Guide to Starting a business

The first thing you need to do before you choose which business you want to do is to figure out why you want to start it.

Is the idea of starting a business one of passion, or one of business sense?  Ideally it should be both.  If you are passionate about opening a particular business then you are more likely to add energy and longevity to the project.  But you also need to have the flexibility of mind to find the location and setup that makes the most business sense.
Most people want to start a business in order to earn more money, to be able to fire their boss, or to stay at home and raise their kids. Everyone has their own reason but you have to know what this is before you start. One thing that most people don’t realize is that when you don’t have a clearly defined reason for starting a business, you are setting yourself up for failure from the start. Otherwise, what is going to keep you motivated to help you make your business a success?

Before you go any further ask yourself these questions:

• Are you willing to work long hours, day or night, and at weekends, mostly on short notice, if required.
• Can you handle money matters efficiently (both your own and other's)?
• Do you have access to sufficient capital to setup and grow your internet cafe?
• Do you have sufficient industry knowledge or can you bring people into the business who do?
• Can you organize yourself and stick to a schedule?
• Do you remain calm when things go wrong?
• Can you "handle people"?

We are very fortunate in our business (Arinda Internet) to be a business-to-business supplier, as it gives us the opportunity to meet with so many small business operators.  From this experience, it is our strong belief that the people who really succeed in business are those with a positive outlook, a "can-do" attitude, and above all, a commitment to serve their customers.