Starting your own business is challenging, to say the least. But one of the ways you can make it less difficult is by making sure that the business or service you provide is essential. Businesses that cover the daily needs of other companies will always have a customer. That’s how you can secure your success when you’re starting out.
Essential businesses are always supposed to be prioritized during any form of calamity. When COVID-19 hit the economy, as well as other aspects of our lives, people had to distinguish between what is essential and non-essential. Hence, many companies were forced to shut down.
Starting a business offering essential products or services is a model that you would want to invest in. It has a greater survival rate, and the proof of concept should be easy to establish.
If you’re considering investing your money in an essential business and you’re ready to put in the work, here are some ways to decide which business to pursue:
Looking at the Hierarchy of Needs
You’ve probably heard of Maslow and his triangle that arranges everyone’s needs according to priority. You can look at that and decide whether any of those needs are not being met in your area. Or even if they are, you can check whether the market is still open to new players. In instances where people don’t have many options for service and product providers, they’re yearning for some healthy competition. You can provide them a choice and offer a premium for better services or products.
Looking into the availability of essential services and products in the area can help you determine if you’ve got a better location to offer customers or if you’ll be able to undercut the competition. Either way, the hierarchy of needs is a good start for you to get a sense of the industries you can invest in.
Be the Business for Other Businesses
After checking out other businesses in your area that provide essential goods and services, how can you meet their needs? If you’re an essential business for other essential companies, you’ll be able to secure your clients. An example of this is if you decide to start a cleaning service. During the pandemic last year, cleanliness was a priority for homes and businesses. People looked for new technologies to make their environment look and feel clean, to make them feel safe in turn.
Starting a business for other businesses can be capital intensive because you’re going to have to scout for the resources you’ll need. You’re going to have to test which equipment and business strategies work. To save some time and money, you can decide to be a franchisee of cleaning services. An advantage of franchising when you’re starting as a business for other businesses is brand recognition. Just like you, business owners take risks, but try to minimize them as much as possible. When they work with a known brand, trust is carried across from the franchise through you.
Anticipate the Needs of the Market
While you’re surveying the market in your area, you’ll be able to identify the needs that aren’t being met. At the same time, you’re aware that the first thing people need to know in customer service and product innovation is to anticipate needs. If you’re able to solve a pain point that customers have tolerated for years on end, you’re going to have an existing customer base.
Most of the time, business entrepreneurs really need to create something that doesn’t exist yet. It has an anticipated market, but people haven’t thought of the pain point, or they haven’t thought of a solution to the pain point. The advantage of this is if you’re the genius who comes up with a solution for the bane of someone’s existence, you can probably file a patent.
Even if you don’t come up with an innovation for a pain point, what’s important is that the business you invest in anticipates the needs of customers. You don’t have to create an artificial demand for it anymore because aside from it being an essential good or service, it is something that will ameliorate the lives of everyone that the market can serve or provide.
Investing in a business is not a small feat. Everyone wants to succeed from the very beginning. When you start with an essential business, it’s more likely to survive than a business that caters to a niche or a fad. You’re going to start a business that will stay at least long enough to become profitable and self-sustainable.
