So You’re Thinking about Creating a Start-Up: Read this First
One of the great things about the world of business is that pretty much anyone can, equipped with an idea and a dream, see their goals realized. Our current social landscape is welcoming and inclusive of pretty much any budding young entrepreneur who wants to see their dreams set in motion. There are so many ways to get your ideas off the ground and start that business that you’ve always wanted to create: everything from small business loans to crowdfunding such as Kickstarter and more, even if you aren’t sitting on a nice nest egg, with a little hard work, gumption and creativity, you can find a way to fund those dreams.
If you’ve got ideas for a new start up business, there are a few things to consider before pulling the trigger. As with any business, you want to have a solid foundation on which to build, and ensure that any decisions you make now will be beneficial in the future. Below, we’ve outlined a few tips and things to consider before you get your business off the ground.
Have a Solid Plan
Every young entrepreneur has a general idea of what they want their business to be. But you need more than just an idea. You need a solid, detailed business plan. One of your first steps should be to sit down and write out a lengthy, detailed and logical business plan that outlines your goals for your business, including what it aims to do, how you aim to achieve said goals, how you plan to pay for the business, and other details such as how many staff you need, where you plan to be located, who your key demographic will be, and so on. The more detailed the better.
This business plan will not only be the foundation on which you build your business, but will be used to apply for funding and loans, and so much more. You want to spend a lot of time on this, ironing out every detail of your future business for the long-term.
Word of Mouth and Networking
Next, you want to put out some feelers in the local community and with friends and colleagues in similar industries. Networking is an important part of running any business or being your own boss. Having friends in the industry is paramount, so get the word out.
Some good networking tips are to attend local events that may be relevant to your business, or who have clientele you’d like to attract, and casually hand out a business card or two. Tell interested people about your upcoming startup and any events you have upcoming that they might like to attend. Make some connections and friendships with people who you could have mutually beneficial relationships with, such as potential vendors, clients or partners.
Network nationally by joining sites like LinkedIn and similar sites, creating a detailed profile for you and your business, and do a little social media marketing to create buzz and anticipation for your business. Ask friends and family to be ready to support when you launch.
Take Care of the Business Side of Business
It sounds strange, but many startups fail to pay attention to the little details of running a business, preferring instead to focus on the exciting new parts, such as meeting new clients, attending launch events and other exciting new opportunities.
But in addition to all the excitement, there’s the day to day details that can make or break your business if not handled properly.
Before you even open your doors, you need to make sure you have proper business licensing, that you’ve got all your bills paid, including utilities and business insurance, that all the HR and payroll details are sorted out for staffing, and so on. If you’ve hired a great administrative assistant to handle most of this stuff, great! But while your business is new, you should oversee the handling of these details to ensure that they are done correctly.
Start Small
A lot of start ups make the mistake of blowing all their seed money right off the bat on a cushy, huge new office space, tons of branded merchandise, swanky launch events and top-of-the-line equipment for their staff (speaking of staff, that’s another rookie mistake: hiring more staff than you need right off the bat).
Don’t make the mistake of spending too much money on unnecessary resources when you first start out. Renting a smaller office space and focusing on growing a loyal customer/client base is much more important than winning and dining the big fish. And when it comes to staff, it’s a much better idea to pay one or two productive, loyal employees good wages and great benefits than it is to have a huge staff of people who are all being underpaid and aren’t being delegated tasks.
As your business becomes successful, you’ll be able to branch out and grow more and more, eventually moving into bigger spaces and being able to afford the nicer things in life, for you, your employees and your clients alike.
Marketing
While overspending is a real concern, spending a little money on marketing, PR and advertising is actually a good investment. You might think you have the skills to handle it all yourself, and maybe you do, but hiring a firm that specializes in business marketing is like putting money in the bank. You just can’t beat a professional touch to give you that extra edge, attract all the best clients and customers.
These days, you can find marketing professionals that do really great work freelance that work for really affordable rates, too! It doesn’t have to put a dent in your wallet to find a great marketing team. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look.
Creating a start up is a very involved process that’s going to take more than just a hope and a dream. You need a detailed business plan with an outline to follow for the long-term, a lot of know-how, the funding to back you up, and a whole lot of follow through. But with some savvy tips and tricks, you can totally get that start up off the ground and turn it into a successful business.
- DISCLOSURE – This post has been written by an outside source.
