Ready for Business

A robust business plan and sufficient funding help to form a solid foundation when starting a business.

Fijians have a natural drive for enterprise; from market vendors and handicraft makers to taxi owners and entrepreneurs running small businesses from home. Annually, hundreds of new start-ups pop up across Fiji in towns, settlements, villages, and online demonstrating our people’s growing passion for entrepreneurship.

Whether you want to “be your own boss” or “continue in your family’s business”, starting your own venture is an exciting step. But passion alone doesn’t guarantee success and in Fiji, sadly many of these small start-ups end up closing within the first few years.

So, before you dive in, here are some key tips to guide you through the journey of turning your dream into a thriving business.

 

1. Start with a Dream and a Reality Check

Every business begins with a dream but it’s important to ask yourself these questions:

•  Is this dream realistic?
•  Do I have the skills, time, and determination to make it work?

Passion is essential but so is self-motivation. When you start your own business in Fiji, you’re often the:

• Boss – making the big decisions,
• Worker – doing the daily tasks,
• Encourager – motivating yourself and your team, and
• Investor – putting your own money on the line.

Without the courage to handle all these roles, your dream might remain just that, a dream.

 

2. Do Your Research

Even if you have a great idea, your business will only succeed if customers are willing to pay for your product or service at a price that gives you a profit.

Start by doing some market research. Ask yourself these important questions:

• What need or problem does my product or service solve?
•  Who are my customers? Are they villagers, students, families, businesses, or tourists?
• Where will I get my materials or supplies from?
• How will I get my products or services to my customers? i.e do I need a shop? Do I sell at the market? Do I need to deliver? or can I sell online?
• How much will people be willing to pay?

Your market research will help identify who your target customers are and by getting to know them well you will be able to develop a clear marketing strategy to communicate with them and entice them to buy from you.

Having established that there is a market for your product or service, the next step is to put together a detailed plan on how you’re going to bring it to your market. The planning process is one which is often brushed over but when done well can provide clear benefits. It can be approached in a few ways, one of which is the 7P’s.

 

3. Plan Your Business Using the 7P’s

Purpose

Clearly defining the purpose of the business will provide a foundation for many of the upcoming business decisions. Identifying the values that the business will stand for and articulating those in a Mission Statement provides a valuable tool to maintain focus in a busy environment.

Product

Information on your Product should include not only what it is (and isn’t) but also spell out what customer need or want it satisfies and how. Details of the technical specifications, production and distribution processes also form a valuable part of the business plan.

People

Said to be the greatest asset of any business, your People requirements need to be carefully managed and clearly articulated in your business plan. Recording the various roles required, and the skills and behaviours necessary to successfully undertake those roles, a detailed plan helps to successfully recruit, develop, and retain your workforce.

Place

Location matters! You need to be thinking about:

• Access to customers (e.g., near a busy road, school, or market)
• Access to suppliers (e.g., near your raw materials)
• Access to labour or workers

In Fiji, online presence is also important! Many customers now find products and services on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. So, having an online presence is just as important as having a physical one.

Promotion

It’s not just advertising. Promotion is about how you connect with your customers and potential customers and create a desire within them to purchase from your business. The plan should clearly define who the target customers are, how you are going to communicate with them, and what your call to action is.

Price

The price of your product or service is influenced by several factors. The quality of the product; the speed with which it can be produced and provided to the customer; the cost to purchase or produce the product; and finally, the value placed on that product by the customer.

Performance

Effective performance measurements encompass whether the business is achieving what it set out to achieve in all the above areas from a qualitative, quantitative, and financial perspective. By detailing in the business plan what performance measures are most important to a business you’re better able to maintain focus on ensuring you’re achieving what you set out to.

 

4. Choose Your Business Structure

Having completed the plan, now it’s time to actually ’put some rubber on the road’. One of the first decisions you’ll need to make is how you’re going to structure the business. In deciding whether to be a sole trader, a company etc. you need to consider your (and the business’s) tax position, the cost of establishing and maintaining the structure, how easy it is to transition to another structure as the business grows, and the ease with which changes to management and ownership can be implemented.

You can register your business online through the Registrar of Companies (ROC) website or visit your nearest Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, and Small Business Development office.

When choosing a structure, think about:

• Tax implications (FRCS requirements)
• Setup and annual costs
• Management responsibilities
• Future growth plans

 

5. Protect Your Business

As valuable as planning is in helping you to mitigate risks, it’s still prudent to insure against accidents or unexpected events. Determining what assets or processes could be impacted or damaged in various scenarios will help to develop a suite of insurances to obtain that commonly cover assets, income, key people, and third-party liabilities.

 

6. Set Up Your Finances

The final piece of getting started is to get your financial records sorted out. Even if you’re a sole trader, business finances should be kept separate from your personal finances so it’s advisable to have a separate bank account for the business. It’s also necessary to keep records of all income and expenses, not only for tax purposes but to ensure that the business is making you a profit. By implementing and consistently using the right accounting software package this process can be much simpler than at first thought. It will also make life easier for your accountant come tax- time.

 

7. Launch and Celebrate

Then finally comes opening day! How are you going to launch the business to let your customers know you’re open for business? Whether it’s a party, a grand gesture, or a simple bargain.

• Showcases your product or service
• Highlights what makes you unique
• Tells people where to find you (physically or online)
• Encourages them to buy or share your business