Identify your idea Either you have your big idea or you need to start brainstorming and re-

Understand your business’s location For a retail store, research the suburb, street or mall. For a services company, understand the customer demand and competition in your city or area.

Research the marketUnderstand the size of your market, in-dustry in�uences, customers and com-

petitors.

Develop a business modelWork out how you are going to di�er-entiate yourself. Work out how much

you are going to charge. Work out your business expenses. Test your concept

with four or �ve customers to �nd out what they think of your product and

Pivot your idea “Pivot” is entrepreneur speak for “change” or “adapt”. Use what you discovered when developing your business model to get your idea market ready. Make sure you have a product or service that people want,

Work out who you will need on your team

You can’t do this alone! You might think you can tackle every aspect of the busi-ness yourself, but in reality you need to

focus on your strong points and identify the support you will need in other areas

Expand your own skills Make sure you learn everything that you need to know about what it is that you’re going to be doing, for example bookkeeping, marketing and logistics. You should also attend conferences, join industry organisations and network with people in your industry.

Draw up a business planDrawing on what you have learnt so far,

write up a business plan that details every aspect of your business, from what it does

to how it will make you money.

Angel funders or seed investors will collectively fund your business in return for some control of your operations.

Crowdfunding usually takes place through an online platform on which the public can make small donations to your business.

A number of different institutions, including the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Empowerment Fund, the Development Bank of South Africa, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, the Industrial Development Corporation, the Small Enterprise Development Agency, the Technology Innovation Agency and the Jobs Fund, all offer loans or grants for start-up businesses.

Most small businesses won’t be able to go the route of public equity funding, which involves listing on an exchange, but might be able to get private equity funding, which involves selling stock to a few people who have confidence in your offering. A venture capital investment fund manages money from investors who are seeking stakes in small- and medium-size enterprises with strong growth potential.

Banks may be willing to provide capital to entrepreneurs with a strong business plan to fund the assets of a start-up business, such as machinery.

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Apply for funding Many businesses in South Africa are self-funded, but there is support o�ered to start-ups. You just have to know where to look (see below)

How to get funding for your big idea

MYOFFICE

Open the doors of your new business

Congratulations! Your journey asan entrepreneur has begun.

Good luck and rememberto do what you love

and love what you do!

Source: Seed Academy www.seedacademy.co.za Go to: www.1life.co.za

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They say the journey of 1 000 miles begins with a single step. Here are the �rst ten steps in the journey to