Being your own boss is a dream that many people have in this day and age. This is because of the freedom that comes with starting up your own enterprise; not having to answer to anyone but yourself, working hours to suit you, and even deciding what salary you take home each month. However, making the decision to start your own business is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Did you know that over half of new startups fail within the first year of business? While sometimes it’s very likely that the reason for this is because of it simply wasn’t right for the budding entrepreneur, a very common reason for a new business failing is due to lack of knowledge. So, to help you along the way, we’ve compiled a handy guide that will tell you everything you need to know about entrepreneurialism!
You will need a solid team around you
The saying ‘many hands make light work’ is very relevant in this case, and it’s something that you should remember when going into business. At the beginning you may feel like you’re able to tackle the workload alone. However, having too much on your plate can also lead to fast failure too. Lighten up your load by hiring people from the start to help begin building your empire properly. Even if you’re only hiring part time vacancies to start with, it’s important to build up a solid team around you so that when things do start picking up, you’re not overwhelmed with a load you simply cannot handle.
It’s also a good idea to research what makes a good boss so that when you are in charge of a team, you’re complying to rules and regulations and also creating a unit that’s willing to work hard for you.
Location makes the world of difference
Whether you’re setting up a store, or you simply need an office space, it’s important to remember that the location of your work premises makes the world of difference to how you’ll perform. Ease of access and convenient locations for your customers will reflect on your sales for obvious reasons. Not only that, you will find it easier to hire staff in a prime location too! You will also find that any deliveries you’ll intercept will find their way to you more promptly. It’s a good idea to research the cost of leasing a startup office space so that you can ensure you’ve got the funds ready for when you do launch your business.
Solving problems will sell your products
New products are exciting, of course they are! However, with a plethora of new products coming out each and every day, your customers will soon die down and you may see your business fail. Rather than trying to come up with completely new products, try to solve problems for people instead. For example, creating a product that makes peeling a potato easier than ever will trump your regular potato peeler. Making people’s lives easier will win you many favor points and undoubtedly sell your products.
Establish a target audience at the beginning
One thing that’s imperative to understand is that you’re never going to be able to please everyone with your products or services, so you will need to establish a target audience at the beginning so that you can concentrate on molding your products to their needs and wants. Over time you may bring out products that are suited for a different audience, but for now, concentrate on the audience you want to reach. Many budding entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to make a product that everyone will fall in love with, and this leads to the end result being too generalized and not appealing to anyone.
The internet is your best friend
In this day and age, everyone is using the internet for one reason or another. One of the biggest uses of the internet is for social media, and you should use that to your advantage to reach out to new people. Here are some tips on how to utilise the internet and social media for your business:
- Create a strong website that will show your customers (and potential customers) that you’re a professional, friendly, and an easy company to do business with. This includes making your website easy to navigate around, clear contact details, and also other useful information that people may want to find out like your location.
- Put together and publish useful and relevant content for both your website and your social media accounts. The trick here is to make it seem like you’re giving your customers something for nothing, and that something could be anything from a piece of information they wouldn’t have otherwise known, a discount code for one of your products, or even a freebie from your website.
- Post regularly on your social media accounts to ensure that you don’t get lost in the abyss of social media posts each day. It’s understandable that it might be near on impossible to have your accounts manned all day every day, but you can use a handy scheduling tool such as Crowdfire to line up posts so that your business pages are at the top of everyone’s timelines.
- Run giveaways and competitions on your social media accounts and lead them back to your website for high traffic and a plethora of interest in your products.
- Incorporate the use of SEO into your website to ensure that your website is being found by as many people as possible. You can learn more here about good SEO practices.
Explore all forms of marketing
Marketing is essential no matter what kind of business you’re running because without it, nobody would know your business even exists. While some forms of marketing are more efficient and effective than others, it’s important to explore all forms of marketing to ensure that you’re getting your name around to the right people. It’s also important to take into consideration what kind of marketing would best suit your target audience. For example, if you’re selling stair lifts, it’s very unlikely that you’re going to get much of a response from adverts on the internet. Using marketing forms such as newspapers and TV adverts would be more ideal as your target audience are more likely to see it.
Understand things will take time
One thing that many new business owners expect, is their business to take off in an instant. While this concept isn’t totally impossible, it’s likely that it will take time for your business to significantly take off. People need time to find out about your business and also hear reviews of the products or services that you’ve got to offer. It’s important to be patient with the growth of your business and also understand that good things take time to develop.
Have a solid investment
Finally, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to launch a business without some sort of investment. Whether you simply need a few tools to get your business off the ground, or you’re looking to hire out a brand new premises, hire a team of staff, or even buy materials for your business, you will need an investment to get you off the ground. If you don’t personally have the money to inject into your business, then it might be a good idea to look into business loans so that you can begin building your empire!
No comments yet.