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We’re pretty sure every one of us has thought of starting up our own business at some point in our life. It might be the result of your friends telling you how great your food is, or how beautiful your art is, doesn’t matter, we’ve all thought about it!
Taking the step from dreaming about your business and actually doing it is the daunting part that not everyone takes. As long as you have a strong and detailed business plan and a good product that people actually need, you’re sure to succeed!
We’re a small business that’s been around for 3 years now and we’ve gathered a few tips that we wish we knew when we started out.
You don’t need a ton of money to start a business, but you do need to invest a certain amount into the business. We’d advise you to save up money for at least 6 months to be comfortable whilst your business is beginning to bring in sales. You also have to register your business and obtain a business license, so you’ll need to be prepared to pay the business fee for it.
You might have to dip into your credit card or you can apply for a business loan or request money from investors. Pull out the Microsoft Powerpoint if you have to and try to find investors that actually believe in your product!
2. Your business plan is KEY
We cannot stress how important this is. We recently spoke to a client that wasn’t making any proper sales. It’s because they didn’t have a proper plan to help them figure out how to make their business grow and what it’s goals and objectives are. You definitely need to approach a professional to help you out with a plan or do loads of research to create one yourself.
3. Don’t wait for your product to be perfect
If you’re waiting till your product is perfect to launch your business, then you’re probably wasting your time. We’ve seen successful companies that have a huge following and loads of clients release products that aren’t perfect or bug-free. And that’s okay. Be as open with your audience as possible and ask them to let you know what they want improved, and build your product as you go.
There’s bound to a couple of mistakes here and there, always own up to it and resolve it ASAP.
4. Automation is your best friend
If you started a small business to have more time to yourself, then you definitely need to automate everything you can. Things like your bookkeeping and email marketing can be automated. You can use Xero for bookkeeping and MailChimp or Active Campaign for email marketing. MailChimp has a free version that you can use if you don’t have the budget for it. Active Campaign is better for a small-medium business that has a budget for marketing. You can also integrate a chatbot into your website to answer any FAQs that potential customers might have when they visit your site. We personally like ManyChat because it’s very user-friendly.
5. Keep it simple
No, you don’t need a fancy website or fancy packaging on your products. If your product/service is of good quality and your website is ON BRAND. Try to start small and narrow your focus down to one or a few things. A successful business should fulfil its mission with each of their customers.
You can always add new products and services as your business grows, so don’t bite off more than you can chew in the start.
6. Keep track of your finances religiously.
Honestly, if you don’t do this, you might end up blowing through your budget and not even realizing it till it’s over. If you’re bad with numbers, ask a business partner or family member to keep track for you, but make sure you go through it every month yourself. You can also hire a professional to track your finances for you. The important thing is that you need to be aware of how your budget is going to be used and remain consistent with it.
Let us know whether these tips helped you with your business planning on our social media, or drop us an email at: email.
As always, feel free to schedule a free appointment with us if you want to discuss your business strategy, and you can talk to one of our digital strategists!
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