Marketing
The single most crucial area to understand when setting up your business is your market. You need to know who your customers are. Who will buy your products/services? How big is the opportunity? Where are the buyers located? Is the industry growing or in decline?
Your customers
Who are they, what do they look like, how do they act, what do they need, what do they spend their money on? The more you understand your customers, the more likely you are to provide them with the product or service they want.
Where are your potential customers - are they in a specific local area or spread out nationally/internationally?
Why do they need/want your product or service?
Your competition
Where else might a potential customer go to buy a similar product or service? What do your rivals do well? And how can you compete with them?
Suppliers
Once you have generated the demand, can you deliver? (There is nothing worse than having a batch of orders but no stock - you lose sales and money). Make sure that your suppliers are reliable, have capacity and are solvent. Sometimes it's good to have more than one alternative supplier.
How will you attract customers and keep them coming back?
If yours is a local business, advertising in the local press or radio and in Yellow Pages can help you reach your local audience. Consider getting a website. And remember to include all your contact details - especially your phone number and email address!
Ask customers to recommend friends - referral is a great, low cost way of getting new customers.
Follow up on your customers to check that they are happy with what they have bought from you. And when you do, take the opportunity to sell them additional products and services.
Note: you need agreement from the customer to perform direct marketing to them. See the Information Commissioner's Website at for help and advice.