Everything You Need To Build & Run A Successful Research Business

October 8, 2015

We all know that research and development is crucial to every business. Experimenting and testing ideas is the foundation of good business. In fact, it’s such good practice that research companies are cropping up all over the place. It’s a lucrative place to set up shop. If you have some expert knowledge in a specific niche, it’s a great way to make your mark on the industry. There are all sorts of options available to you here. You could choose a route in the medical and pharmaceutical research industry, for example.
Setting up this kind of business requires a great deal of knowledge, understanding, and good contacts. You’ll need a lot of startup to cash to fund the creation of laboratories and testing experiments. Luckily, there are lots of grants and funding available for research teams. Best of all, the rewards are endless, and the opportunities are many. If you’re interested in branching out into this business, here is everything you need.
A goal
All research companies need a strong and powerful goal to guide them. They need a key target to work towards, and a reason for existing. This goal must be specific if you’re to get the best results. After all, a clear, defined goal gives you direction and purpose. When a research team leaves their focus open-ended, it leads to confusion. Give yourself one niche target to test and experiment. That’s how you’ll make your research company successful.
Funding
Lengthy research projects need a secure source of funding to exist. Research projects are rarely profitable in their initial stages. With that in mind, you need to plan for the future. Work out how much money you need to get started, and how much you need to reach your goals. You need to convince investors and funding institutions that your research will lead to profitable developments. There needs to be a clear return on investment. Alternatively, you can use your research environment to provide direct results to clients. That way, you can make an immediate profit.
Laboratory or research space
Naturally, any research project or business needs a place operate from. In many cases, this will mean a laboratory or experimental room. These are highly complex environments, and require expert oversight. You’ll need to bring together a lot of expensive, and high-tech equipment. You’ll also need to stock the lab full of health and safety provisions, like ESD labcoats. It will need a full safety audit, to ensure that working conditions are in line with the law too.
The brightest researchers
If you’re too reach your goals, and take on an effective research project, you need the best employees. It’s up to you to find the brightest and most passionate scientists and researchers on the planet. Remember, you’ll be working in a very specific niche, so you need to find the right people for the job. Use your existing network of contacts to make this happen. After all, it’s all about who you know!
Follow this advice, and you’ll be ready for the rigours of starting a research business.

Mark Asquith

That British podcast guy, Mark is co-founder of Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast host. A Harvard, TEDx, Podcast Movement and Podfest speaker (amongst many more!), he's a wildly approachable Brit and Star Wars/DC Comics geek.

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