Factors to Consider Before starting a Small Business in Kenya

  

Date Posted: 11/1/2012 4:31:30 AM

Posted By: wameyo99  Membership Level: Silver  Total Points: 345

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Kenya is a beautiful country with enormous business potential, but this does not guarantee you 100 percent success in any business that you venture into. Most people start businesses in Kenya but end up failing because they did not consider some essential factors before setting up their businesses. So, what are some of the factors that you need to consider before starting a successful business in Kenya? This article looks at very critical factors that may make your start-up a success.

1. Knowledge of the Business

It is quite hard for you to succeed in a business that you have very little knowledge of. For you to succeed in a business start-up, you should know the ins and outs of the business. You should be able to describe your business in detail to anybody. A good example of a business that you cannot start with sufficient knowledge is a chemist. How would you sell drugs to someone if you don’t know the correct product or dosage? You will lose a lot of customers because of wrong prescriptions. Make sure you learn everything that you need to know about your business before setting it up.

2. Capital Required

Capital is essential for all businesses whether small or big. You need to calculate before hand, all the necessary capital that you will require to fully set up your business. After getting to know the required capital, then look for the capital source. It could be your own savings, a loan from friends, or a bank loan.

3. Get to know your market

Understanding your market is very important when it comes to setting up a business in Kenya because without a potential market, then your products won’t sell. Are people willing to purchase your product or service? Is the market big enough to

sustain your business? These are some of the questions that you should ask yourself before setting up a business, and the best way to answer them would be to conduct a market survey. Conduct a market survey and evaluate the potential of the market.

4. Analyze your Competition

Would you set up a barber shop with very few shaving equipment and accessories amidst many other barber shops with state of the art shaving components and expect to get enough customers? Not an easy feat to achieve. To avoid being beaten by your competition it is always advisable to check out your competition first, and then think of a service or product that will beat your competition. There are some instances when you can ignore competition especially when the demand for that product is high but under other circumstances always evaluate your competition.

5. Location

When it comes to starting a business, location really matters. Choose a location that is accessible to people, a location that has a high population, a location that will give your business an advantage.

6. Rules and regulations

Get to know about any rules or regulations that stipulate ways of conducting businesses in an area so that you are not caught on the wrong side of the law. Different areas have different rules; therefore get to learn those rules. For example if you are selling alcoholic drinks, you should not go against the ‘mututho law” that warns against selling alcoholic drinks at certain times of the day.

7. Back-up plan

Not all businesses pick up immediately they are launched; some take a shorter period while others take a longer period. Many business people have given up on their businesses because they have taken a longer time before realizing any profit, yet these businesses had huge potential of becoming successful if they were just given more time. It is advisable to have another source of income apart from your business to act as a contingency plan, just in case your business does not pick up fast enough so as to avoid premature closures.

These are just some of the many essential factors to consider before starting a small business in Kenya. I hope they help you succeed in your upcoming start-up

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