When starting up your own business there are many things to consider, from your marketing strategy, advertising campaigns, app development, branding and many other things. It’s important to think it all through to put you in the best position to succeed. Speak to other business owners and see what recommendations they have when starting up a business as well as your family and friends. After all the more information you have, the better your decision making can be. The web can also be a great place to look when needing some support. This is why we have put together a guide of eight things to consider when starting up your own business.
Your Marketing Strategy
When starting up a business you will want to put a marketing strategy in place. This marketing strategy will be used to bring in new customers to your business and increase your brand awareness. A marketing plan can consist of many different areas, these include social media coverage, your SEO, a PR campaign and many other areas. If you don’t have any experience in marketing, it may be worth putting some budget aside to pay for a professional to help you. This could come as an employee, freelancer or an agency if you have a bigger budget.
Your Advertising Campaign
How will you get the word out that your business is launching? Many companies who have the budget will opt for a paid advertising campaign. This could be done through working with influencers who will mention you within their posts, paid ads where you appear top of Google for certain keywords or through affiliate marketing. You could also opt to advertise in your local area in the newspaper or contact a radio station to mention you when live on air. There are a whole plethora of ways you can get your name out there, you just need to decide which one is best for you.
Will You Have An App Created
With mobile being the future, considering having an app created and looking into the app development costs could be very beneficial to your business. With many users owning a phone, most of them will be using some sort of app each day. It could be that your competitor has an app as well that you should compete with in order to attract their customers to you. What you have within your app is down to you but the developer will be able to assist you with the best way of having one created. You can also pull information from your website to your app to make the process that little quicker.
Competitor Analysis
Who are your competitors? What are they good at? What are they bad at? Have they recently launched something new that you are better at? These are all questions you should be asking yourself before launching. The more information you have about your competitors and the markets you are entering, the better equipped for success you will be. When doing competitor analysis, you could also do a survey so see what customers think of that company and what they would like to see them doing.
Your Branding
People sometimes underestimate how important good branding can be to your business. With good designs, people will instantly recognise your business and be more likely to approach you if they feel you are welcoming and memorable. Your branding doesn’t have to be super expensive, but it’s always worth investing in it in some way to make sure you have a reasonable look. You can always look at sites like Fiverr or People Per Hour to find good designers. Your branding will be used on everything from your business cards and marketing materials to your social media channels and website.
Will You Need Employees
When starting up will you need employees? Some businesses require them from the start others can grow and then employ. It’s important you factor these into your figures as employees don’t come cheap and may require training. You will also need to consider the time spent sourcing your employees and where you will conduct your interviews. The more senior people you hire, the bigger the pay they will depend so it’s always worth considering that when deciding what positions to hire for.
Hiring An Accountant
One thing you will certainly need is an accountant. An accountant can be there to help you with all your finance queries. They will help you follow best practises and check that you are compliant with your country’s laws. There are also many things an accountant can help with as well, such as your payroll, your invoicing and the best accounts package to use and other accountancy support that you may need. When looking into an accountant make sure you speak to a couple as each practice offers its own benefits.
Seek Legal Advice
Are there any laws that you need to follow in order to be compliant? When starting your business it is important that you seek legal advice to make sure you have all the boxes ticked. The last thing you want is an investigation and a fine for not being compliant. Certain industries require licences that you may not have thought of initially, such as an alcohol licence to be able to sell alcohol or a certain qualification to be able to practise like they do in the medical industry.
Running your own business is an exciting journey and one that opens the doors to many new opportunities. By being your own boss you’ll benefit from flexibility, not having to report to someone and most importantly earning the income from the work you do instead of a percentage. When starting a business it will always be stressful but with the right determination and research done before, you can be very successful.
Have you recently started your own business? What things came up once you had launched that you didn’t initially think about? Which of the above points do you think is most important? Let us know in the comment box below.
