The world of business is full of people competing to be the best. If you dream it you can do it, but you need to ensure that it stands the test of time. If you are ready to start your own business then you may be a bit lost with everything you need to do to get off the ground.
You may have heard that many businesses will fail to make it through the first year of trading let alone reach their fifth birthday. If you don’t want this to be you and your business then you need to get it right from the get go. Take a look at the article below to find out how you can create a business that stands the test of time.
Market Research
One of the first things you need to do when you decide to start a business is figure out if there is any need for it. This comes from conducting market research with polls, you send these out to potential customers and clients. They will include questions such as do you want this product? How much would you pay?, and would you use online features? From the answers you get, you can gauge whether there is any need or want for your business and its products or services. Once you have decided that you will get enough customers through the door or visiting your site then you can go ahead and set it up.
Funding
How are you going to run your business? You may have heard that you can start a business with little to no funding at all. While this is true, it tends to be the businesses that have been handed down or online based companies. These don’t need much money to get started, unlike a physical business.
If you are going to be based offline as well as online then you will need to figure out how much money you need to get started. This should be a nice rounded number that includes everything from employees salaries to technology needed for the office, as well as the office costs itself. If you don’t have this to hand then you will need to successfully apply for a business loan. The bank needs to be confident that you will be able to make the repayments on this, failure to do so could result in you losing your business and still needing to owe the bank.
Employees
Your company may not survive if you don’t hire the right employees. Of course, in the early days you may choose not to hire anyone at all. When you start to grow and you need more hands on deck then you need to pick your employees carefully. You don’t want any personalities to clash and you don’t want anyone to drag your business down. They need to be hardworking and know exactly what they need to do to make your business stand out. Your customer service team needs to be second to none if you want to stay high in the rankings. If your employees help and guide your customers and give them solutions then word of mouth will become your best asset.
Location
Where is your business going to be located, are you going to have an office or a shop? These are questions you need to ask yourself when it comes to searching for the ideal location. Something to bear in mind is that if you need to be located where the customers are then this is going to cost you extra in rent each month. If you need customers but still want to save money then you will need to invest in great signage. This helps your customers find you when it isn’t always obvious.
Website
When you have your own business, one sure fire way that it will stand the test of time is through your website. This will still be running even when your doors are closed, taking visitors and orders through the night. If you want to make a profit from your website then you will need to ensure it runs efficiently. Laggy, buggy websites don’t keep people around for very long as customers know what they want and don’t want to wait for it. If the page or product they are looking for takes ages to load then they will take their business elsewhere. This will most likely be your competition, and the last thing you want is to lose money to them. If you have never designed a website before, speak to the experts at your local web design and development company.
Branding
Something else you need to think about for your business is what you want your branding to look like. This includes everything from your name to the colors you use within your business. You will need to think hard about this process as the goal is to become memorable and not forgettable. Think about some of the most well known brands out there, why do you remember them? It tends to be the logo and the name that is remembered, if you are amazing at what you do then your customers won’t forget you in a hurry.
If you are thinking about attending shows and events to branch out with your new business then you might want to invest in items you can use for free advertising and branding. This could include stress balls or pens, people will always use these and then come back to you time and time again.
Marketing
One of the areas of your business that is crucial for standing out is marketing. If you don’t pump some money into this area then you won’t find any customers or clients to buy your stock. Ideally, you need to work out which marketing strategies are going to work for your business and go from there.
There are plenty out there but they won’t all suit you or your company. Check out social media and video marketing, these are two of the more popular options these days and they work well for companies trying to become known. Hire a marketing team who will work on your visibility through the year. This could be by managing social media or creating blogs with links to your site and products. Any publicity is good publicity as people will start to learn who you are and what you represent.
We hope you found this article helpful and that it gave you some useful tips and guidance on how you can set up your very own successful business. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day so you can’t expect your business to hit the top spot right away. It will take time, money, and patience to grow your business from the ground up.
