What You Need When Your Business Is Starting Out
Do you have an idea? Have you spotted a gap in the market that you’d like to exploit? Are you practicing your Shark Tank speech in the mirror? Maybe you’ve already secured your business loan or your investments, your premises are sorted, you just need to flip that sign that says “Open for business”. Now what? What should you remember while you’re starting out? We’ve got a few ideas that could help you out on those first shaky steps to being a business owner.
Marketing
There’s no point in a business without marketing, and vice versa. Luckily, we’re in a fun time where small businesses can use the most effective means of marketing to get their voice out there: online marketing. Social media marketing in particular is very effective, affordable, and accessible. Anyone can do social media marketing in a climate where the audience distrusts polished content and appreciates authenticity. Put yourself out there, even with your ancient iPhone camera with the spiderweb screen and dad jokes, because they’re likely to be appreciated.
An important step that small businesses tend to forget, however, is the business website. Even your little business needs a business website. It instantly legitimises you for one thing. Another reason is that it can be incredibly efficient for you and your customers. A place where they can have any question answered without you fielding dozens of calls a day. Add a booking forum if your business involves appointments, or a store to sell stock.
If you’re looking for a platform to build your website with, take a look at this list of Bluehost alternatives to get started.
Reviews
Once you get started on the marketing aspect, you’re likely to start gaining reviews. But reviews can be slow to drip in, unfortunately, so you might want to prod your customers and try to cultivate them a little. Even bad reviews are good because it shows that people are buying your product. Promote user-generated content on social media, ask for opinions in polls, answer any comments that have a query, etc.
An accountant
Your first staff member should always be an accountant. Not a till girl or an ideas guy, but an accountant. If an accountant is doing their job well, they’ll pay for themselves. They’ll be able to look at your business operations and find where you’re overspending, where you can save, and trim the fat of your business operation. Should that be the case, and you start saving money, you can then look into getting some hands-on staff.
Another benefit to accountants is that the rest of us simply aren’t one. The numbers can get lost on us, which can be costly down the line. Maybe a small unnecessary expense grows over time, or a miscalculation could result in a fine, or an embarrassing moment with investors. You’d be better off not chancing it, if numbers aren’t your thing, and hiring an accountant. That way you can focus on what makes you excited: your business.
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