Making the leap from employee to employer is no small feat. It’s a big step. You’ve invested money, time, and energy into your new venture. Everything is riding on its success. In recent years, we’ve seen big conglomerates and small businesses alike have closed their doors. We’ve also seen new businesses start up, find their place in the marketplace, and not just survive, but thrive. So, if you’re looking for the best tips to get your business off the ground, keep reading.
Tips to Launch Your Business
Plan
A solid business plan is the first place to start. If you fail to plan; you plan to fail. Read as much as you can about your industry, competition, the markets, your target group, pitfalls to avoid and everything you can get your hands on. Analyse the risks and rewards of every decision. Develop strategies and put into place solutions to common problems you’ll likely encounter. This doesn’t mean you’ll use them all. It’s like insurance, you don’t like to pay for it, but it’s good to know you have it if you ever need it. When you have everything in place, should situations arise, you already know what to do and won’t lose time in figuring out how to solve problems.
Get Organised
Chances are that you’ll be juggling many balls, needing to complete many tasks, and managing a lot of things that need to get done. Failure to organise yourself and keep accurate details of everything could result in things falling through the cracks and jeopardising your business success. Invest in software tools to help you keep on track. Record keeping will help ensure you always know where you stand, and the potential challenges and give you time to develop strategies to overcome these before they sink your ship.
Start Lean
Your big business dream of occupying space in that office block or street is valid. But the time for it will come. Now is not the time to splurge on luxurious furnishing and a decked-out office space. Cut unnecessary spending and redirect those funds to marketing and getting your brand name out there. Start off lean and set yourself on a solid platform to accelerate as your business grows.
Create Value
Billionaire Richard Branson said, “To launch a business means successfully solving problems. Solving problems means listening.” And he’s right. There are 100s of businesses selling products or services. They aren’t wrong. But you can set yourself apart by listening to what customers’ biggest issues and needs are and providing them with a solution – at a profit.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key. Day in. day out. This helps you create long-term habits that will make you successful. When you’re consistent, your customers will know what they’ll get from you. From a business owner’s point of view, when you know what is needed on any given day, you’ll reduce your risk of missing something.
With these in place, the next steps to take to go to the next level is one of the most important in any business. Marketing.
Ways To Market Your Business With A Limited Budget
Marketing is undoubtedly one of the most critical aspects of a successful business strategy. An unlimited budget is nice to have but is not always possible for a start-up. The good news is there are ways and means to market your business successfully with little to no spending.
Word-Of-Mouth
This is undeniably the cheapest marketing tool ever created. It requires no spending, but the results will reflect in your bottom line. To do this, you need to ensure you satisfy your customers and clientele. When they are happy, they are bound to spread the word and get you free publicity and therefore more feet through your door. Commit to them and their needs. And if you encounter an adverse situation, working with them to find a solution and – excellent service will be your best advocate.
Connect
It’s difficult to do business without going out there and creating awareness for your brand and company. This requires connecting with other businesses, attending networking events, seminars, fairs, trade shows, and other opportunities to network and introduce your brand to potential clients.
Go Online
We’re living in the digital age. No matter what business you’re in, you’d place yourself at an advantage by using suitable digital media platforms to meet, attract and engage with your target market. Research which platform will best suit your business, create profiles, and begin connecting with people online.
Create valuable content. Be mindful of what you share on social platforms. Don’t like, share, comment, or retweet for the sake of it. Everything you say or do says a lot about your company so share worthwhile, interesting, and informative content with your audience that they can react to/engage with and share.
Educate Yourself
To stay in the business, you need to stay on top of your game and know all there is to know about your business, trends, and customers. This knowledge will not only make you interesting to talk to at work-related events but can be eye-opening and informative for your customers when you share what you know. Online education platforms like Alison mean you can learn just about anything without breaking the bank, and on your own time.
Take your education a step further and educate others. Put yourself forward as a thought industry leader by doing guest blog articles, interviews, being a speaker at events or webinars and others. These will make people begin to identify with you and your brand and consider you as an industry leader.
Upskill Yourself
Starting a business is not a simple thing. Keeping your business running is a daunting task. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses and understand which areas you may need to upskill in. Take our Workplace Assessment below to determine your workplace personality and our recommended courses to boost your skills.
With the right motivation, knowledge, support, team, and attention to detail, you can launch your business and see it soar.
