Starting a new business can be an exciting time in your life! Becoming an entrepreneur, your own boss, and following your passion is a fulfilling feeling but it can also be confusing and scary, especially in the early stages for business owners just starting out.
To simplify starting your own business, here are five tips and advice for new business owners:
1. Business Plan. Anyone who’s ever taken a business course has heard about the business plan. This is a document that contains the concept, the type of business, your role in the business, the team you will have, the financial estimates/startup capital, and a time period for each goal you would like to hit. Writing down a business plan helps explain the new business to potential investors and team members and holds yourself accountable.
2. Startup Capital. Once the decision has been made about the type of business, you can begin looking at which option for funding makes sense for you. Find out more about financing a small business here.
3. Teamwork. When you’re a new business owner, the pressure is on. You want to keep everything to yourself, do everything yourself, not delegate tasks to anyone; attempt to loosen the reigns of control so you can build a great team for your business. As a new business owner, you want to build a team that is just as passionate as you are but more talented and knowledgeable in areas you are not.
4. Marketing. Get to know your potential customer and find out what they want from you – then do it. Where do they live? How old are they? Do they have children? What is their household income? What should your price point be? Also share your product with friends! Invite them over to look at it, give them a sample and see if they like it. If they love it, they’ll tell their friends. I do this with all of my lines.
5. Brand Power. Choosing a name for your business, a logo and/or a slogan is key. Create a custom email address, think about sponsorship/advertising if that is available to you, and create social media accounts for your business. A blog, a Facebook page, Twitter, Google+, Foursquare,or Pinterest. Once you’ve established yourself online you can even begin to look into developing an app specifically for your brand.
