Pre Start Up

It is essential to work through a specific PreStartUp phase before actually starting your own business.

If you are over 50 you have probably reached that wonderful stage in life where

• the children are off your hands

• the mortgage payments have got easier (or are non existent)

• you have bags of energy

• you are open to new ideas

It is also a time when you can feel dissatisfied with life as it is. You want something more. You want to regulate your own life. If you are employed – hang on in there for a while. Don’t jump into the unknown. Take your time to discover what it is you want. (Time spent in the PreStartUp phase pays off later.) Set it up. Then go for it. It is often possible to start up a business as a sideline. When it has grown and is producing a regular income then it is time to ‘fire the boss’. We are going to look at what is required by working through a pre start up plan. This is a time of great opportunity. You will be able to choose and change your mind before the final decision time arrives.

In any case it’s not possible to have an idea today and be in business tomorrow. There are various stages that you will need to work through if your business start up idea is going to be successful. Dreaming is not enough.

If you want to start up a business but don’t know what it will be you will first need to work out what it is you want. By the way, the questions being posed here do not necessarily have a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. They are there to help you sort out your thoughts. Do you want a business which is:

• profitable

• hobby/interest

• full time

• part time

• needs premises (shop, office, warehouse, factory)

• run from home

Do you want to employ others or work alone?

List your talents and skills. Make sure you include everything. Don’t forget to include tasks such as sweeping the floor, washing the car, icing a cake, fixing the television, hobbies, interests. You cannot reach the age of 50 plus without accumulating a wide range of expertise. Each job you’ve had, each task you have been called upon to undertake has brought you to this point. You are now able to cope with all manner of diverse jobs.

What hobbies or interests do you have? What hobbies or interests did you have 10, 20, 30 years ago? What hobbies or interests have you thought you would like to look into?

What courses have you been on over the years? College, University, apprenticeships and those short courses that you were required to attend by your various employers. Evening classes, vocational and recreational studies and holiday trips all count.

Life experience – now this covers a whole multitude of different aspects. What about the old bike you took apart, cleaned and put together again? And those foreign students your parents had as guests that you helped to find their way around? Then there were the children you had and now the grandchildren. How have you dealt with these?

Whatever business you eventually decide upon you will need to be a jack of all trades.