If you want to open and start your own business then you may have heard that it can be impossible. It doesn’t have to be, if you get everything right from the start then it can be smooth sailing for all involved. You may already know that around 90% of businesses will fail to make it through to their fifth year of trading. If you don’t want to join the ranks of failed businesses then take your time, don’t rush into anything. Read the article below for some more help and guidance regarding getting your business off the ground.
Here are some tips to start your own business:
1. An Idea
Every company you see around you today started with an idea. So grab a pen and start brainstorming different ideas you might have. Don’t be afraid of writing down something silly, there is no right or wrong answer. For example, if you think your ideas are bad, in the 70s someone came up with the idea of a pet rock. Believe it or not, this became a bestseller that year. Once you have a rock-solid idea, start planning everything else.
2. Market Research
After you have your idea and everything related to that then it might be a good idea to carry out some market research. There are two routes to take here, one being to check out the competition and the other to see if the public would take to your idea. Be careful how you find out about other competitors, there is a fine line between snooping and researching. In order to find out if the general public likes your product, you might want to send out samples to get opinions. This is a great way to find out if they like it and what they would change about it, if anything.
3. Money
Think about how you are going to manage your finances within your company. Unless you already have a good chunk of funding available, you will need some spare money to tide yourself over until you start making a profit. There are a few ways you can do this, one of the most popular being taking out a business loan. You need to be confident that you can make the repayments on this otherwise you will lose your business. Write down everything that you need money for and how much you need. For instance, marketing will take a great chunk of your money so ensure you have enough for everything else.
4. Marketing
As mentioned previously, marketing should receive the biggest chunk of your money. This is so you can market your business the right way and get your company out there. If your customers and clients don’t know about you then you won’t be receiving the sales and profits you deserve. There are many different marketing strategies available to companies these days, you no longer have to walk the streets distributing leaflets. Of course, you can if you like as this is still a technique used today. However, one of the greatest marketing techniques is social media to start your own business. This tends to be free to most people and due to the large following will get you the most customers.
5. A Great Website
Something else you will need to ensure you don’t experience any issues with your company is a great website. This means it runs effectively and your customers are able to navigate around it. Ideally, your customers and clients should be no more than three clicks away from the page or product they are looking for. One thing you might want to put on your website is a search bar, this makes it handy to find what you’re looking for. If customers can find what they need then you are far more likely to get a sale. Find a wonderful website designer to use, check out recommendations or reviews.
6. Team Members
If you want to expand your business then you will need employees. This can be a tricky area as you don’t want to hire any random person. In an idea world you would hire someone with the right level of experience and expertise. Put out a job advertisement online or on a local noticeboard then you will have some resumes to sort through. This is where it gets hard, as you don’t want to discard anyone who could be an asset to your company. If you have never done this before and need a helping hand then you might consider using a recruitment agency.
7. Tech
One thing to be aware of within your company is the type of technology you are using. If you got a great bulk deal on second hand tech then be aware this could end up doing more harm than good. While you are getting a great price and therefore saving money, what if it was costing your business more money than you saved? Have you ever rung a company and been told ‘sorry our systems are running slow today?’ Yes, that is their old and outdated technology trying to handle too much. There is also software and apps you can install to help run your business smoothly. If for example, you are running a plumbing company, then you can get specialized plumbing software.
8. Location
An important factor to start your own business is where you are going to be located. One thing Covid has taught many business owners is that they can work from the comfort of their own homes. If you think this is possible then you might want to invest in a virtual office address, this saves you from giving out your personal address to customers and suppliers. However, if you need warehouse space and to have your employees under one roof then have a look at different locations. If you are expecting to open a shop for customers then consider how easy it will be for them to find you.
We hope you enjoyed this article and that it gave you some helpful ideas on how to start your own business and make it a success. The key is getting everything right from the get-go, one small mistake could spell the end of your company.
