When you are just starting your business you usually do not pay so much attention to the definitions. In this article I will tell you why it is important to differentiate between starting a business and starting a project.

In the beginning when you just have an idea you are always unsure if it is going to work or not, you might be afraid to tell your friends and family about your plans so you decide to call it a small project of yours or now fashionably a startup and you will keep dragging it on for a while. However even in planning is important that you from the beginning plan to start a business.

What is the difference?

Project is always temporary, project will always have a start and end date, when you say project people perceive it as less serious and you as less committed. While when you say you are building up a business, you imply to be building up structures which in a long term aim to satisfy your customer needs and generate profit.

So what types of businesses are out there?

Basically there are just three types: one is producing a product (if you can for example sue clothing, or food speciality or high technology product) second is producing a service (for example event organisation or consulting service) third is trading basically taking existing products or services and reselling them (creating an online shop, or trading minerals and chemical products – which I did) So here you are you would have to choose from this, very simple. If you do not have and can not produce a product, you can offer a service or trade or vice versa.

How to decide on the type of business you want to start?

Making a decision which type of business to start I would base on the combination of existing resources (your talents, access to certain products on good conditions or contacts) and on your passion.

Want to learn more about how to start your business? Join my Udemy course to find out all the essential information you need to know to start your own business and be successful. Click here to find out more