What should I do to start up my own business?

Some thoughts:

Research areas of interest. Not only libraries and on line but speak to people who are in that field. Most will be willing to talk about their experiences and give advice not only on the business aspects but their personal achievements.

Find what you enjoy the best. You may be in securities but your favorite thing may be sales, analysis or technology. The only way you will work through your start up is to have that passion that you will push the envelope in performance and, more so, determination.

Be willing to change and adopt - continuing to morph to take advantage of the changing landscape. A friend of mine started IT consulting and wrote a program for a small business. He pursued refinement of the software while continuing to pursue consulting. He eventually grew the software into a $4.0M annual business that is growing at about 25% annually in sales. But this short paragraph I have written took place over 12 years. While not wealthy for all 12 he has been happy and will be wealthy.

In starting small and skills, I have a friend who is in the cement business. He is in his late 50's. he started by working for a man pouring cement sidewalks, He literally carried the cement bags, mixed the cement and poured it. He never went to high school but had the passion to succeed in cement. He now runs a company that builds the cement for sky scrapers and sporting stadiums.

My last example is a younger friend who was in securities sales. He did that until he was about 34. He then bought a franchise with a company on training people on how to trade stocks. He built up three offices in a major US city. He sold about 50% to large banks and 50% to individuals. After about five years he sold his business. That was this past Spring. He needs to do something else to earn an income but he said he has a year.

In these examples it seems that each found their passion - the skill they were most suited for and pursued it. Some changing and others just staying with the one thing they knew best.

Dear Hoa,

Own business is not a game, but a real life, and cruel.
Delete all books about "how to set up a business"...or something, this kind of book is made for some one, not for us living in Vietnam. What I can suggest you to have before going into an "own business" is :
- whatever you are doing, you should know very well about the field you invest into. If now, you still have no idea about it,then delete the "own biz" and come back to employee life.
- whatever you will do, you should have enough capital to hold it for at least one year. The capital is not only for first investment but also for monthly operation.
- whatever you will do, pls make sure you have enough and good relationship that could back you up.
then, in conclusion, you should know what to do, have enough money and the last but most important is : relationship.
It does not mean if you have them all, then you can success, but they are only the "must" factors.

"Before you quit your job" is one of the must-read book you should read

People say your business should bring something new, added value to your clients which is totally true. Yet, for a sustainable business' sake in the long run, try to do something with which you should be able to provide a regular service and get somewhat stable benefits from doing such, rather than trying to do a new thing almost "every time". Read "More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places" (2006) [Vietnamese version: "Hơn cả điều bạn biết...", NXB Trẻ]. Of course, "Good to Great" remains a must-read, too.

only 1 thing you have to do in this period is determine what will you do!
suitable field is the the best of your experience or the best of your passion. (You have to be the only one can know exactly abt that matter)

Do it first, then:
1- Draft of plan
2- collect information, survey
3- plan with more detail
4- survey, take advice, add all to you plan
5- fix your figure on the plan and name it by Plan A
6- Back to 1st step for... plan B.
7- Make your decision (Chose A or B or ... D)

Good luck,