In the current economic situation, opening up a business may not seem like the best idea ever. The tides are uneven and there’s so much to lose. Besides that, almost half a million businesses close shop every month! However, if you are still hell bent on opening up your very own business, then I salute your bravery! But in order to embark on a successful entrepreneurial journey, you need to plan out A to Z beforehand. How to Make Your Business Thrive and while no one knows how to achieve definitive success, there are certainly some things that’ll help your business thrive.

Timing Is Everything!

You’ve probably heard of Young Rembrandts, a children’s drawing program based in Illinois. Did you know that the owners, who were a couple by the way, waited a decade to launch the idea? And look at how it turned out, with the company being valued at more than a hundred thousand dollars. Wait, that doesn’t sound like an extraordinary figure, does it? Well, it’s because the owners themselves prevented it from expanding, as they had four young children to tend to.

While many may think this was a pretty counterproductive move, I believe otherwise. They could have definitely expanded exponentially in the early years, but by keeping the company local, they got to know how businesses work and allowed their company to groom. Best of all, they still control the company themselves as opposed to an executive board like most enterprises.

Avoid Saturation

I cannot stress this point enough, yet people fail to realize the importance of it. Small businesses such as a general store will always try to open their outlets near huge Walmart franchises, which I will never understand. Do they think that the particular area holds a charm for general stores? What they are potentially doing is competing with a huge multinational, which offers better service, cheaper prices and other amenities due to mass production.

Sure, the small business may offer ‘family friendly’ services, but once that charm fades, customers would go for a 10% saving as compared to higher priced goods. The point I am trying to establish here is to avoid saturation; why go for a market dominated by decade old players in the game when you can offer people something different; a product/service that only you house.

Do Not Diversify!

And finally, the most controversial entry on the blog; don’t diversify! While many financial experts and entrepreneurs may disagree, I personally believe that early diversification is what causes a small business to lose its niche. How? Think about it from a customer’s perspective; you go into a store that specializes in cheap furniture such as IKEA, and then you go into a Walmart offering the same thing. Which would you prefer for your furniture shopping needs?

If the answer is IKEA, you may join a majority of the consumer base. See, the most important part of a successful enterprise is the niche; a customer will automatically base his judgments on how the business is marketed.

Now that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t diversify in the future. It just means that you need to first establish a niche, gain a sizable consumer base, and then diversify your product/service range.