The idea of starting your own business can be frightening — with no one to report to and the entity’s success relying on your ability to delegate tasks. But starting a new business can also be one of your greatest life achievements. Luckily, there are ways to break down the process that provide idyllic solutions in digestible, bite-sized chunks. It’s important not to overlook the simple steps so we’ll analyze a few of those for you and also offer some unique bits of advice.
Understand Legal Requirements
This is one aspect of starting a business that many entrepreneurs tend to overlook, set aside beneath the mounting resumes and inventory order forms piling in the office. But especially when you’re starting a business from the ground up as opposed to taking over an already established entity, there are government regulations you need to understand or be faced with steep penalties. Don’t overlook the importance of understanding the law.
Some of these legal requirements include registering your business with the state, setting up your accounting system, employer laws, and tax accountability. You don’t have to swallow everything at once — acquaint yourself with different facets of the law as you build. For example, it would be ideal to learn about employer laws during the hiring process. Before tax season, it would be beneficial to understand business-specific tax liabilities, and so on. Being prepared will save you from the headache and wallet ache of unexpected government fines. This is a great resource to get you started.
Sell While You Build
Sales is the name of the business game. Focus on generating sales from day one — even before you have completely established your identity. Many businesses fail because they’re determined to build their brand to perfection before they begin generating leads. You are better off doing this simultaneously so that you can start establishing a customer base as you develop. These customers also provide for a feedback loop that can help direct your personal development.
You can learn more about what people want to buy and build your business based around this, rather than just what you want to sell. For example, if you own a coffee shop in a warm climate, you might encounter requests for refreshing smoothies. Although smoothies may not have been in your business plan originally, you can make adjustments to build your customer base and help generate additional sales.
Sales leads are what make your business profitable — a fact you should never lose sight of. Your brand identity will come in time, but marketing your products should start immediately.
Engineer a Brandable Website
With the internet taking over much of today’s marketing world, having a website for your business is almost essential. This can serve to showcase your products, as an interactive platform for your customers, and an advertising portal. But as technology develops, so does the level of brand design expectations.
It’s important to build a website that’s both attractive and easy to navigate. Here is where you can focus on your brand identity. Steps for building an effective website:
1) Identify your brand in order to stand out from the crowd
2) Use a domain name suggestion tool to find a great domain name.
3) Select a web host
4) Select a site platform
5) Build your site using graphics and interactive features
Remember, what might appeal to you, might not appeal to your customers. Showcase your product with your audience in mind — utilizing customer input when possible. Your brand should be recognizable, innovative, and attractive. A website is an effective interface on which to make this happen. Unlock the full potential of your online presence with top-notch web design in Melbourne, tailored to elevate your business and captivate your target audience.
Start Your Business While You’re Still Employed
Businesses often take time to become profitable. Unless you can get by on little to no money and have something set aside to rely on during the start-up process, it is becoming more and more common for people to maintain part-time employment while building a business. This helpful consideration could allow for you to continue to draw an income to pay the bills while your business grows.
If you choose to go this route, it is important to determine whether you can continue your current job or if you’re going to have to go into a new field of work completely. A lot of new business owners are taking on remote gigs while they build their businesses in order to maintain absolute schedule flexibility — which is often required during the start-up process. The capacity to work from wherever you are allows you to physically be where you’re needed, when you’re needed.
Invest in an Online Bookkeeping Program
When first starting a business, there are some areas where you’re going to want to DIY in order to cut down costs, especially in the beginning. Your finances is not one of these. A new business requires immediate attention to many management facets including marketing, hiring, inventory, and product development. Stack finances on top of that and needless to say, you’re bound to make a mistake.
Effective bookkeeping is one of the most important elements of a successful business and with so many other things to do serves as something you should pass on to an outside entity. Stay tuned in to what’s happening, but let a bookkeeping expert perfect your ledgers.
With so many options on the marketplace, it may be difficult to know where to look for help. Bench serves as an effective solution that is tailored toward your specific business — whether you have $5K worth of expenses per month or $500K. They offer different price points for each, serving to meet your needs no matter what kind of business you have.
Be Creative At Keeping Costs Low
Coinciding with focusing on sales from day one, keeping costs low is key to success no matter what kind of business you’re building. Cash flow means business is booming, but you need positive cash flow in order to outlast your competitors. This means keeping your costs low — which is easy in theory but in reality may require some creative thinking.
Be sure to address ways to keep expenses down in your business plan before you even begin building. Once you’re in the throes of development, you may not have the time or energy to think much about adjusting your money spending tendencies. Set a plan in motion with a budget for your expenses that you can stick to. Jot down methods for cutting costs, such as buying in bulk, and identify specific areas where this is possible some of the time or all of the time.
Other secrets to keeping costs low include buying used office furniture and paying vendors up front. The deals you make on credit usually come with a higher price tag, whereas immediate payment can award you more resources for less.
“Go it Alone” is Never a Good Approach
Whether it’s a business partner or an outside support system, building a business is not something you should consider doing alone. Micro-businesses have a low success rate and yet are the most common company in the U.S. According to Forbes, businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37% chance of surviving for four years and only a 9% chance of surviving for 10 years. Business partners usually equate to bigger businesses, allowing for more start-up cash, a bigger knowledge base, and a greater chance of success. It’s important to be selective and not go into business with just anyone — but going into business with the right person can help you make it in the long run.
If you’re determined to go into business by yourself, then an outside support system is highly recommended. Whether it’s a friend or a family member, having someone there to help you work through difficult times is essential. If that person can also serve to know the basic ins and outs of your business and possibly substitute in the wake of an emergency, that’s even better. Another option to consider is opting in to a business start-up program where you can garner invaluable advice from successful entrepreneurs.
Market to Your Target Audience
One of the biggest wastes of resources involves marketing to the wrong audience: whether that means people who are not interested in your product or people who are not buying your product. As a business owner, you’re going to want to engage both of these audiences and marketing blindly is only going to cost you money.
The first step is to determine your target audience by identifying the demographics of your customers. Determine predominant age groups and employment categories. Look at the customer base you’ve already built in order to figure out the kind of marketing that’s working for you and in what areas you can improve. Give your customers the opportunity to provide their own feedback. For example, offer a free coffee for customers that fill out an electronic survey you can advertise on the bottom of receipts or menus.
You need to be creative in determining your target audience while marketing your products simultaneously. If you own an ice cream shop, it might be conducive to have a ‘Flavor of the Week’ as determined by votes from your customers. In this case, you are marketing directly to the audience that selected the flavor, which has automatically placed them in both categories of ‘interested in’ and ‘buying your product’. Identifying your target audience in the beginning will help save you time and money in the long run.
