Breaking

Friday 30 March 2018

The 5 fundamentals for starting a business

So you have thought of a show stopping idea and now you want to start a business. But have NO idea where to start?

The first steps to creating a successful business begins with a simple idea, this may be something that you have been dreaming of on a daily basis for years now, or simply popped into your head last night. Regardless you are ready to rock and roll, and need the basics.

With times changing so rapidly and internet becoming the main advertising tool of the future, you are probably going to need some guidance. Traditional methods of course still apply, but how on earth are you meant to run a healthy business without the foundations set in place first. 

Whatever your situation might be, you need a structured plan of action. Which of course brings us to the first fundamental of starting your business.


Passion

 Slow and steady wins the race, have you ever heard this term? Well that's because it seems to be the step that most first time business owners lack. Sure it can be exciting, starting your own business; And we are sure you are extremely eager to move forward and get selling! BUT first you need to figure out if you have a true passion for what you are about to venture into. Having a passion for the product or service you are about to promote is important for the future of your business. I mean, why would anyone buy off you, if you don't believe in the product/service yourself? But this alone will not suffice, having knowledge of your industry and doing research is a key tool to implement to ensure the longevity of your new venture.


Business Planning

The single most important tool in creating a business is having a plan. You may of heard people talk about a "business plan", well this is an overall document which highlights your company predictions, and the actions required to get you there.

Some of the things you will generally go over in your business plan are:
  • Target Market
  • Marketing 
  • Finances 
  • Strategies
and any other predictions you may have about your business. It is so important to remember that your business plan will change a number of times over the duration of your business. The initial setup of this document will ensure you have direction. Business plans are often used when approaching banks for business loans, or investors. This is the perfect place to SELL your business, explain the ins and outs of what you have to offer, and the exact method you will use to get there.

It is also of course a great tool to look on as the months go by, to analyse if you are on track.

Strategy

You have no put together a business plan, and it is time to execute. By now the information you have collated should potentially spell out the exact strategies your business will follow, however again this can change like the wind. 

The sister to strategy and the main tool used to create it is research. A term that many newbies dread to hear, yet it will become your most valued tool over time. Knowing your competition, and what they have to offer is extremely important, thus helping you decide how you plan to execute it better!

Or you may simply want to learn more information in regards to the product/service you are offering to better implement your ideas.

Knowledge is like gold, especially in the business world. You can never have too much information.


Finance

Business costs money. You may be looking at a low start up cost, but it is time to start thinking about the places you may potentially spend your money within this business.
Some examples are:
  1. Stock: Will your business hold stock, and if so, how much? Clothing business' for example will need to hold items in various sizes. Some suppliers also have minimum order quantities.
  2. Business Registration: Depending on your countries requirements, you will need to register your business name.
  3. Website, Domain and hosting: Most business have a website, and there are various ways you can go about this. Are you going to hire a web developer to create this for you? Or will you use the "do it yourself" websites. 
  4.  Yes, there are many ways to promote your business for free. But if you are looking to scale the business, you will eventually be paying for some form of advertising. 
Initially you will need to understand the start up costs of your business, and how you will pay for these. Will you use your saved cash, or fund this money, possibly a loan from a bank or an investor?
All things that you will need to determine prior to launching your new company.

Marketing

The world of marketing is a giant land of colorful advertisements, actors and songs right? Wrong.
Without marketing, people do not know your business exists. And along with your website comes the first type of marketing, that you may be oblivious to. That is SEO otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization. In other words, you are optimizing the content on your website to become easily searchable on the internet. When people use search engines such as google, and they are looking for your products/services; you want to be the first website to pop up.

Free advertising: There are many places you can advertise your business for free, social media being the number 1 source of it, forums, directories, and word of mouth being other popular sources.

Paid advertising: When you have tried the free stuff, and its just not cutting it. You will look at turning to paid advertising. Social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube all offer paid advertising options. Another huge source of traffic comes from google searches as mentioned. Which is where Google Adwords comes in. They offer a paid advertising technique to help you scale your business adverts to a larger audience.

For local business the key may be simply advertising in your local newspaper. But when you start tapping into world wide services you will need to target large volumes in short periods of time.



To summarize everything; the most important fundamentals to starting a business are knowledge, dedication, consistency and planning. A successful business does not always happen over night, and having a clear knowledge of your industry and exactly where you are going as a business, is the first step to success.



We will be providing in depth articles in relation to each of these topics, and our best picks of websites you can use to start your business. So to get notified of the releases of these, simply hit the subscribe button.



No comments:

Post a Comment