What NOT To Do When Trying To Establish Your Business
Many of us, at some point, have entertained a dream of becoming financially independent, working only for ourselves and creating our own schedules. Is it possible? Can I manage the time demands and resources necessary to get a business off the ground? Do I have the dedication and self-discipline to work without supervision? Am I passionate enough about something to create a product that will enhance people’s lives and make the world a better place?
If so, then perhaps you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Do consider starting a business, but consider what NOT to do as well in order to make your rise to the top steady and successful. Consider these tips to make your journey forward moving and consistent with success:
Don’t neglect your market research. When considering your idea for an innovative product or service, do your research to determine if there is a “need.” Do your best to remove your emotional charge around the idea, and instead commit to looking at it through an objective lens. Think about your idea from a customer’s perspective---is this product needed? Will it be desired? Will there be an ongoing need for it, or will there need to be additional products and services created to keep customers coming back for more? What would a customer be willing to pay for this product or service? Will I make enough profit on sales to continue developing my products? All these questions must be answered effectively to determine if the business will be viable in the long run, or if your business strategy will need to be altered for continued success.
Don’t take on debt right away. Until you know what your profit margin will be, try to stay out of debt as long as you possibly can. Work out of your home, and run your business from your laptop. Avoid leasing office space and hiring additional employees until you are sure that you can afford to incur these extra expenses; check in with your bookkeeper on a regular basis to make sure you are still in the black, and only take on additional financial obligations when you feel that your steady expansion will continue.
Don’t ignore the numbers. A successful business is not about volume; it’s all about profit. Taking a look at your profit margin and making sure that it remains large enough to continue expanding will allow you to make more significant decisions down the road. Holding onto volume and delaying profits will inevitably result in loss; focus instead on what you can do to steadily increase your gains.
Don’t go it alone. Barreling through your business strategy without consulting the advice of others or listening to potential customers is a recipe for disaster. Be willing to listen to criticism and to accept help from others, and be prepared to adjust your own plans to meet the needs and ideals of your potential customers. Being able to let go of some of your own ideas in favor of the desires of others will ensure that you can expand your customer base and maintain steady growth.
Don’t let your belief in your product supersede your solid business plan. In the honeymoon period of building your business, it is easy to get swept up in the excitement of all that you are trying to create. Don’t let this cloud your vision and keep you from building a solid action plan around your business. Make sure that you create a vision on paper that can stand scrutiny, especially if you are attempting to secure funding from investors. They will want their questions answered before dishing out some capital, and you will need to be prepared to back up your passion with a plan of action designed to get you from vision to reality.
Don’t risk your retirement fund---yet. Don’t risk anyone else’s retirement fund either, for that matter. While securing funding for a business is not an easy thing to do, you won’t want the additional stress of your future or a family member’s future hanging over your head. If you were to lose that hard earned money, it could affect you and your relationships. Startup slow and steady, and expand to the degree that you can afford to lose money that has been invested. Remember...there will be profits and losses as your business grows, so continue to move ahead when there seems to be no forward momentum.
Don’t underestimate the time it will take to launch your business. Most small businesses do not incur significant profits for up to two years after their inception. Be ready for that period of time when the learning curve will be steep, and your need to operate without additional capital will be necessary. Be prepared to pay bills, sustain yourself financially, and satisfy obligations without additional profits from your business. When they do start rolling in, consider this the icing on the cake, and take pride in the fact that you were able to launch and keep rolling during this pivotal time of growth and expansion.
Don’t confuse personal experience with business experience. You may be a professional dancer, but that doesn’t mean you know how to open up and run a dance studio. You’ll want to take some time and educate yourself on the basics of hiring, budgeting, training, managing employees, and other aspects of running a business that will be necessary for success. There are a number of resources available to you offering free or low-cost information that will assist you in learning the basics of running your own business. As you continue to grow, give back to yourself by undergoing additional training to prepare for the next stages of growth and expansion.
Don’t hire friends and family only. This is a recipe for disaster, especially if your business does not take off. These people are now fully invested in you and your success; you might struggle to strike a delicate balance between friend and boss as you learn your role and become comfortable with giving direction and managing your staff. Hiring outside of your immediate circle of influence will be beneficial in that you will be able to create the rapport needed to train and manage your employees.
Don’t narrow your marketing strategy too much. Startups are typically on a pretty tight budget for the first few years of operation. Marketing is one area of growth that you will need to invest in, however, in order to see steady profits. When learning to apply an effective marketing strategy, you must realize that you’ll need to reach far and wide to attract all kinds of customers. Focusing your attention on print ads only will reach a small audience; you’ll need to become comfortable with social media, internet marketing, and all kinds of attention-grabbing advertising in order to reach the large audience that you dream about. Don’t worry, if you are not particularly savvy in one area of advertising, there are plenty of qualified professionals out there who have been there, done that. There is no need to reinvent the wheel in order to get things moving for yourself; invest some of your capital into creating a diverse marketing strategy by hiring qualified professionals, and watch the gains roll in!
Want To Ensure Your Success? Hire Us!
In today’s competitive market, it’s all about visibility and brand recognition. Discriminating customers know how to shop, and they know what to look for. If you are visible, present, and willing to meet their high demands with high value, you will gain customer attention and customer loyalty.
That is what we are all about---we help you to create the ultimate customer experience, so that there is no need to continue to shop around. MaxGroup Business Solutions employs innovative marketing strategies, passion for branding, and personalized customer experience techniques to keep your audience coming back time and again. If you want to take your business to the next level of growth and expansion, give us a call. Let us show you how we can help you get from startup to thriving empire. Visit www.maxgroupbusiness.com today to achieve exponential growth and success; we’ll help you get there.