Analyze It

Entrepreneurial Assessment

What’s My Style?

Business owners are as different as their individual goals and management styles. Yet in order for their businesses to succeed, every entrepreneur must pay attention to the same five basic business functions. Regardless of industry, product or service, staffing needs or funding sources, all business owners must have some level of expertise in management, operations, marketing, sales and finance. Do you?

Using this handy graph take some time to assess your strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur. Thinking back on your work history, what personal experience in any or all of the five business functions have you gleaned from past business ownership or management positions? From working as an employee? Through college-level courses or on-the-job training programs?

If you don’t have personal experience in a particular business function, now would be a good time to tap into the expertise of someone who does. Mentally comb through your list of friends, family members, business advisors, past employers, a former colleague or college professor — in short, anyone whose counsel you’ve come to trust — to identify people you can call on to fill in your gaps in experience, then start reaching out to them.

Industry Analysis

What Industry Do I Represent?

Every business in the U.S., including yours, falls within a particular NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code, a standard used by federal agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. economy. Knowing the NAICS code for your industry is useful for filing tax forms and being considered for federal contracts; it also opens the door to a wealth of information.

Before launching your business, take a hard look at the industry it represents. Look up your NAICS code online, then start looking for data like this:

The Industry Assessment template at FloridaSmallBusiness.com/TryIt will help you categorize the positives and negatives about your industry and give you food for thought about ways to take advantage of “opportunities” and counteract “threats” as you prepare to launch your business.

Tags: Florida Small Business, Business Basics