed, Tang Guohua also realized the importance of keeping the staff structure stable. Because an employee took kickbacks privately, Tang Guohua fired him mercilessly; Another employee has a rare sales talent, but he left because he was dissatisfied with his salary, which affected his sales income. He said: "Managing one person is essentially the same as managing a thousand people. In a sense, managing three people is more difficult than managing a thousand people, because if one out of a thousand people has a problem, 999 people can choose, and 1 person out of three people has a problem, it will affect 33% of enterprises. "
This knowledge, which any shopkeeper or private entrepreneur takes for granted, makes Tang Guohua extremely excited. He is glad that the knowledge he learned from books has been verified and applied in practice. Not only that, he is excited and satisfied every time he talks with the headquarters and even sells to customers. Compared with the simple routine life of office white-collar workers, he thinks he has learned more from his entrepreneurial experience.
Steps and suggestions to realize the dream of starting a business
After doing business for six months, Tang Guohua lost a few pounds, but she is happier and more confident than before. In addition to doing his job well every day, he also cares about the operation of the store. In order to constantly improve his ability, he now has more time to read books on business management. At present, he enjoys this life of working and starting a business.
"In fact, I think this way of starting a business is very meaningful now, especially when I was young, because it gave me a bright future. The tree of hugs began a million years later. If there are no original saplings, where will there be towering giant trees in the future? " In his own entrepreneurial ideas, Tang Guohua wrote.
There used to be a saying that after 10 years, it is not us theorists who have the right to speak, but industrialists who directly create wealth. Therefore, if the entrepreneurial project is attractive and the entrepreneurial plan is perfect, it needs to be implemented step by step according to certain steps, and the dream of starting a business can become a reality.
The following are the steps and suggestions to realize the dream of starting a business:
Consult a professional organization first.
If you want to succeed in starting a business, it is essential to prepare in advance. Before starting a business, you should first consult a professional business consulting institution or consultant. You can spend money to find some professional consultants, or you can choose some free consulting institutions, such as associations and government agencies.
Write a business plan
The writing of the plan is not only necessary, but also very important to the whole entrepreneurial process. Because, through the writing of the plan, we can not only know more clearly whether the plan is complete and comprehensive, but also provide the specific content of finding investment stocks. If you want to apply for a venture loan, you must also attach a plan.
Raise venture capital
The hardest part is actually in the beginning If you don't have enough funds, it will be even more difficult to start a business. When the venture capital of entrepreneurs is insufficient, the way to raise funds can not only borrow from relatives and friends, but also try to seek relevant loan resources from the government to solve the problem of insufficient venture capital.
Capital determines industry.
Before choosing the industry you want to engage in, you must first measure how much venture capital you have. Because the total investment for various industries is high or low, each industry is different, so first measure what industries your own funds can do, and then make further plans. Then according to the development prospects of the industry, their own interests, specialties, tendencies, past relevant work experience, industry competitiveness and other factors to evaluate, to see which industry they are suitable for and which industry they are engaged in has the most competitive advantage.
Have practical experience in the industry you are engaged in
After selecting the industry, the next question is how to acquire business technology. Of course, if you choose to join a chain store, the headquarters will teach you all the skills. However, if you start your own business, you must find ways to teach yourself. For example, some vocational training centers offer various vocational training courses. Before opening a shop, it is best to have practical experience in the industry.
Store location and decoration determine the number of customers.
The choice of location has a great influence on the operation of the store in the future, so we must find a store with a good location. Just in the process of looking for a store, you often can't find the ideal store right away. At this time, you must be patient and keep looking. Don't give up halfway
Shop decoration is related to the first impression given by the management style and appearance of a shop. Therefore, the choice of decoration manufacturers is very important. The decoration manufacturers you are looking for must have relevant store decoration experience. The choice and decoration of storefronts will be favorable factors to attract customers.
Apply for a business license first
You must apply for relevant licenses before opening a store, otherwise it belongs to unlicensed operation. There are two kinds of applications for licenses. One is to apply for a company license, which is issued by the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. The other is small capital, which only needs to be registered as a profit-making enterprise, and the local county and city industrial and commercial departments can issue certificates.
In addition, you must apply for an invoice from the tax authorities.
Purchase the required entrepreneurial equipment.
Next, prepare to buy all kinds of equipment in the store. Because a store needs to prepare a lot of complicated things, in order to avoid omission, you can draw up a list of equipment for opening a store, list all the details, indicate the name, quantity and unit price of each instrument, and you will know how much you need in total.
Opening promotion attracts customers
After everything is ready, we are ready to officially open the business another day. On the opening day, in order to attract customers, some promotional activities will be held, which are nothing more than discounts, gifts and lucky draws. Xiong Yan, who saw the market prospect, opened a foot bath shop in partnership with his classmates. In order to promote the brand, when the foot bath shop first opened, Xiong Yan made great efforts in publicity. First, conventional propaganda means such as road flags and leaflets; Secondly, Xiong Yan is most proud of distributing 3,000 free vouchers and inviting customers to experience them for free. 3,000 vouchers, each with a denomination of 100 yuan, then the cost of issuing vouchers alone is 300,000 yuan!
Xiong Yan said: "The cost can't be calculated like this. A new foot bath shop like this, many customers will be afraid to come because they don't understand. The purpose of issuing vouchers is to spread your influence and let others step into your store. You can't' calculate' at this point, because as long as the guest comes to the door, he will agree with your products and services, which will bring you new customers and good reputation. "
—— Quoted from Yanbian People's Publishing House "Everyone Can Be Successful"