Starting a Small Business | Ireland | Global

Are you a small business owner or micro-startup?

You spotted a gap in the market.
You realised you’re really good at what you do.
Why wouldn’t you turn it into a fully-fledged business?

Well… maybe because not every amazing idea you have needs to be executed by you!

You are not failing or letting yourself down, if you DON’T go hell for leather with that fantastic idea you had to sell XYZ (enter your own creative example here for the giggle 😉 S x)

Many people have an idea for a business at some point in their careers, particularly when they begin thinking about starting a small business of their own.

It might come from a skill you already have or something friends keep asking you to do. It might be something you notice is missing or perhaps it evolved from a moment where you thought, “Maybe I could do this for myself.”

Having the idea is the exciting part. It involves mulling over the ins and outs of making it work; imagining it being launched to market and maybe even dreaming about how it could be the source of that early retirement nest egg for you.

Turning it into a business however is a different matter. That is when things begin to feel real and it is also where many people get stuck.

A bit of self-doubt creeps in, causing your momentum to disappear. Sometimes your start-up money begins to disappear too.

This doesn’t happen because you aren’t capable. It usually happens because you weren’t aware of the basic building blocks of a small business. I’d like this piece to help you look at some of those foundations.

Starting A Business Begins With An Idea

It doesn’t need to be revolutionary business idea or product. Nor does it have to set out to change the world. Most successful small businesses start with something much simpler:

a skill
a service
a practical solution to a common problem
something people already trust you to do

The question you need to ask yourself is not “Is this idea clever enough?” The real question is “Can this idea help someone in a meaningful way?”. If the answer to that question is “YES” then you already have something that is worth exploring.

So You Have A Business Idea, What Next?

Once the idea is there, the next step is to give it a little structure. This does not mean complicated business plans or corporate language, yet. These are the kinds of questions anyone starting a business for the first time should be asking.

Who might need this?
How would you offer it?
What would someone actually pay for?
How would people find you?

The purpose of these questions is to move the idea out of your head, onto paper and into the real world.

What Does It Actually Take to Start a Business?

Starting a business usually begins with an idea but turning that idea into something real involves a few important foundations.

Most new businesses need to think about :-

how the business will operate
who the service or product is for
how money will come in and go out
the legal and practical structure behind the business

These are not the sexy parts of business, but they are what make a business stable enough to grow.

The Foundations Most New Businesspeople Miss

When people first think about starting a business, they often jump straight to things like logos, social media, or websites. Depending on the type of business, I have known clients who leased premises, fitted them out, and opened the doors before they had any real plan for suppliers, staffing, or how the business would actually run. That is the stuff of nightmares and a dwindling bank account!

Yes, the glossy, shiny things matter, but they are not the foundations you need to create a sustainable business model. A business like that rests on much quieter, even mundane pieces of work.

Have you thought about :-

choosing the right business structure
understanding what money may come in and go out (don’t forget about tax, prsi, healthcare, pension etc.,)
having appropriate insurance to suit the needs and all strands of the business
knowing your basic legal and consumer responsibilities
deciding how you will actually deliver your service

These parts are not glamorous, they certainly aren’t loud and definitely don’t scream ‘SUCCESS’ but they are what will allow your business to stand steadily before it begins standing out. The last thing you want is to have a visible, sharp-looking business with little or no substance or stability behind the façade. The phrase ‘fur coat and no knic……’ comes to mind.

When you start a business in Ireland there are practical steps to consider, such as registering with Revenue, understanding your business structure, and making sure you have the right insurance in place.

This workshop will work for your wherever you are in the world. You will need to do a little extra work to find the equivalent organisations, government sources and supports that relate directly to your own location, but on the whole the foundations will ultimately serve you in the same way and provide a solid structure for your new venture.

The Human Side of Starting a Business

There is also something people do not talk about enough. It’s a bit like parenthood in that respect. Those who are parents will get this.

Starting a business asks a lot of you. While you are learning new skills, you are making decisions. While you are making decisions, you are taking full responsibility for so many things you might never have even thought about before, never mind managed or executed.

Being a self-employed business owner is exciting and daunting in equal measure. Remember the physiological response or sensation to both of those ‘feelings’ is the exact same. It’s the narrative that differs.

It’s all normal though. You need to get used to it because that is the nature of self-employment.

Every experienced business owner you meet has gone through these very same stages of figuring things out. If they haven’t, they’re either spoofing or incredibly lucky!

You Don’t Have to Figure It All Out Alone

One of the most helpful things you can do when starting out is to have someone walk through these foundations with you. We’re not talking a full-on business coach which is a great asset later on as you build and grow, but a guide or mentor so-to-speak. Someone with experience who will be honest with you and empathetic towards your plans.

You don’t want advisors who will tell you what to do, but you do need support to help you see what needs attention now, what you already have in place perhaps unbeknownst to you and what you need to be looking at achieving in the near future and then further down the line.

That is the kind of clarity that can turn a vague idea into a real and workable plan for business.

Bringing It Back to YOUR Idea

If you have an idea for a business, the most important thing is not to rush. There is no race and no-one is looking at you waiting for you to launch a fully-fledged offering on the world immediately. If they are, tell them to take a hike!

Take the time to look at the foundations you are setting out. Be sure you understand the structure of the business you want to build. Really think about the people you want to serve and how you want to impact their lives. Then strongly consider how the business idea, plan and model will fit into YOUR life. This is key. If it doesn’t, it’s not going to work as it won’t be sustainable.

When those pieces start to come together, that gem of an idea begins to feel much more possible and achievable.

If you are at that stage of thinking about starting a business in Ireland (or anywhere else in the world), or you have already started but want to strengthen your foundations, the SCK Small Business Workshop explores these topics and more in a series of six practical, two-part sessions.

Each session is designed to help small business owners and start-ups in Ireland and further afield, to understand the basics and fundamentals without jargon, pressure, or overwhelm.

Sometimes all an idea needs is a little structure and a healthy nurturing to become something real that can truly grow for you.